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#hopefully i can draw him fully clothed next time
dorosen · 3 months
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Working my way back to drawing him properly
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aydann-runs · 5 months
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Alex climbs out of the car, slings his messenger bag over his shoulder, and heads into the house. Michael’s truck is parked out front, so Alex locks the deadbolt and sets the alarm. He detours by the spare bedroom that doubles as his office to drop his bag before going in search of his husband.
Michael's not in the living room or kitchen, so Alex isn't surprised to find him when he pokes his head into the bedroom. He is surprised, and concerned, that Michael is lying on the bed, fully clothed, and apparently asleep. It's only a little after six, and even when he's had a busy day at the junkyard, Michael rarely crashes before it's dark outside.
“Michael?” Alex calls softly as he approaches the bed. The last thing he wants to do is startle him. When Michael doesn't stir, Alex’s concern ratchets up a notch or five. He sinks down onto the mattress at Michael's feet and wraps a hand around his ankle. He doesn't feel any warmer than usual, and Alex hopes that means he isn't sick.
“Hey sweetheart,” Alex tries again, squeezing lightly. “I'm home.”
Much to Alex's relief, Michael blinks awake, though he's slow to focus. “Alex? Wha’ time ‘s it?” he mumbles.
“Sixish. I just got home. You weren't up and about, so I came looking. You feeling okay?” Alex asks, running his hand up and down Michael's leg and trying to keep the worry out of his voice.
“Yeah,” Michael says, and then amends, “Well, not really. Overdid it using my powers and it feels worse than a cheap tequila hangover.”
Alex frowns. Max and even Isobel get sick from time to time from overextending themselves, but he's never known it to happen to Michael.
“Hang tight,” he says, squeezing Michael's ankle again before making his way to the kitchen. He grabs a bottle of sports drink from the fridge and acetone from where Michael had left it on the table and makes his way back to the bedroom. He sets both items on the nightstand, deals with his leg as quickly as he can manage, and settles onto the bed with his back to the headboard.
After he’s situated, Alex pulls Michael over and helps him get comfortable. Once they’re arranged to his liking, Alex grabs the sports drink, spikes it with some of the nail polish remover, and passes it to his husband. “Here, electrolytes and acetone. Hopefully it will take the edge off a bit.”
Michael takes a few swigs before recapping the bottle and setting it on the bed. “Thanks, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”
Alex combs his fingers through Michaels curls and presses a kiss to his forehead. “Because while you’re a genius in many things, self-care is not one of them,” he says fondly.
Michael chuckles, and Alex takes that to mean he’s feeling a bit better, but still…“Why don’t you rest for a bit and I’ll go get dinner started?”
“Or,” Michael says, drawing out the word, “You can stay here with me and we’ll order in?”
“Or I can stay here with you,” Alex agrees, wrapping himself more securely around Michael, happy he gets to do this now, to take care of Michael the way he deserves.
Michael is quiet long enough that Alex thinks he's fallen back asleep when he offers hesitantly, “I was trying something with Liz today, and we got a little carried away.”
“Should I be jealous?” Alex teases, and Michael laughs.
“Nothin’ like that. She uh, has this theory that because Jones can heal, I should be able to, too. That the only reason I haven't been able to is some mental block. So she cornered me at the junkyard today and kinda forced the issue…” Michael trails off.
“And?” Alex prompts, kissing the back of Michael's head.
“And I’m gonna need a lot more practice, but I think I’ll be able to do it,” Michael answers, ducking his head in the way Alex has learned means he's both embarrassed and pleased.
A fierce pride fills Alex, almost overwhelming him, and he tightens his hold on his husband. “Of course you can. But Michael?”
“Hmm?”
“Next time, you practice with me.”
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littleperilstories · 1 year
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The Prince of Thieves: How Could You Do This to Me?
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Mood Boards | Chapter Titles | Also on A03!
Warnings: Fantasy-esque prison setting, restraints (shackles), infected wound, creepy villain, fucked up power dynamics, betrayal, guilt, fear, death wish, mention of family member death
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Word count: 1978 || Approx reading time: 8 mins
How Could You Do This to Me?
Teaser: “Fox,” I gasp, my palms stinging and my cheeks burning, “it’s me, it’s Bree—” “I fucking know.” He pushes me away a second time. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”
Bree
As we stand before Fox’s cell, Hatchett unlocks the manacles. His cold fingers brush against my skin, and the sensation makes my stomach turn. I pinch my lips together in a weak attempt to hide my revulsion.
“Think about what we discussed, Miss Cooper.” His hand closes around my wrist, preventing me from escaping him just yet, although he pulls open the cell door. I cannot meet his eyes, nor shrug from his touch, nor shield myself at all.
His gaze is like a gaunt, icy finger, trailing down my cheek in a motion both intimate and hideous, sending shivers down my spine. There’s no affection in his stare, nor any lust. It’s nothing more than a reminder—though the metal is gone from my wrists, I am still bound. A subtle nod to the fact that although I got what I wanted and should be revelling in my victory, I am still on the losing side of the war.
The amount of self-control it takes for me not to wrench my arm from his grip is positively cosmic.
Don’t fucking touch me, is what I want to say.
Instead, I remain still—trying desperately not to shiver—and wait for him to nudge me into the iron cage that will hold both Fox and me prisoner until Gysborne arrives to, hopefully, take care of Fox’s fever.
Hatchett, however, does not release me just yet. “Don’t you have something to say to me? Something you forgot?”
If I say the words he’s seeking, I will surely gag. But he doesn’t let go of my arm.
“Thank you, Constable Hatchett.”
He smirks, lets go, and when I am fully inside the cell, he slams the door shut.
Fox has fallen asleep or perhaps passed out in the time I’ve been gone. His body is limp, back slumped against the wall and legs stretched awkwardly over the filthy floor, his breathing laboured. With a grimace, I approach, unsure of what to expect. How much did he hear when I called for the constables to bring Hatchett so I could beg him for an audience? If he heard, how much does he remember? How betrayed does he feel? How angry?
Trapped too deeply in sleep, he doesn’t hear me draw near, and I let him rest. There is little I can do until someone brings clean water and cloth. How long I will be waiting, I cannot tell.
While I wait, I inspect him, the feverish man before me. From this distance and in the terrible light, it’s hard to see clearly whether his face is flushed or pale, or which wound might be inflamed and red with infection. Whether he sleeps with peace painted upon his features, or with fitful, restless pain. So long as he is unconscious, I cannot possibly tell how much strength remains in those fever-ridden limbs.
It is both too soon and not soon enough when someone brings a bucket of steaming water, a constable I don’t know. I don’t bother to thank him, but focus on Fox. Quietly, clearing my throat, I say his name—well, the only name I have for him.
He doesn’t stir.
“Fox.” I move closer. “It’s Bree. Can you wake up? I want to help you.”
He does not wake until I lay my hand on his arm. With a gasp, he jerks to wakefulness under my hands.
“Get the hell off me!”
He shoves me away with surprising force for someone who’s dying, and I have to regain my balance, bracing my hands against the floor.
“Fox,” I gasp, my palms stinging and my cheeks burning, “it’s me, it’s Bree—”
“I fucking know.” He pushes me away a second time. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”
If I don’t get a hold of my emotions quickly, I’m going to cry. I can feel the ache in my throat, threatening to overcome any words I might use to convince him to hear me out. “Please listen to me.”
“Listen?” he spits, struggling to support himself on a single shaking arm—still avoiding using the one with the shoulder wound. “I already fucking did. ‘I want to make a deal.’ How could you?”
His voice is furious, but it’s weak—broken and strained, like a branch snapped in a storm. Thready fibres are all that remain to stop it from splitting and crashing to the forest floor.
“And how d-dare—How dare you come back in here now? Shouldn’t you be out there h-helping him to find—”
Oh, I deserve his wrath, and I know it, but I’m not giving up. I can’t, not now. “Wait. Just—I—”
“What d-do you know? What did you t-tell him?”
“Please listen,” I repeat. “I swear, I swear, I’m only trying to help you.”
“Help me, how?” His words splutter out, stitched together and slurred. “You expect me to believe you? What did you s-say?”
I try to inch closer, but still he moves away. “You’re sick. I needed to get him to listen. So I bargained for…” How to even explain it? Real medical care? For the medic to do his damn job? A clean environment? Some basic human decency? “Medicine.”
“You told him...”
I pull in a sharp breath, unable to ignore the hitch in my chest and the tears smarting in my eyes. “I told him about how IA passes messages. Stuff about being a runner.”
Fever clouds his gaze, but suspicion spikes through, too. He doesn’t believe me. How could he possibly know there’s more? I thought for sure he didn’t remember telling me he has a brother.
“What else?”
“Nothing,” I say, the lie slipping out before I can really think it through. Please, I think toward my trembling limbs, please stop—lest they give me away for the liar I am.
“You told them C-Col—” He chokes to a stop, teeth chattering again. “Spider’s s-secrets.”
“Yes.” I point toward the bucket. If he doesn’t stop arguing with me, it’s going to get cold. “I traded her secrets for the chance to get rid of your—”
“You h-h-had no fucking right.”
“Do you hear yourself?” I don’t know how much of this is fever and how much of this is just him being difficult. “You’re sick! Dying! I couldn’t just sit over there and watch!”
“But you could fuck up everything for everyone else.”
“That’s not fair.” How much logic is going to get through to him right now? “If they have any sense, Fox, they’re already gone and out of reach.”
He jerks back as if I’ve slapped him.
Fuck.
I may as well have said, Your brother left you here to die.
Which, while true, is not the best thing to say when I’m trying to get him to believe me. To trust me. To, at the very least, listen.
“I told you,” I say. “I don’t want you to…” I swallow the lump in my throat. “I had to bargain, or else he wouldn’t listen. Please don’t let it have been a waste.”
He’s shaking. From rage, or from chills? I cannot tell.
“Please.” I don’t know what else to say. I am still forcing back tears. “Do you want to die?”
“Yes.”
This answer is cruel, a punch to the stomach, a blow that leaves a bruise—and not what I expected. I hope he doesn’t mean it.
But perhaps I’m just naïve.
Guilt swirls through me as I am reminded of just how far I’ve gone, driven by nothing but pure selfishness.
Don’t leave me here alone. My own words float back to me, bringing stabbing pain to my chest and sweat to my brow. Here I am, trying to soften his current pain to draw out the rest of it. Allowing the torturous last days of his life to drag on.
I cannot let myself dwell upon why.
“Do you want to die here?” I try a different angle. “In here? Do you want to—to let Hatchett win?”
He glares at me with weary eyes. Slowly, the heat of his anger fades.
“What’s the difference?” Hopelessness is all I can hear in his words. “Bree, at least if I—if I die now, I die knowing I n-never gave in.”
There he goes again—shattering my heart.
“I watched my mother die.” I didn’t intend on saying this, but now that I’ve started, I realize how much this memory is fuelling my actions, and I can’t stop. All it took was a little slip of a knife against her hand and a plethora of ill luck. “She got sick too, and by the time we realized how bad it was, there was nothing anyone could do to help her. All I could do was watch. And now it’s happening again. Only this time, I know better. I don’t have to just stand by and watch you suffer. So I…” My mouth has gone dry. “I did what I did. I’m sorry. But I’m not…not really.”
His eyes close and reopen, slow and fluttering, butterflies’ wings on the eve of the first frost. “You s-swear? You promise?” His good hand uncurls from his fist. “You didn’t tell him anything else? Nothing else?
I shake my head.
He stares warily. Please, just trust me. Please let me come closer.
“Why are you still alive?” His voice is quieter, less furious now, but he’s out of breath, gasping in air too quickly. “Why didn’t he hang you like he hanged Ezra Johnston?”
It takes me a moment to remember who he’s talking about—the man who was caught before me. Who was killed. For whose execution I was a spectator.
“I don’t know,” I say, and I pray once again he won’t detect the lie.
He doesn’t ask again, doesn’t push the subject. Relief floods through me, but it’s cheap. Hollow.
“Let me look.” My voice shakes. “They might let you out. Bring you to the medic bay. I don’t know. But please let me help you until then.”
This time, when I approach, he doesn’t shift away, nor does he struggle as I tug away the old bandage on his shoulder. It’s immediately apparent that this wound is the culprit. The bandage doesn’t look like it’s been changed in days, and it’s burning. He gasps at my touch.
“Fucking—hurts—”
“I know,” I say. Is this partially my fault? That day, the day with the flask, I was so worried about the goddamn lashes across his back… I just assumed the shoulder wound was fine. But today it’s flaming hot, the swollen redness visible even in the dim light.
I’m no doctor—farthest thing from one—but I know this is bad. “You want to lie down?”
“No.” He leans back against the wall. It can’t be comfortable with the other wounds pressed against the stone, but he doesn’t complain.
“It’s going to hurt.”
“I know.”
He is quieter than I expect while I wash out the shoulder wound. No cries of pain. The first time I glance at his face, his eyes are squeezed tightly closed, his jaw set. The next time, his eyes are open, but his gaze is distant. I wonder if he’s even really feeling it.
“Are you still with me?” I ask, letting my lank, unwashed hair fall in front of my face as I wring out the cloth. He nods, but he says nothing, and I know he’s not. Not really.
Hatchett would want me to take advantage of this moment. Ask for Fox’s name, see if he gives it. I keep the question to myself. Baden Hatchett thinks he knows me. He fucking doesn’t. I’m selfish, but not in the way he thinks. Not in the same way as him.
Hatchett only wants to win.
Me? All I want is to live. Me and Fox both.
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dreamrecorder · 3 years
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The words we keep
Soulmate au - first words tattoed on the wrist
Includes: Venti | Diluc | Kaeya | Albedo | Zhongli | Xiao | Childe
Mentions of suicide in Zhongli; angst and brief violence for Childe
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Oh you're here- I mean! I'm sorry I didn't mean to take your spot!
The bard had guessed that he'd meet his soulmate either in Angel's Share, in Windrise, or at the hands of his statue in Mondstadt. But the latter two were more unlikely. But he doesn't mind sharing his space with you really. In fact, Venti would be more than willing to let you in his space. But lo and behold! He didn't think he'd meet you at the hands of his statue!
Nights prior, you always heard a voice singing songs of various emotions. The voice eventually led you to Barbatos's statue. When you looked up, you saw the bard in green. His voice was very calming and pleasant to hear, so you always visited the statue at night. Until recently, your curiosity grew. Why does the bard always stay there at night?
Seeing your relaxed form on his statue, hair swaying in the wind. Venti just went soft. "Quite the lovely view isn't it?" 
He didn't mean to surprise but you still did become surprised. He found it endearing. "Oh you're here- I mean! I'm sorry I didn't mean to take your spot!"
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Ah- you scared them. Please don't do that.
Now who did he scare and what did he do to warrant his soulmate's first words to him? Diluc has always been aware that he can be intimidating and usually he doesn't mind that. But for you- he does give half a mind.
There was a new winemaker that Connor had hired and Diluc has yet to meet them. Connor had even commented that their methods were a bit unusual. But if it's enough to get the former's approval, then Diluc will see to this newcomer.
Diluc met you during the night, just at the edges of the Stone Gate that signifies the border between Mondtsadt and Liyue. The man was simply patrolling around the area for any hidden dangers. That's when he saw you, kneeling on the ground with a group of slimes surrounding you. Seeing your plight, Diliuc quickly ran and summoned his greatsword. With a few swipes imbued with pyro, the slimes hastily retreated. He was about to chase them off, but he was more concerned of your safety.
Diluc was about to speak when you cut him off as you stood up, dusting your clothes. "Ah- you scared them. Please don't do that."
Diluc was dumbstruck for a second. He did not expect to meet his soulmate right here right now. Seeing his stupefied look, you raised a brow. "Are… you alright, Sir Diluc?"
"Those slimes were about to attack you." Diluc pointed out. His reply made you chuckle a bit and shake your head to the sides. Did he say anything funny?
"No they were not. I was trying to befriend them so that I could use their slime concentrations for the winery."
Now Diluc was even more confused. Slime? For tbe winery? "Wait- you're the new-"
"Winemaker. And your soulmate if you're not yet aware. Come on, let's go look for those slimes! We can talk on the way about our… professional and not-so professional side of our relationship." And with that, you trailed to the path of the slimes with a smile on your face. As for the wine tycoon, he was still confused- like a lost puppy, but there was this gentle smile that landed on his lips as he followed you.
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Yes, I am suffering and in need of a Pyro Vision. Soulmate or not, if you don't have a Pyro Vision- shoo.
The text tattooed on Kaeya's wrist always left him laughing. He just knows, that this was meant to be a comical moment. He can even imagine the moment he meets his soulmate just from these words alone. But of course, he does worry about your well-being. Kaeya had his guesses. Maybe he would meet you in Dragonspine or maybe- you were an unprepared tourist enduring the permafrost of Snezhnaya and he'd meet you there. Well- in the end, he's still amused at your winterish pain.
Sure enough, Kaeya was tasked to scout Dragonspine for any Fatui activity. He could feel it under his skin that he'll meet you any second now. As he traversed through the mountain path, he noticed a group of warming seelies hovering over… someone? And that someone is shivering immensely. The captain grinned.
You heard footsteps approaching but you stayed in your crouched position, determined to preserve your body temperature. The seelies were helping, sure, but they were not enough to counter the coldness your Cryo Vision emanates. Damn it. Just because you're a cryo user doesn't mean you're immune to sheer cold.
The footsteps stopped and you snorted at the words the stranger spoke, "Could this possibly be my soulmate suffering in the cold and in need of a Pyro Vision?"
You huffed, you didn't want to meet your soulmate in this kind of situation. But it happened anyway, much to your dismay. Still crouched, you managed to turn to face the man as seelies continued hovering around.
"Yes, I am suffering and in need of a Pyro Vision. Soulmate or not, if you don't have a Pyro Vision- shoo."
Now actually hearing it from you made Kaeya laugh hard. If he was already amused just from the ink on his wrist before, Kaeya's now even more so deeply amused. You muttered sadist on his way. Deciding he's had enough a good laugh for today, the captain gave you his fur coat and a warming bottle. "Come on, let's get you some place warm, yes?"
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You're not the only one! I actually did one for you, too!
When his mind is not occupied by hus studies, it would often drift ink embedded on his wrist. Everytime Albedo does so, he would often wonder what did the two of make for each other that would lead to you eventual meeting.
The Windblume Festival arrived, and of course, so will tourists from other lands. Usually, Albedo would simply pay no heed to the ongoing festivities and their participants. But this time- things were different. You unknowingly caught the alchemist's eye. There was this sudden itch in his hands- and Albedo knew he had to sketch you form. However, before he could even approach you- you left to another direction.
He caught sight of you again the next day. You were reading a book on a bench, with the plaza fountain giving you a beautiful background for Albedo. Discreetly, the alchemist sat on a bench front of yours and began sketching. Unbeknownst by him, you were also entranced by his form and you, too, began sketching.
Albedo was first to finish- and like usual, he would give the sketch to the person he drew of even if they were strangers. As he walked, there was this certain nervousness that found way in his stomach. This never happened before. Why was he nervous?
Once close enough, Albedo cleared his throat and handed you his sketch, "I know this seems suspicious, but I want you to have this. You have a wonderful form."
You'd be lying if you said your heart did not stop a beat at his words. When you saw the paper he was offering you, you gasped at how he caught every detail of you. Bashful, you tore the page you were drawing on from sketchbook and gave it to him.
"You're not the only one! I actually did one for you, too!"
When your words reached his ears, Archons bless you as he gave you a genuine and joyful smile.
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Please... don't touch my heart that wants to disappear.
When Zhongli fully embraced his mortal form, he didn't expect the universe to gift him a soulmate. Like a snake, ink slithered into words that gave his heart a certain sadness. Zhongli knew, you were suffering somewhere... Out there...
He saw you first at the highest peak of Guyun Stone Forest. Everything happened so quickly. One second he was watching your distant form from the beaches below then the next he knew- his heart dropped, the same way you willingly fell to the hands of death that waited in the sea. The archon did what he knew is right- and that is saving you.
To Zhongli, immoratlity can both be a blessing and a curse. When your skins touched, he knew you were of immortality. He could sense it. And he could also sense the tiredness that nest in your soul from the burden of immortality.
Once Zhongli landed on safe ground, that's when he spoke. "I won't ask why, however is this truly what you want?"
The way his words reflected the ink written on your wrist made you open your eyes wide. When the realization sank in- that this man is your soulmate, you began crying. You were tired of life- but this man- this man is now your lock away from your want for death. If you stayed with him- another cycle of seeing the people you love come and go.
"Please..." you begged, "don't touch my heart that wants to disappear..."
Your voice was sad and pleading- but Zhongli was a stubborn man, just like his element. He wanted to help you but not by giving your death. He wanted you to see life in a new light, hopefully with him by your side.
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Excuse me... Here- for you. Qingxin.
Xiao was always resolute in his resolve that he has no need of a soulmate deemed by the universe. However, there are times that he would let his mind flutter around the concept. Specifically, around the words elegantly written on his wrist and his soulmate. Xiao would question why would you give him qingxin flowers in the first place. Other than that, there was also this underlying worry in his thoughts about you and the qingxin flowers. These flowers... they can only be gathered on high stone peaks. What if you slipped and fall?
This leads Xiao to have days where he just spends his time at the peaks of Jueyun Karst, looking out for any foolish person scale mountains just for qingxin. It's not because he's worried about you no- Xiao just doesn't want anyone die under his protection over Liyue. There has already been too much deat-
"Excuse me..."
At the voice, Xiao's head whipped to your direction with eyes wide in surprise.
"Here- for you. Qingxin."
There was this bored look in your face, but Xiao could see the worry in your eyes. Worry? Were you worried about him? Xiao frowned at the thought but still took the flowers from your outstretched hand.
"Foolish mortal... you could have gotten yourself hurt. Climbing peaks just for qingxin..."
... But still a small smile graced his lips and your heart melted.
"Thank you."
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You're the only person I recognize whose eyes resemble the deep blue ocean.
The words tattooed on his wrist always left Childe questioning about his soulmate and what led them saying these words. Somehow- imagining the possible scenarios always makes him melt. This string of words- it never fails him to bring a sense of comfort in his heart. Childe learns of yoir existance during a mission.
The mission was to assasinate a captain of the Knights- you. He observed you for days and took note how you're silent and alone for the most part but kind to the people who approach you- he almost feels bad for having to kill you. The day came when he had to kill you. It was supposed to be a quick kill- but he should know better. You were a captain for a reason, so you fought back. However, in the end, Childe was stronger as he wrap his hands around your fragile neck. Another second, he'd have you dead- until a child's voice cut through- your little brother. The way your eyes watered up at the sight of your only family. Seeing the hurt in your eyes, Childe's thoughts went overdrive- No- nonononono way I'm killing in front of a kid- He simply can't- he was reminded of his little brother, too. With a wavering will to disobey orders, Childe let you go and retreated to the night,
"Don't think this is the last time you'll see me."
Like a shattering glass- the words he uttered made your heart shatter like glass...
Childe saw you again, this time in Liyue. When your gazes meet- there was a shock that passed through with tension suddenly gripping your necks. Childe swore he hid much of his identity physically that night- but he knew you recognized him. He managed to corner you in Yuehai Pavillion by swooping into an empty seat right in front of you. There was a tense moment and an oppresive air. He noticed how your hands were ready to grab your weapon. "How did you recognize me?"
You carefully thought of your words. And when you did reply, Childe have never felt so much despair until today. "You're the only person I recognize whose eyes resemble the deep blue ocean."
Back before he knew you- these words always comforted Childe- but now? Childe felt chills in his spine as despair clouded his mind. Why would the universe decide to have person he was supposed to kill his soulmate.
Similarly, his heart also shattered.
A/N: Look!!! I got meself some banners ksks---- this is all Childe's fault rawr
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Merlin Scar Reveal Part 2(final part)
Merlin tries to pretend nothing happened, Arthur says “that’s stupid.”
Part 1
Merlin’s nightmares last for the rest of the afternoon and extend well into the night. 
The heat certainly doesn’t help, and it takes all of Gaius’ effort to keep his temperature low enough to not boil him from the inside out, but he manages with help from the knights. Mordred and Lancelot refuse to leave the servant’s side of course, but the others loiter in the corridor the entire time, and take turns sprinting to the cold store and kitchens for ice water and cloths.
It was difficult to stand there waiting, being given scraps of information on Merlin’s condition, especially when most of the scraps consist of something along the lines of “Hopefully he’ll snap out of it by the morning.”, which was certainly not helped when the occasional whimper floated out to them from the young servant’s room.
After a few hours, Leon was the one to draw the short straw to go and talk to Arthur. Whilst all of them were mildly miffed that Arthur had pushed Merlin so far, they knew that ultimately, it was all of their faults. All of them had pushed him, and none of them had protected him from being injured in the first place. None of them knew how much he had suffered, was still suffering. Considering Arthur’s... extra feelings for his servant, it was no wonder he’d reacted even worse than the others.
The First Knight agrees to go, knowing he had the best chance of talking some sense into The King, though he refuses to leave until he sees each of the others settle in their beds; it had been a long day, and would likely be an even longer day tomorrow. They all need as much sleep as they can get.
Arthur doesn’t answer when Leon knocks on his door, but the knight lets himself in after a few moment regardless, doing so quietly so as not to startle the man if he was asleep or, more likely, deep in thought.
The King was sat at his desk, chin resting on his hands, and Leon has to stamp down the surge of protective adrenaline in his lungs when he sees the dry tear tracks on the younger man’s face. He doesn’t notice Leon’s presence, not even when he very deliberately clears his throat, so the knight walks over to him slowly, rapping his knuckles harshly on the desk. That finally catches Arthur’s attention, and he looks up with a start, hands reaching for the sword that Leon knows he has hidden under the desk.
The King lets out a deep breath and relaxes back in his seat when he sees that it’s just Leon, hastily wiping his eyes before clearing his throat and looking up with a fake confidence:
“Sir Leon, what can I do for you?”
Leon just raises an eyebrow, but when Arthur holds strong and doesn’t react he lets out a deep sigh and collapses into the seat on the other side of the desk:
“Come on, Arthur. We need to talk about this.”
Arthur gulps, trying to keep his unaffected façade up, but failing and dropping it after only a few moments; something about the soft, overly concerned look Leon was giving him made him want to wrap himself in blankets and sob himself to sleep. He frowns and just about manages to keep the tears in:
“Why wouldn’t he tell me? If not about the physical scars, then about all the times he’s been hurt. Does he not think I would’ve given him time to recover? Or, God forbid, helped him?”
Leon purses his lips slightly in thought, still having to make a concerted effort not to gather The King up in a tight hug as he considers his questions:
“I don’t think it’s about you, Arthur. Merlin is... a private person by nature, and he doesn’t like worrying people. You heard Mordred, he and Lance found out by accident, and even then Merlin tried to keep them away from it as long as possible.”
Arthur stands, the guilt and sadness in his gut now frothing with anger as well. He paces around to the centre of the room and Leon stands to watch him carefully:
“He can say it’s not about me as much as he wants, but I’m The King, Leon,-”
He whirls on the knight, and Leon clenches his jaw, resisting the urge to raise a mocking eyebrow. He knew to expect anger at some point, but that doesn’t mean Arthur was entitled to it:
“-I have a right to know what’s going on in my Kingdom. I should’ve been informed of Nimueh and Morgause’s deaths, I should’ve been informed that Cenred was torturing people for information. How many other countless adventures has Merlin had that have put himself, Me, the Kingdom in danger, simply because he didn’t want people to know much about him?? None of that was his call to make.”
Leon does raise an eyebrow at that, but Arthur was too busy furiously pacing to feel scolded quite yet. The older man crosses his arms and huffs slightly, waiting for The King to calm before responding:
“Be that as it may, that’s not why you’re angry. You can lie to yourself, Arthur, but you can’t lie to me, and you certainly shouldn’t lie to Merlin. If you go to him pretending that you’re angry because he put the Kingdom at risk, and not because you’re heartbroken at him having suffered so much, then he’ll never forgive you. And when you realise that, you’ll never forgive yourself.”
Arthur looks to Leon sharply, but the anger drains from his face within seconds and his whole body sags slightly, the exhaustion of the day having caught up to him. A glance to the now dark window tells him that it’s well into the evening, but he can’t find it in himself to be annoyed at the unfinished paperwork on his desk or the hunger in his stomach from not having eaten since before noon, not when he knows Merlin is being tortured by nightmares and injuries that have long since healed. Injuries that he should never have had in the first place. Leon waits patiently for Arthur to respond:
“I don’t want him to be in pain. I just want to help him.”
His cracking admission has Leon give up on holding himself back, and he strides towards The King to pull him into a tight embrace. Arthur tenses at first, but quickly falls into the older man’s affection, accepting a hug for the first time since he was a child. Leon responds softly, aware that he only had a short time before Arthur pulled away and put his walls back up:
“Merlin’s already in pain, Arthur, but that doesn’t mean we can’t now help him.-”
He feels Arthur nod into his shoulder and squeezes the man tighter for a moment before pulling back, keeping a tight grip on The King’s shoulders:
“Come on, you need to get some sleep.”
Arthur’s tired, longing gaze moves to the paperwork spread haphazardly over his desk, and Leon shakes his head, tugging Arthur’s shoulders so he looks back at him:
“No, work isn’t an option, your mind is not in any sort of state to be productive right now. You’re exhausted, Arthur, a few hours of sleep will do you some good; I hate to say it but The Kingdom won’t stop needing attention whilst we... sort through this, and you’ll need the energy tomorrow.”
Arthur shakes his head, stepping back and rubbing his eyes tiredly as he takes a deep breath and straightens his back. Leon steps back as well, re-introducing the respectful distance that should be between a King and his Knight, waiting for Arthur’s no doubt stoic response:
“The councilmen will survive without me for a day or two, if not then that really should be something I’m made aware of so I can get to replacing them. Merlin and I need to...-”
He cuts himself off and clears his throat:
“-has there been any news? Any change?”
Leon shakes his head, but catches Arthur’s wrist when he begins walking towards the door:
“Arthur. I just about managed to convince everyone else to get some sleep and you need it more than them.-”
Arthur looks back indignantly, failing to portray his Kingly Anger in his exhaustion and looking more like a scolded child:
“-You know I’m right. Get some sleep, Gaius will inform you if anything changes.”
For a moment, it looks like Arthur wants to argue, but he quickly lets out a deep, bone weary sigh, nodding before moving sluggishly towards his bed. Leon nods approvingly, muttering a soft “Goodnight, My Lord” and smiling slightly at Arthur’s hummed response before quietly exiting the chambers.
~
Arthur can convince himself, for a few blissful seconds, that it was all a bad dream when he wakes up the next morning.
His curtains are thrown wide open; the sunlight streams in and forces The young King to groan and roll over, attempting to shield his eyes from the brightness. Merlin’s cheery voice echoes throughout the various chambers:
“Come on, Sire, up and at ‘em!”
Arthur just grumbles a slurred “Fuck off.” before his brain wakes up and he throws himself from the bed, thankfully wearing sleep clothes but only just managing to catch himself on the bedside table before he falls over:
“Merlin!! What the hell are you- are you ok?! Did Gaius say you could get up?!”
Merlin looks back at him with the same disapproving, mocking glare he usually uses in the morning; Arthur is taken aback at the darkness in his eyes. He can’t quite decide if it made it’s first appearance this morning, or if it had always been there and he just hadn’t noticed. He doesn’t know which idea he hates more:
“I’m fine, Arthur, no need to worry about me. And for your information, I’m a fully trained physician, I don’t need Gaius telling me what I can and can’t do.-”
He rolls his eyes and turns to The King’s desk with a huff, gesturing at the mess:
“-It’s flattering that you rely on me so much Arthur, but really, this is ridiculous.”
Arthur is finally broken out of his shocked stupor, shaking his head disbelievingly and taking a few short steps towards his manservant. He goes to yell but quickly backtracks, snapping his mouth shut and taking a deep breath before trying again, softly this time:
“Merlin... we have to talk about yesterday.”
Merlin’s reaction is immediate and harsh. The quill that he had picked up from Arthur’s desk snaps in his sudden tight grip and the tension in his shoulders is painful looking. He freezes for just a moment before forcing himself to relax, casually throwing the broken quill into a waste basket before continuing to organise the desk, refusing to look up at The King:
“No, we really don’t. I’m fine, My Lord.”
The lack of sarcasm or sass in Arthur’s title worries The King greatly, but the way Merlin regains more and more of the tension in his shoulders the closer Arthur walks to him is even more worrying:
“Merlin... look at me.-”
The servant gulps, biting his lip at he stares at the desk for a few more moments before forcing himself to look up. He recoils slightly at the tears in Arthur’s eyes, but doesn’t allow himself to look away. Arthur opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the door to his chambers opening with a bang as Mordred and Lancelot rush in. They’re both red-faced and panting, speaking at the same time:
“I swear to the Gods if he snuck out of bed to work, I’ll-”
“I apologise My Lord, I don’t suppose you’ve seen-”
They both freeze as they see Merlin stood behind Arthur’s desk, paperwork crumpled in his tight grip and face fallen into a annoyed frown. Arthur throws his hands up, frustrated as he paces and mumbles:
"Just... come in why don’t you. No, don’t worry about knocking just run on in like you own the damn place.”
Lancelot spares him a quick glance but locks the door behind him and crosses his arms like an angry mother as he looks to the irate servant:
“Merlin, we’ve talked about this, you’re meant to take the morning off after a bad night, Gaius says-”
Merlin just rolls his eyes and turns away, interrupting Lancelot’s scolding as he continues to tidy around the room, his annoyance evident in his harsh tone and hurried movements:
“I’m a physician too, and I say I’m fine. I would like to just... get on with things, please.”
Arthur has to stop himself from recoiling at the way Lance and Mordred’s faces fall, the pain and grief sadder than anything he’s ever seen in their expressions before. He takes a moment to think before giving the two of them a pointed look and quietly asking:
“Can you give us a minute?”
Lancelot looks doubtful, but willing. Mordred plants his feet and crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow. He doesn’t say anything, but it’s obvious he has no intention of leaving Merlin’s side; as much as Arthur finds that admirable on a personal level, as King it’s unacceptable. He’s normally not a fan of pulling rank among friends, but maybe that’s because he normally doesn’t need to. Perhaps this whole mess was his fault, Mordred obviously felt so, but Arthur could hardly fix it with them glaring over his shoulder. He raises himself to his full height, a good few inches above Mordred, and uses the tone of voice he normally reserves for particularly difficult councilmen:
“You forget whose presence you are in, Sir Mordred, you’d do well to remember again. You are both dismissed.”
Mordred’s eyes go wide and he takes in a sharp breath, but after a quick glance to Merlin’s turned back he dutifully bows and walks from the room stiffly. Lancelot’s postures straightens as well, and he follows Mordred after a confident:
“We’ll be in Gaius’ chambers should you require anything, My Lord.”
Merlin was oblivious to the conversation, though Arthur reckons he was deliberately ignoring it as opposed to being actually unaware, especially with the way the servant’s shoulders relax when the door shuts behind the second knight.
Arthur sighs as Merlin continues to putter around the room, refusing to look him in the eye; he leans against the edge of the desk and crosses his arms:
“Merlin,-”
His voice is soft, but the servant still doesn’t look at him, giving a non-committal hum as he clears out the hearth with shaking hands:
“-come here, please.”
Merlin freezes for just a moment, and if the problem wasn’t so glaringly the context of the situation, Arthur may have been able to fool himself into believing that Merlin was just shocked he said please. The younger man stands slowly, turning to walk towards Arthur with his gaze stuck to the floor. He stops with about five feet of space between them and Arthur sighs again, closing the gap until only a few inches separates them. The King ignores the tears gathering in both of their eyes as he lifts a hesitating hand, dropping it softly on Merlin’s shoulder only when the servant doesn’t flinch away:
“Merlin, I... you mean a great deal to me, and I know I don’t say that often enough, or at all, really. You... look after me, keep me alive and unhurt, evidently more than I had originally thought. You make me a good King, and a better man.-”
Merlin looks up at him sharply and Arthur can tell that he’s about to argue, so he squeezes his shoulder and quickly hurries on:
“-You’ve been hurt, you’ve suffered in your service to me, and that’s unacceptable but it’s also my fault; I should’ve made it clear that I would protect you from anything. These scars prove your strength, but I understand not wanting to acknowledge them, so I promise I will never ask again. You tell me when you’re ready, and if that’s never, then that’s completely fine.-”
Merlin seems surprised by the promise, and the tears slowly dripping from his wide eyes just make Arthur regret yesterday even more. After a second or two of shock, Merlin visibly relaxes, relieved with the knowledge that he doesn’t have to expect the conversation that he really doesn’t want to have. Arthur gives him a weak smile before continuing:
“-I’m sorry, but I’m also grateful. Thank you, Merlin. But...-”
Merlin re-tenses at the “but” and Arthur squeezes his shoulder again, giving him what he hopes is a reassuring smile:
“-please don’t keep doing this alone. I... I don’t expect you to ask me for help, though I would drop anything in a heartbeat to keep you safe. Even... even if it’s Gwaine, just... I don’t want you disappearing off to save the Kingdom only to never come back again because no one knows where you are.”
Merlin smiles weakly at the disdain in Arthur’s voice when he mentions Gwaine, but quickly frowns again and looks at the floor. He gaze stays lowered when he asks his one word question, his voice quiet and ragged:
“Anything?”
Arthur frowns for a second, confused about what Merlin was asking, but quickly realises, lifting the other man’s chin with his hand, his voice a whisper:
“Merlin, I would give up the Kingdom to rid you of the burden you’ve place upon yourself. I just want you safe and happy and by my side.”
Merlin once again looks like he wants to argue, but a quiet sob falls from his mouth instead and Arthur, damning the consequences and his stupid reputation, pulls the younger man into a tight hug, cradling his head into his shoulder and running a soft hand up and down his back. A few tears of his own slip free but he finds he doesn’t care that much as Merlin shakes in his arms; he presses a barely-there kiss to Merlin’s temple and begins swaying slightly on the spot, wanting more than anything to take away his servant’s pain.
Merlin’s cries slow to a stop after what feels like hours, but Arthur doesn’t let go quite yet, eyeing the unmade bed over Merlin’s shoulder with eagerness, knowing that neither he nor Merlin had slept well last night. He feels Merlin stifle yawn against his shoulder and that just strengthens his resolve; he squeezes the younger man to get his attention and then speaks quietly:
“Reckon the council can survive without me later?”
Merlin clears his throat and responds, but still doesn’t let go:
“Doubtful, but Leon and Morgana could probably whip them into shape. Why?”
Arthur nods and pulls back, frowning at the slight panic in Merlin’s eyes when he steps away but doesn’t mention it, letting his hand slide down from the servant’s shoulder to grip his hand. Merlin visibly relaxes, but still looks confused as Arthur tugs him towards the bed gently; he allows himself to be pushed to sit on the edge and looks up at Arthur questioningly. The blond stops himself from grinning widely at the trust in his expression, instead turning away to shut the curtains and lock the door as he says:
“Shoes and belt off, I fancy a nap, how about you?”
He was expecting an argument, so he's surprised when he turns back to the bed to see Merlin softly smiling as he sets his shoes and belt on the bedside table neatly. They both climb under the covers wordlessly, and Merlin doesn’t hesitate to curl into Arthur’s side when he holds his arms out to him. 
The King holds his servant close, tucking his head against his chest and burying his chin in his soft hair, his arms wound around Merlin tightly. Merlin closes his eyes without issue, finding himself unafraid of the darkness or the nightmares or the firm touch against his back for the first time since his collection of scars began.
The warrior sleeps, plagued by nothing but pleasant dreams and the warmth of a protection he knows he can trust.
~
THE END!!
That took me FOREVER to write, writer’s block really does suck, but I’m glad I finally got it finished. I feel like it’s a little underwhelming, but I hope y‘all like it :)
@1stbonesfan asked to be tagged! <3
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maddiwrites · 3 years
Text
Breathe With Me
Pairing: JJ x Reader
Summary: After finding out who hurt you on that horrific night, JJ helps you through another panic attack and makes plans to protect his girl.
Note: This was requested a long time ago after a chapter of my rewrite was posted! Instead of doing JJ x OC, like requested, I changed it to JJ x Reader so that people who don’t read my rewrite can enjoy it too. Hopefully this is okay with ya’ll. 
Word Count: 3.5k
WARNINGS: Sexual Assault!!! This chapter has descriptions of sexual assault. Please do not read if this is TRIGGERING!!!! 
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
Masterlist
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It was another regular day on the island. Hot and crowded with tourists. With everyone working, you decided to tag along with JJ and Pope to delivery groceries for Heyward’s business. Usually this meant going to Figure Eight, your least favorite place to be. Normally it didn’t creep you out too much, but because of a rather recent incident, you didn’t like being there.
Right after your dad went missing, you spent a lot of time with Kie as she lived out her Kook Year. Avoiding the Pogues and John B and surrounding yourself with stuck up assholes and their expensive drugs and alcohol helped you forget about your own family crisis. You would do anything to take your mind off your dad’s disappearance even if it meant getting high on whatever was offered to you. You didn’t ask twice about what it was. You figured if the rich people we’re doing it, it couldn’t be that bad right?
One night you did a long line surrounded by Rafe and a couple of his buddies. Pretty much everything after that was a blur. Your memories are fuzzy, like a puzzle piece you can’t piece together. The last thing you remember is your black hitting something soft, like a mattress or a pillow. You thought you heard the zipper of your shorts being pulled down but figured it was Kie helping you change into a pair of pajamas. 
The next morning you woke up practically naked with a blanket covering your bottom half and your bra pulled down to your stomach. You began to panic and ran your hands down your side, flinching at the tenderness by your hips. The skin was yellow/green and getting ready to bruise. Your breathing became shallow and your throat tightened up. You fumbled around the room you didn’t recognize for your clothes and slid them on, not caring what was backwards or inside out. You stumbled out the door and tip toed down the long staircase of the large house you were in. Figure Eight, you thought. 
You didn’t go home first. You went to Kie’s house. Because your body ached. Because you wanted to cry but didn’t want John B or the other boys to hear you. Because you were afraid to be naked around anyone but another girl. The second she opened the door, you sobbed into her arms and told her what you think happened to you. Kie tried to get you to go to the police or even the hospital, but you couldn’t fathom the idea of anyone knowing about what happened. Not even a stranger. Because you were embarrassed. You blamed yourself for this happening to you. You were high as fuck, trying to forget about your family troubles. You were the one to make yourself weak and vulnerable. No one else. Someone just took advantage of the position you put yourself in.
Kie didn’t pressure you. She wanted to support you in whatever decision you made, despite wanting justice for you and sending whoever the sleaze bag was to jail. She sat on the toilet and talked to you as you showered slowly. You spent most of the time staring at the wall and feeling ever inch of your body. You felt so dirty and no amount of soap or scrubbing could make you feel any cleaner. 
You stayed at her house for a couple of days until John B eventually texted her because he was worried. You both decided it was time for you to go home, but you never told them what happened. You were afraid of what John B and even JJ would do if they found out. And the last thing you wanted was for either of them to get hurt or in trouble.
John B didn’t notice something was off as much as JJ did. He could tell you were being more quiet and reserved than usual. Your usual style of crop tops and jean shorts changed to sweats and baggy t shirts. You slept with your door locked and didn’t touch a single can of beer since you came home.
Moving on from that night was a slow and gruesome process, one you don’t know if you’ll ever fully recover form. Luckily for you, JJ was a great distracter. He was an amazing story teller, he could make you laugh with a small hand gesture, and his laugh could draw you in for hours. No one was surprised when the two of you eventually started dating. Not even John B, who was a little apprehensive about it at first. 
To JJ, everything came to light when another make out session became heated. Like that morning, it became hard to breathe and your mind wandered off to what could have happened to you that night. In a blink of an eye, you were back in Figure Eight with someone pulling your zipper down. You could physically feel the bruises on your hips again and your skin burning. 
A panic attack emerged and JJ was left confused and lost. Fortunately for you, he was quick to realize something was seriously wrong and helped you through it. He breathed with you and talked you down. When you were calm, you explained what happened. At first he was pissed. Pissed at whoever could have done this to you and even a little bit at you and Kie for keeping this from him. He was ready to charge out of the house, grab John B, and find the sick son of a bitch who would touch an unconscious girl. But your cries stopped him. He’s never heard pain in your voice like he did that night. It physically cracked his heart into a million little pieces and he dropped every instinct he had and stayed with you instead. 
Since then, he’s been the most supportive and protective boyfriend. At every boneyard party, he would keep an eye out for any Kook that decided to show their face on your turf. He took note of anyone looking at you in a weird way. He carried the gun he stole from Scooter in his backpack for protection. He was serious about using it too. No one touches his girl and gets away with it.
Luckily, nothing happened between JJ and any Kook. No one made a move to talk to you or tease you. Kooks kept their usual distance from you, which not only made you feel better for yourself but because you didn’t want something to happen to JJ. You know the rules of the game of this island. Nothing bad ever happens to Kooks. They don’t know consequences. 
When Pope docks his boat, he asks if you would come with him to drop groceries off at the Thorntons. If he did it alone, it would cause two trips and he doesn’t want to waste time. 
As you go to agree, JJ steps in and shakes his head as he looks between you two. “I don’t think thats a good idea.”
“Why not?” Pope asks, completely clueless.
You subtly shake your head, silently begging for JJ not to say anything. Pope and John B still didn’t know and you want to keep it that way. Sure you would feel safer with JJ by your side, but you won’t be alone. You will be with Pope. And who would try to start something in the middle of the day anyway?
“It’s fine, J,” You tell him. You even try to joke. “I’m sure you’ll survive one hour without me.”
When you kiss his cheek, JJ turns to look at you with his brows pinched together with worry. “Y/N...”
“Seriously, J...” You say. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” You whisper that last part as Pope turns to get the bags. 
“You have your phone?”
You nod and pull it out of your pocket to show him. “Yes. I’ll call you if anything happens.”
As JJ walks in the opposite direction of you and Pope, you feel the tension in your shoulders get tighter. The sight of these homes gives you flashbacks. The worst part about all of this is you don’t even know who hurt you. It could’ve been anyone - a touron even. It would be easier to know who did it so you know who to avoid. 
Pope notices your change in behavior but doesn’t mention it. Instead he keeps a silent eye on you and studies your every movement. 
As you pass the golf course, you hear a couple cat calls and cheering from a group of teenagers. When you look up, you see Rafe, Topper, and one of their friends making their way over to you. You take a step behind Pope, hiding behind his body and keeping your eyes trained down on your shoes. 
“What do we have here?” Rafe whistles as he comes closer. He looks down at the bags in your arms and the beer in Pope’s hand. “Bring us something?”
“These are already paid for,” Pope glares at them.
“Oh, right, right,” Rafe nods as if he understands. Then he takes is golf club and swings it at the brown paper bag in Pope’s arms, causing everything to spill out of it. 
“Dude!” 
“Sorry, man!” Rafe holds his hands up in fake surrender. He leans down to pick up a beer bottle and tosses it to his tall friend. “Trevor, you feeling thirsty?”
The guy, better known as Trevor, cracks the beer open and takes a long sip. When he looks down, he spots you and eyes your figure up and down. Then he smirks to himself and a shiver runs down your spine. You don’t like the way he’s looking at you. Like a piece of meat or someone he knows too much of. 
Rafe catches his eye and smirks to himself. “Ah, yeah. I forgot. You and Routledge have some history.”
Pope looks over his shoulder at you and sees your chest rising and dropping at a quicker pace. You’re gripping the bags in your hands so tight that he can see your knuckles turning white. You look away from the group of Kooks at the golf course with a frown on your face. Something was wrong, Pope thought. 
“Yeah, you could say that,” Trevor chuckles. He looks at you again and tilts his head. “What? You don’t remember me?”
“Pope...” You feel like you’re choking. How could he know you when you have no idea who he is? You don’t like where this is going.
Trevor continues, “Can’t say I blame you. You were out of your mind wasted that night -”
“What the hell is he talking about?” Pope says, looking between you and Trevor. He wasn’t one to get confrontational or angry, but he didn’t like what he was hearing. He didn’t like how you were acting. Something wasn't adding up. He knew you’ve hooked up with Kooks before, but this one was different. 
“Almost as dead as her daddy,” Rafe chuckles. Something in Pope snaps and he pushes Rafe back by his shoulders. In retaliation, Rafe raises his golf club and smacks it against the middle of Pope’s back, causing him to fall down with a thump. 
“Pope!” You cry and drop the bags you were holding and kneel next to him. 
“Hey,” Trevor touches your shoulder to try and pull you away from the two fighting boys, but you flinch away from him. 
“Don’t touch me! Get away from me!” You cry.
Trevor immediately holds up his hands in surrender and takes a step back. Your outburst causes everyone to freeze in their movements, even Rafe and Pope. The wheels in Topper’s head start to move a little quicker too. He looks between you and Trevor and feels off about your connection. You looked terrified. And Y/N Routledge was almost never terrified. 
Even though you are outside, you feel claustrophobic. Your heart is beating so heavily against your ribcage that you wouldn’t be surprised if it were to break your ribs. Pope notices you’re two shades paler and having a hard time breathing. Tears are silently falling down your face and you continue to crawl away form the group of Kooks backwards. 
“Y/N...” Pope says quietly.
“We should go,” Topper says. He never hated you like some of the other Kooks did. Sure you never got along, but a small part of him thought you were cool. He knew something was extremely wrong and he couldn’t help but think it had to do with their friend, Trevor. He looks at Rafe who continues to stare at you with surprise. “Dude.”
“Yeah...” Rafe says slowly. “Trev, let’s go.”
The three Kooks scatter back to the golf course. You squeeze your eyes tightly and grip the fabric of your shirt, pulling it away from your body because right now it just feels suffocating. 
“Hey.” Pope crouches down near you and lightly touches your shoulder. His touch feels like an electric shock, making you flinch even further away. When you open your eyes, you’re back in some random Kook’s house on a mattress you’re unfamiliar with. “They’re gone. Hey, they’re gone.” Pope tries to be gentle with you, but he also wants to get you out of here and in a more comfortable setting. 
“JJ,” You manage to say. Your throat feels on fire. “I need J-”
Pope immediately starts fumbling for his cell phone and dials his best friend’s number. He bounces on the balls of his feet as he impatiently listens to the ringing. “Come on. Come on.”
JJ answers. “Hey! Sorry I’m on my way back now. You’ll never believe how much this lady tipped me. I swear I’m coming on every -”
“JJ, shut up and listen to me. Y/N...” He glances back at you and sees you’re hunched over with your forehead resting on your knees and your fingers through your hair. “She’s having a panic attack or something. I - I don’t -”
“Where are you?” JJ’s once elated tone has dropped to a more serious one. 
Pope tries explaining what part of the golf course they are near. 
“Okay. I’ll be there in five minutes. Pope, get her under some shade or something. And if you can, try to get her to look at you. She needs to open her eyes to see where she is.” Pope nods, forgetting that JJ can’t see him. “Pope!”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Okay, doing that now.”
JJ hangs up the phone so he can run faster. 
Meanwhile, Pope crouches down in front of you again and says, “Y/N/N, hey. Can you open your eyes?” Pope lightly taps your ankles. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s just me.” You slowly blink your eyes open and sniffle back the tears. Pope smiles when he sees he’s made some sort of progress. “Hey. JJ’s on his way. Why don’t we move you under some shade? It’s getting pretty hot out here. Can I help you up?”
You nod and let Pope help you up and bring you a couple feet away under a large tree. Your back rests against the bark and you try taking deep breaths to calm the swirling nausea in your stomach. 
It was Trevor. It had to be Trevor. From the way he looked at you, to the innuendo Rafe made. You knew in your heart that it was Trevor who had hurt you that night. 
A part of you always wanted to know who did this, but another part of you wished you never figured it out. Because now his face will haunt you forever.
About a minute later, you hear another set of footsteps quickly coming your way. You panic, your immediate thought going to Trevor. Would he come back? 
But then you hear your boyfriend’s beautiful voice. “Hey.” His tone is soft and gentle. “Hey, baby. Look at me. It’s JJ.” You open your eyes and meet the lovely blue one’s you fell in love with. He grins at you and takes your hands in his. 
“I’m so - sorry,” You sob, suddenly hating yourself for bringing this back up to your boyfriend and ruining Pope’s work routine. “I - I -”
“Hey,” JJ says and pulls your hands to his chest, palms down. “Remember what we did last time? Match my breathing, okay? Ready? Take a deep breath.”
Pope watches with awe silently from the sidelines. He’s never seen this side of either one of you. You so panic stricken and scared, JJ so intent with concern and intuitive. 
You follow JJ’s breathing until you feel calm enough to breathe on your own. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” JJ shakes his head. “Don’t be sorry. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
You look down at your hands that are folded in your lap. You want to tell him. Of course you want to tell him. But you’re afraid of what happens next. You’re afraid of how JJ will respond.
“Rafe, Topper, and their friend Trevor jumped us,” Pope answers for you. Like JJ, he’s also curious about what happened. Of course he was there for the physical breakdown, but he wants to know more about what you’re going through emotionally. 
“Did they hurt you?” JJ looks back at you and inspects every inch of your open skin for signs of scratches or bruises. 
You shake your head. “No.”
“Then...”
“I know who it was,” You say, your voice as soft as a whisper. 
“What? You mean. -” JJ’s head snaps back and forth between you and Pope. “Who?”
You dip your chin into your chest to hide your tears as they start to flow again. You take a deep breath and look back up at your boyfriend. “Trevor.”
“Who the fuck is Trevor?” JJ looks at Pope. 
Pope shrugs, “I don’t know. He was golfing with the other two Kooks.”
“Where’d they go?” JJ stands up, causing both you and Pope to follow him.
“No, JJ -” You try to pull him back to you but he slips his wrist out of your grip. 
“JJ!” Pope calls out to JJ who walks in the direction the other three disappeared to. 
“JJ, stop!” Your voice cracks which makes JJ turn around to look at you. “Please. I just want to go home.”
JJ freezes and bites down on his bottom lip, feeling conflicted. His head is telling him to run after the Kooks and beat every single one of their faces in until he finds the one named Trevor. But his heart is telling him to walk back to you and take care of you. 
“Okay,” he decides and wraps his arm around your waist. “Let’s get you home.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After you fall asleep later that night, JJ tip toes out of your room and silently shuts your door behind him. You passed out early, exhausted from the panic attacks and crying. In the living room, Pope, Kie, and John B are waiting. You had no other choice but to tell John B what happened. Now that Pope knew, it felt wrong keeping it from your brother as well. Of course it caused an argument, but in the end, John B only wants the best for you and to protect you. Which is why they’re here now.
“Ready to go?” JJ looks directly at your brother.
John B holds up his car keys. “Let’s go.”
“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?” Kie grabs John B by the elbow and glares at both of them.
“Where do you think?” JJ says.
When Pope and Kie stepped out of the room to check on you, JJ and John B both secretly decided that when you fell asleep, the two of them would sneak out and find this Trevor person and give him what he deserves. 
“Don’t be stupid,” Pope says, looking between the two. “You know how this works. The two of you end up getting in trouble and he gets to walk away clean.”
“I don’t care. I’ll kill him -”
“You can’t,” Kie says.
“I’m not asking for your permission, Kie!”
“Where’s the gun?” Kie says. “If you’re going to do this, I’m not letting you bring the gun. Leave it here.”
JJ looks up at John B who reluctantly nods his head for JJ to give it up. The blonde sighs and reaches into the back of his waistband and pulls it out.
“This is a bad idea,” Pope says again even though he knows the other two don’t give a shit. In a way, he kind of respects it. He would go to if he didn’t have a scholarship to worry about.
“Keep an eye on her. We’ll be back in a couple hours,” John B says.
“You better hope you are. Because if you’re not, you’re only going to be making this worse for her,” Kie tells them.
Kie’s words have both John B and JJ rethinking their decision. But only for a split second. 
JJ nods. “Don’t worry. I’d never leave my girl behind.”
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apocalypticgargoyle · 3 years
Text
𝘽𝙇𝙊𝙊𝘿𝙔 𝙆𝙉𝙐𝘾𝙆𝙇𝙀𝙎 | 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙨 (18+)
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∘ request(s): 
“aaah your edgy karl is just *chefs kiss* so good!! could i get the reader patching up edgy karl after a particularly bad fight?”
“can we get something a bit softer for the edgy!karl series? Just love when guys like that are soft with the reader xx”
"ouu maybe for the next part of the edgy karl series reader makes it all about karl? like they end up sleeping in the same bed or smth and while karl is still sleepy/barely waking up reader just makes him feel good"
∘ pairing: edgy!Karl Jacobs x fm!reader
∘ warnings: nsfw (18+), mentions of blood, mentions of fighting, drug use (smoking weed), crude language, oral (m. receiving)
∘ word count: 2417
∘ links: AO3, prev. chapter
∘ a/n: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REQUESTS FOR EDGY!KARL. YOUR IDEAS ARE HNNNNGGG SO GOOD JESUS CHRIST! 
Also if you guys would like to make some of the edgy!Karl edits for the headers and submit them to me, I'll use them :D
This is a bit more dOmEsTiC than this series has been going but, hopefully you guys are still into it. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good week! Happy reading :)
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The air was crisp as the sun began to set; night slinking towards your apartment to envelop you and Karl within its darkness. The two of you watched intently as the ball of light crept towards the horizon line. Karl's arm threaded across your torso, fingertips brushing against the skin of your stomach peeking from beneath the hem of your shirt. You leaned your head against his embrace, wrapping your own arms around his as you sat between his legs. The sound of soft chatter from other floors beneath you filled the expanses between your apartment building and the one adjacent to it. As night fell, people cracked open their windows and hung their feet over the fire escapes. 
You and Karl had been out prior to this, sharing a joint as you watched the stars roll in. Karl's back was pressed against the brick wall beneath your window, the blunt hanging loosely from his slender fingers as he bent his knee, giving you something else to curl your arms around. From across the way, someone began playing music, making someone in the apartment directly under the two of you to begin singing. 
Karl took a drag off the blunt before letting the thick smoke pour from between his lips. "I think I need to teach you how to skate," he stated rather nonchalantly as he offered you the joint. 
You scoffed at his remark, leaning your head back against his chest and taking the blunt from him. "I'd like to see you try," you shot back jokingly, fully knowing you didn't have the balance and he didn’t have the patience, yet something churned within you at the thought. You knew you shouldn't have thought anything of it really, but Karl sharing a portion of something he's passionate about with you was next to a love language. 
Since spring break had begun, Karl had begun staying over at your place more frequently. During these nearly intimate moments where it had been only the two of you keeping each other company, you'd come to see Karl as more of a friend than just a booty call. Slowly peeling back the layers of his esoteric aura, you found out his quirks that you'd come to only associate with him, such as the brand of nail polish he trusted because it was a recommendation from a girl in his art class, or how when he was thinking about something deeper than a food order, he'd slick a hand through his hair to brush his bangs out of his eyes. 
Yet this meeting was spurred by something else. He’d shown up on your doorstep with a black eye and bruised knuckles. You knew his housemates were beginning to trickle back to campus, so you figured almost instantly that Todd had figured out what the two of you had been up to when he was gone. 
You pulled your front door open, tugging your hoodie closer to your body against the wind from outside. Karl stood before you, leaning a hand against your doorframe with a small smile plastered over his busted lip. There was a cut across his cheekbone as if whoever had hit him wore various rings. You gave into the impulses ringing in your body and reached up for his face, gently brushing a thumb against his jaw, which you could now tell was also beginning to bruise. One of his hands reached up to hold your wrist, his fingers grazed against your skin with such gentleness. The action was almost a juxtaposition to the way he looked. 
Karl sat down on your toilet, his eyes watching each of your movements as you fished through your cabinet for your roommate’s first aid kit. He wasn’t acting like he had been dragged around instead, he seemed more excited to see you than anything. Maybe that was due to the fact that you fed him, and stray dogs always come back to food. 
After clearing most of the dried blood from his wounds, you went about disinfecting and sealing him up. You stood between his legs, gently dabbing at the cut on his cheek, trying desperately not to think about how you were finally living out one of your fantasies. He leaned into your touch almost as if your skin held the elixir of life. You fought not to ask him what had happened because you knew he didn’t like talking about it, but you couldn’t help but worry about him a bit. 
You hugged the arm he had around you tighter to your chest, your eyes fixating on an open window across the way from the two of you. There were two people having dinner in a room next to the window, a warm glow from the lamps inside spilling into the dimming night. "Did it get lonely in that big ass house?" You inquired, watching his fingers reach to throw out the dead bud. That hand moved to play with your own, threading his fingers in and out of yours. The bandage wrapped around the base of his fingers stiffened his movements, but he seemed not to pay any mind to it. “I mean, even though you spent most of your time over here…” 
You felt him shrug against you. "I don't know." He was quiet for a minute as he thought. "I had the memories of what we did in—what did you call him? Todd?—Todd's bed, to keep me company," he quipped, making you snort. You leaned further back against him, enough to where your head was resting on his shoulder so you were looking up at the faint stars dotting the light-polluted sky. He rested his chin on your shoulder quietly. 
As the night grew colder, the two of you climbed back through the window, the haze of the weed still stimulating your mood, yet you quickly found yourself falling asleep in Karl's arms as he tucked your plush comforter around the two of you. His breathy sigh cascaded over your shoulders as he dug his face into your hair. He'd discarded his hoodie before joining your side, so his skin was now warm and inviting as he pressed against you. You bit back a laugh as you silently wished his aftercare was as soft as moments like these. 
A crack of thunder shook you from a dream, pulling you awake rather quickly. Your gaze lifted to peer at the clock on your nightstand as the rain seemed to hammer harder on the windows of your bedroom. Karl was sleeping peacefully beside you, arms lazily threaded through your pillows, unintentionally keeping your body closer to him. The bruising on his face somehow had gotten worse, but you were hoping there wasn’t any permanent damage. Maybe he’d have a scar like Johnny Cade? 
You slipped into his arms, earning a content sigh from Karl as his hands pushed beneath your shirt to brush his coarse fingers against the soft skin of your back, dipping into the valley of your spine. You pressed your lips against his shoulder before traveling the length of his collarbone and ending at his neck. He hummed in pleasure, still groggy from sleep. You let your lips glide over his skin, before leaning up to kiss him softly. He pulled you closer to him, deepening the kiss with hints of passion despite the fact that he was still taking his time to wake up completely. 
Your hands danced towards his sweatpants and you felt him smile against your lips. You pulled away from him slightly, digging your face into the crook of his neck. “Let me make you feel good,” you leered, earning a lazy chuckle from him, his fingers knotting into your hair. A clap of lightning flashed outside, the thunder following to sound as if the storm was sitting on your building’s roof. 
Your fingers dipped beneath his waistband, palming him over his boxers slightly. A hushed moan of gratitude slipped past his lips as he softly bucked his hips against your hand while you applied more pressure. Karl sealed his lips against yours, the kiss sending heat throughout your body as his tongue pressed into your mouth, swirling with your own. A moan echoed through his body and into your mouth as he hardened against your hand, asking for more. One of his hands grazed the length of the arm that was working on him, his hand gently grasping your wrist. 
You heeded his silent requests, moving your hand so you could straddle him. You ground your hips against him, the friction between your clothes making the fabrics seem thicker and more barrier-like than anything. One of his hands pressed against the small of your back, driving you harder against him. You broke the kiss breathlessly, sitting off of him and tugging your shirt over your head, his eyes grazed over you almost thankfully. 
You pushed back the heavy covers, slinking down his legs until you were laying flat, tugging his boxers down in front of you. Your room flashed a bright white as the lightning from outside began to pick up. The sound of the rain's war against your windows was the only sound mixing with Karl's soft moan as your hand wrapped around the base of his cock. You pressed your lips against his tip, one of his hands moving to rest behind his head so he could see you better. Your fingers icked to please him, his body reacting to each of your movements. 
He tensed under your grasp as you began to pump your hand, drawing out another soft moan from the man above you. "Does that feel good?" You taunted looking up at him through your eyelashes. He chuckled slightly, a dusting of pink settling into his cheeks. Your tongue slid along his length, basking in how his moans edged on being vulgar as you eased your mouth around his arousal. You bobbed your head once before pulling off of him, continuing to speed your hand motions gradually. His gaze was hazy as he attempted to avoid your sultry eye contact, him twitching at your movements each time he did. 
His lips were redder as he chewed on the flesh of them, evident as he continued to fight each moan wanting to escape. You were slightly surprised at this, considering Karl was always shamelessly loud. Maybe it was because he was so vulnerable to you know, and you were in charge. 
Your lips slowly traveled back to his arousal, his gray irises swimming with pleasure as you settled into to take him deeper into your mouth. His grip on your arm tightened as you pushed his tip past your lips once again, a strangled groan of pure pleasure hissing through his teeth. As he reached the back of your throat, tears began to brim in the corners of your eyes and his arousal twitched in your mouth. You began to bob your head once again, edging him on further with each of his moans of your name which you knew was a warning that he was close. You alternated the movements of your mouth and hand, making him fight against bucking his hips towards you. His cock tensed and in an instant, hot sticky strands of pleasure were filling your mouth.
He reached forward to brush his finger against your cheek, wiping away some tears that had pressed from your eyes. You pressed your lips against his thigh before crawling back up towards him. He tugged you on top of him again, lips kneading against yours as a silent appreciation. You push his hand back, threading your fingers with his own, careful not to squeeze against his bruised knuckles that you could tell were sore. You bit back a laugh at the thought of your poor broken boy. 
As the rain picked up heavier, you sank down on his arousal, earning a deep moan from Karl. The feeling of him inside of you this early in the day was a new kind of bliss. You curled your hips against him before bending down to press your lips against his, his hand tightening around yours. You ground against him, pushing him deeper into you, looking to elicit more of his sultry noises that alone—you were convinced—could send you over the edge. Your mind was set on getting him to climax again. Your teeth brushed against his teeth before moving alongside his jaw, letting him catch his breath. 
You pushed his shirt up as you sat back, fingers grazing down his chest as you moved, watching his eyes cloud with bliss to replace their morning hue. As you began to pick up your pace and use him as leverage, you held onto the forearm of his that was gripping onto you. He moaned a few curse words, his head dipping back in bliss, causing the veins in his neck to be more prominent. You moved the hand that was holding onto your waist up to your face. You slipped his index finger into your mouth and his lips parted, eyes fully focused on your actions as your tongue swirled around his fingers. 
His attention burned into you, his jaw tensing with each of your tactics. His hand moved from your mouth to wrap around the back of your neck, bringing your lips back to his. As the coolness of his tongue ring grazed against your own tongue, your hips pressed against him harder. You swallowed his moans, feeling him twitch inside of you as you sped up, tightening around him. Thunder shook your tiny apartment again. 
He cursed darkly, biting back another groan. In no time, you felt his heat come undone inside of you, pride swelling in your chest at how easy it was for you to get him off. Pleasure drenched his expression, gray irises blooming with bliss and contentment. He pressed his lips against yours briefly before you curled into bed beside him. The two of you sat in silence, listening to the rain. 
Karl cleared his throat slightly. "If we do that enough times, do you think we'd get horny whenever there's a storm?" 
You furrowed your brows. "What, like you want me to Pavlov you?" 
"Yeah."
There was a beat of silence as you fought how to respond to his question. "It'd be interesting to be in your head for a day," you opted. 
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Tags:
@mrwinemaker @madsbbg @idiotinnit
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haikyuucute · 4 years
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ooh!! untameable au, the reader gets into a fight with a beta and he isn't there to stop it so she loses the fight and her pride at the same time(that doesn't change her beliefs tho)she's feeling so discouraged she can't do anything. ushijima notices after a few days and he steps in and takes care of her. so he takes a bath with her and even tries to build her a nest, he puts her in the nest and starts cuddling and scenting her and encourages her to get better mentally, angst to fluff basically
Yoooo angst to fluff is by FAR my favorite thing to write. (I once wrote a 10 chaptered angst to fluff fic, and I still get comments telling me I had them bawling their eyes out😈😈). Ty for requesting!
A/N: For those of you who don’t know, this is based of my Omegaverse “Untamable” series you can find on my masterlist
Warning: angst, bullying, depression
Comfort
Nothing had ever frightened Ushijima more than the day you stopped talking.
His fiery little omega that always had something to say, was completely rendered silent.
Your eyes were dull, missing the life he admired in them. And you made yourself small, hunched shoulders, head and eyes cast down. And your scent was so bitter that all he wanted to do was hold you and hide you away from the world.
He blamed himself that this happened. He should’ve walked with you when you were heading to your dorm during lunch to grab something you forgot, he knows you told him no, that you could do it yourself, but he should’ve gone anyway... it was what any other alpha would’ve done.
And because he wasn’t there to protect you, you were now in the worst state he had ever seen you in.
He made sure the beta that had done this to you got what he deserved.
In some ways beta’s were more dangerous than alphas. Alphas liked to get physical, beta’s liked to attack the mind.
And the beta you ended up fighting with, humiliated you in front of a group of omegas, alphas, and betas. Making a show of how powerless you were as you ended up on the ground, foot planted on your back while he spewed the meanest words about how pathetic you were, making everyone laugh at you.
You locked yourself in your dorm afterwards and refused to even let Ushijima in, and you hadn’t showed up to his dorm that night to sleep with him—Ushijima ended up sleeping outside of your dorm room that night because of how worried he was about you.
The next morning you had found the strength to get up and get changed for the school day, but you didn’t speak to him or anyone else.
He kept you close to him throughout the day, making you sit on his lap when he could, holding your hand, and keeping you tucked under his arm when you walked in the hallways. He hadn’t even spoken much to his friends, instead he kept his attention on you, subtly scenting you throughout the day. Ushijima wasn’t good with words, but he’d make sure you knew he was there for you.
By the time practice rolled around, you came with him as usual where he draped his volleyball jacket around you while you sat, so you’d be engulfed in his scent while you waited.
It wasn’t until the following day and you had shown not even the slightest improvement in your mood that he made a decision.
After practice he was bringing you to the train station and buying two tickets.
He was bringing you to his house.
-
You sat between Ushijima’s legs inside the bathtub, knees to your chest with your face buried in them.
His hands gently massaged your scalp, fingers threading through your wet locks. He used his own shampoo, fully intent on making sure you smelled just like him by the end of the night. And he repeated the actions with his body wash, taking his time to hopefully make your tenseness go away.
...You still hadn’t said a single word.
He wrapped his arms around your waist from behind, pressing his face into your neck, nosing gently up and down at your scent gland. The bitter scent was still strong, and he never thought he’d miss your scent as much as he did now... he missed you.
For the first time since you both arrived, he finally spoke.
”Speak to me Omega,” it wasn’t a command. You’ve never heard his voice as gentle as it was now, “Your Alpha’s here, I’ve got you...... please Omega...” he nipped softly at your bond mark before pressing a kiss to the same spot.
His heart plummeted when he was met with only more silence.
”Wait here for me.”
With that he stood up and stepped out of the bathtub.
He had disappeared into his bedroom for a while, as you continued to sit in the warm water that was slowly becoming cooler the longer you sat.
He eventually returned, easily picking you up and towel drying you before he dressed you in a t-shirt of his and a pair of his sweatpants that was way too big for you.
He then picked you up again and brought you to his bedroom where you saw how he attempted to assemble a nest for you.
A pile of blankets and pillows sat on the bed, as well as his clothing— anything that smelled like him.
He placed you down before climbing in himself, drawing you close to his body and pulling the blankets over the both of you.
He placed your face against his neck, making sure your nose was right against his scent gland before stroking your sides softly, scenting you.
He did this for the entire night. Relaxing when you fell asleep against him, but he hadn’t stopped his ministrations— he wouldn’t stop until you were okay.
Ushijima was terrified... he had never seen you shut down in such a way. He didn’t know what he was going to do if you didn’t start returning to your old self soon.
For the first time ever, Ushijima was questioning himself as an alpha.
He eventually fell asleep with you in his arms, but was stirred awake a few hours later with you shaking in his hold.
He blinked, realizing his neck was growing wet with your tears and he finally noticed the tight grip of your hands on his shirt.
”(F/N)?”
You sniffled, “W-Waka-kun...”
Ushijima’s breath hitched— you spoke.
He pulled back slightly, hand gripping your jaw, he so desperately needed to see your face.
It was swollen with tears, shuddering breaths escaping your lips as you cried— and yet you were still the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen.
”My beautiful Omega... I’m sorry for not protecting you.”
Another sob left your throat at his words as you fiercely shook your head, “‘s not y-your f-fault.”
He pulled you close again, your face back against his neck, “We’ll discuss it later. Just know that I’m here now.”
You sniffled again, “L-love you.”
His hand stroked your hair, “I love you too, sweet Omega.”
-
Requests are open!
-
Taglist:
@shiguraaa @tycrackculture @kynyta @cuddlesslut @baeshijima @yams046 @kkimoka @elegant-gypsophilia @mrkoala4prsdnt @sapphy-taffy6969 @yougivemebutterfliess @melanieacademy @yeet-these-hoez @nekomasmeow @thirsthourdemon @nekoma-hoe @curiouslilbeast @badboysdoitbetter2 @coupsieddori @mizuchan24-blog @mer92 @voids-universe @savemesteeb @basicallyberry @cherryonigiri @k-eijiakaashi @ethylalcoholforfandoms @sanemisthiccbih @a-book-lover-things @rue-was-here @reject-tinkerbell @kawaiipotatochan @mortifiedmoon @amirahroronoa @asahi-is-jesus-periodt @kkoalaworld @lilidrawz @royalmuffinsworld
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hanatiny · 3 years
Text
Perfect Illusion
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a/n: this fic is inspired by this post (although I modified the idea a bit)! for those interested, I even made a spotify playlist to hopefully enhance the experience~
pairing: royal guard!San x royal guard/spy!f!reader
genre: smut
word count: 2113
warnings: royal AU, weapons (knives and daggers), brief mention of infidelity (which I do not condone), swearing, teasing, dry humping, hair pulling, name-calling (they keep insulting each other... oops), enemies with benefits, implied enemies to lovers (kind of), slight knife kink, implied pain kink, exhibitionism, unprotected sex, no clear dom/sub roles
-----
Despite excelling at undercover work, you weren’t known be incredibly ‘out there’ in the way you executed your tasks, so this particular mission you had been given must have been the one you disliked the most as of now, not to mention that you despised the tactic of seduction.
You did your best to attract as little attention as possible in order to carry out your information gathering in peace. Although it seemed that in doing so, you had become a little too suspicious for one of the guards. You heaved a sigh, meeting his eyes while most of his face remained covered by the hood and the mask he wore to not look like the odd one out at the royal masquerade event. He nudged his head towards a nearby balcony after asking for one of his fellow guards to watch his spot, signalling you to follow.
Albeit slowly, you did what was asked of you - your beliefs were much too deeply rooted in obedience not to. Once outside, the guard closed and locked the door behind you. Shrugging off his hood, he took off his mask while you did the same so the two of you were equally bare to each other.
“San?!” “Y/n?!” You both gasped aloud in equal shock and surprise, slapping a hand over each other’s mouths to prevent anyone from hearing how casually you spoke with each other.
Prying your hand away from his face, although still holding it in his own, San quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at you, “What, pray tell, are you doing here at this party wearing that?”
Your voice was teasing as you spoke and he gestured towards the black dress you were wearing, “Oh, this old thing~?” He rolled his eyes at your playful tone but allowed you to continue, “As much as I didn’t want to, His Highness requested me to keep my eyes and ears open for anything or anyone suspicious... and had the bright idea of having me use seduction to get the job done.”
Despite knowing how much you hated the technique in question, San thought it fun to tease and rile you up about it, “Do I classify as suspicious then? Cause you’ve definitely caught my interest and seduced me...~”
You rolled your eyes, grabbing him and pulling him close by the tie he was wearing before whispering in his ear, “With how flirty you’re being, definitely. I might have to arrest you now, sunshine~ But if you play your cards right, I might let you fuck me, pretty boy.”
It was your turn to cock an eyebrow when San nonchalantly turned the situation around on you and pinned you against the wall roughly, both of your wrists above your head in one of his own while an almost bored grin danced across on your face at the act. “That all you got~?”
“Not at all, sweetheart...~” “Show me then,” you challenged without hesitation, hooking one of your legs around his hip to draw his body closer and flush against yours, “show me what you can do, unless you want to admit that a woman could dom you~”
Bullseye. You hit him right in his sore spot, knowing him to be much too competitive to let such a cheeky comment slide. You saw something shift in his eyes, something dark, and you knew you had him right then and there, “You asked for it... don’t complain if you limp afterwards.”
“Wanna bet~?” San effectively shut you up by melding his plush lips to yours, your hands tugging greedily at his already messy hair while the grinding of your hips against his coaxed a soft moan from his lips.
“You really don’t intend to make it easy for me do you, little vixen...” He whispered against your lips, his voice low and raspy as he did so, causing you to give him a casual shrug, “You know me, I always want to be the one who comes out on top. Whether that is in the physical sense or not couldn’t matter any less to me, frankly.”
San huffed softly, he knew you were competitive but so was here. However, the difference between the two of you was that you were willing to play dirty to get what you want.
As such, you couldn’t prevent a slight smirk from tugging at your lips when his breath hitched audibly after he pushed the hem of your dress up to your hips and spotted the daggers strapped to one of your thighs. “Staring longer won’t make the image imprint itself in your mind any faster. And in case you haven’t noticed with how much you want my daggers on your body, I’m worked up and hereby telling you to hurry up and fuck me. Right here, right now.”
“Getting feisty and demanding, are we? Two can play that game, Y/n...~” Reaching into the inside of his jacket, San pulled out a knife and held it to your throat while the cocky smirk never left your face, “Are you just gonna keep threatening me with a good time so that I’ll walk right back in there and tell everyone you’re my bitch, or are you actually gonna do something about that obvious boner in your pants?”
San’s eyebrow twitched at your audacity, the discovery of the fact that you had foregone underwear tonight not helping his dwindling patience in the slightest, “Pathetic how desperate you are for my cock, you minx. Needing to cover it up with such a tough girl act...”
He trailed off, watching you closely as he pocketed his knife and used his now unoccupied hand to quickly unfasten his pants and free his aching length from its confines. He stroked himself a few times, the seconds passing torturously slowly in your eyes as you licked your lips in anticipation before throwing your head back against the wall with a strangled gasp when he fully inserted himself inside of you without warning.
“You son of a-” “Shush doll, don’t want anyone to hear what we’re doing out here do you~?” You huffed as he interrupted you, pretending to think for a moment before shaking your head with a smile, “I actually do, imagine the surprise when they’d hear that two of the royal guards are all over each other...~”
San’s eyes darkened once more before narrowing them at you, “You asked for it, then... Be prepared to scream.”
“Such big words from the man who’d let me spit in his mouth~” You weren’t having it though, only mewling and moaning softly while San repeatedly snapped his hips into yours. His pace was rough and quick, eager to get both you and himself off, “Won’t even, fuck- won’t even scream for me... am I not fucking you hard enough?”
“Mmh... nope~!” You replied with a toothy grin, gasping sharply when San thrusted inside of you particularly harshly. “That better?” “Much~” He continued to move at the harsh pace he had just set, his breath hitching when his hand accidentally brushed against the leather garter still fixed securely around your thigh.
He felt himself twitch violently when you spoke through low pants, his thrusts stuttering, “Wouldn’t you love to have me trail one of those daggers over your sensitive skin, sunshine? Perhaps even pierce it a little here and there to show who you belong to~?”
Those last words came out unintentionally but you didn’t feel the need to correct yourself, considering that your possessiveness appeared to be the last straw for San judging by the warmth that filled you as he came, your own orgasm washing over you shortly after. Once you had both caught your breath, he carefully pulled out of you and helped you straighten out your dress after doing the same to his own clothes.
You implying that he was yours was undoubtedly a matter to be discussed, but for now, you two had a masquerade to return to. As such, San handed your mask back to you after having previously stored it in one of his jacket pockets. You both secured your masks back on your faces so that your identities were concealed once more, although San decided to not pull his hood back up.
He unlocked the balcony door before turning to you with a teasing albeit charming smile, holding his hand out for you to take, “Will you let me have this dance, m’lady~?”
You found it amusing how quickly he could switch back to his professional persona, placing your hand in his own regardless, “It’d be my pleasure~”
He led you back inside of the large, well-lit ballroom where no one was any the wiser of what had transpired mere minutes ago, your dress swaying slightly while you danced with San, a small grin painted on your features.
You ended up getting to bed incredibly late, almost stumbling out of it the next morning before quickly making yourself presentable after being requested in the throne room by His Highness himself, wondering what it could possibly be about.
You ran into San on the way there, finding out that he had been called to see the prince as well. Pushing the heavy wooden door open, you weren’t particularly surprised to find it empty besides the presences of you, your companion and Yeosang, who had placed his crown on a pedestal near himself.
Letting his emotionless facade crack a bit, he gave a small smile when he saw the two of you kneel before him as it was custom for the subordinates or the royal family.
“Those who want to wear the crown need to prove they are able to bear its weight.”
Yeosang’s voice rang out through the room, causing you and San to look at each other questioningly and then back up at him in confusion. The older male had never been more glad to not have any other of his court officials or guards besides the two of you inside of his throne room, relieved that he could be blunt about his message.
“I’m sure you both are aware of how I came to be where I am presently, yes?” You both nodded in response. “Then you know my mother was not a true queen and slept her way to the throne. Hell, I’m even a bastard child - her husband was not my father. In short... she was a whore.”
San gasped quietly next to you in surprise at the word choice, causing you to nudge him gently to remind him to focus and listen.
“I don’t want to keep the two of you here any longer than necessary,” the unrightful prince leaned forward, his weight still resting on the arm he had previously propped himself up on, “My coronation is set to be held eleven days from now. Whichever of you comes up with the better plan to cover up my ‘coincidental’ disappearance by then gets to claim the throne.”
It was a tempting offer, that much you had to admit, but it sounded almost too good to actually be true.
“Your Highness-” “Please drop the formalities Y/n, you’ve known me since I was a little child.” The young man in question corrected softly as you cleared your throat with an understanding nod, “Are you sure this will work out as you intend it to? I’m not sure anyone would believe one of your royal guards to be allowed to inherit the crown just like that...”
“Y/n. Surely you’ve noticed how desperate the people are for a ruler who stands with them, even with all the time you spend working? They’ll accept just about anyone. As long as neither of you exposes the truth about any part of my family... do we have a deal?”
San looked at you and met your eyes, lingering for a few beats before getting up from his knees with you following suit as you looked up at the prince and spoke in unison, always up for a challenge - especially if it just so happened to come with a high reward like this one did, “We have a deal.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Now off you two go, there is work to be done~” Yeosang hummed, you and your ‘companion’ bowing respectfully and nodding before turning on your respective heels.
San pulled his hood back over his head and glanced at you with a smug grin that you happily mirrored, both of you making a run for it out of the throne room.
After all, it was only a matter of time and of who created the most perfect illusion, aware that only one of you would come out on top.
----- Taglist (tell me if you wanna be added):
@atinykitty​ @cometoceantrenches @ddeonghwva  @galaxteez @latte-fairytaekwoon @little-precious-baby @multidreams-and-desires @nightqueennyx​ @twancingyunhoe​  @vocalyunho @yunhoiseyecandy
Network tag:
@8makes1teamnet​
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blindbeta · 3 years
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Your Content and Accessibility For the Blind
Hello everyone! I was thinking about accessibility and wanted to make a post to help creators. This is going to cover general accessibility for blind people interacting with your content. Some of it may be obvious to some and this is by no means comprehensive, so feel free to add anything you think of that is helpful. Also, I wanted to include some ideas for DeafBlind people, but I am not DeafBlind or D/deaf, so I simply listed some general accessibility ideas. If anyone has any other tips or things to consider, please add them in a comment or message and I’ll include it here.
Remember, blindness exists on a spectrum. This post will focus on making things accessible for totally blind people, although these tips can also be beneficial for people with residual vision who use screen readers to reduce eye strain, for small text, for clarity, etc. D/deafness and DeafBlindness are also on spectrums. Some DeafBlind people have some hearing, some vision, a little of both, or none of either. If someone asks you for better or different accessibility services for your content, listen and try to accommodate them as best you can. I have provided some links and resources here to attempt to explain accessibility for blind people, which will include blind people who are DeafBlind. The point is accessibility issues can come from both sides whether it be the audio or visual sides.
Some general helpful links:
AFB’s Advice for image descriptions here
Screen-readers here
Improving Accessibility for the DeafBlind community here
How DeafBlind People Use Technology and The Importance of Braille and Transcripts: Understanding Assistive Technology
Online Content:
GIFs, Pictures, Fan-art, PSA and info posts, Memes, Screenshots of Text Posts or Screenshots of Twitter Threads- Provide an image description on your original post! This is the best option, as you probably know your content best and what you wish to draw attention to. More importantly, every reblog will include an image description, which means the blind person doesn’t need to hunt for an image description in the reblogs! If you know more than one language, include image descriptions in those languages.
Note: Always include descriptions when you post images with or about blind people or characters. Particularly fan-art you made of blind characters. If you don’t, consider why and think about how it would feel to be shut out of something about yourself.
What should you include?
Write Image Description in brackets and include End of Image Description at the end for clarification. As for what you should describe, it depends on what the picture is. Include where it is from. For example, “a screenshot of a Twitter thread by BlindBetaIsAwesome”. Include the text and describe any GIFs or images it includes. Write everything out as they appear. Describe emojis as well. When writing out screen names or hashtags, capitalize the first letter of each word. Otherwise screen-readers read it oddly. For example instead of #accessibilityfortheblind try #AccessibilityForTheBlind. If you think someone will want to search a name, include a link.
You should describe what is important in the image, especially for conveying information or humor. General ideas include: image origin, who is in the image, what they’re doing, any relevant colors or clothing, objects they’re holding, their facial expression, any emojis, and any text in the image. Blind people do like to know about color. For NSFW stuff, include ‘NSFW’ at the start, but other than that, yes, blind people also generally like NSFW things described.
Fanfiction:
Generally, fanfic is very accessible to screen-readers and Braille Displays. However, there are a few ways you can make it more accessible.
Pictures: Include alt-text for any images you post such as artwork or character social media posts. Describe it like you would any other image. Alt-text is different from an image description because instead of a screen-reader saying “image” when it finds an image, it will describe the image. An image description is the text included beneath the picture that everyone can see. Including some kind of description, especially for plot-relevant images, can allow all blind readers to experience the fic.
Chat conversations: Again, for hashtags and screen names, capitalize the first letter of each word for the ease of screen-readers. For characters who don’t use capitalization much, you can add a hyphen between each word to make it easier to read like this: blind-beta-likes-fanfic-too.
Emojis: Screen readers can’t fully read emojis like this one that uses keyboard slashes and symbols to create an image ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (image description: emoji of a person shrugging with both palms lifted upwards. End description.) However, they can read emojis that come on a phone such as 🧁which screen readers read as “cupcake”.
Podfics are also good for hearing people with no vision or reduced vision. Having a podfic with good quality (maybe one that can describe images found in the story) will reduce some of the issues listed here and give blind people another, fun way to interact with content. However, I would try to keep in mind the things I mentioned above for the sake of screen-readers and Braille Displays, which are particularly important for some DeafBlind people who may want to read your fanfic and may not be able to hear well enough to use a screen-reader.
Lastly, keep in mind that any kind of comic may be inaccessible to some blind people. Write with them in mind. Include a message at the start of the story, maybe that it contains material from the comic, graphic novel, or print cartoon. If you know of a comic dub, link to it. If there is none, include details in the story so that a non-manga or non-comic reader would be able to understand.
Web-Comics/Web-Graphic-Novels:
First, I did research and found a comic book store for the blind called Comics Empower. Unfortunately, when I click the link provided on Twitter and the articles I read, the site seems to be down.
However, this is about you all and sharing your comics with blind readers. You have a few options:
Alt-text. This is descriptions directly ‘inside’ the image, which is not visible to everyone. You can read about alt-text for comics specially here and you can read general info for alt-text for screen-readers and Braille Displays here.
Image descriptions. These are descriptions of each comic page (hopefully with a paragraph for each panel) that can be visible to anyone. You can describe your comic, who is in it, what they’re doing, and what they’re saying, probably beneath the image.
Comic Audio Performances. These are accessible to both blind and sighted audiences. These are videos using actors for the dialogue, sound effects, and moving comic panels. Pros for this style include increased viewership, increased accessibility for the blind, and perhaps more revenue if you have a way to monetize the content. Cons include that it is more work, could potentially cost money when hiring actors initially, may not be accessible to anyone with hearing loss, and may still require a bit of audio description for some panels that are hard to follow with only sound effects.
What can you do?
A few ideas I had were to use a combination of image descriptions and audio performances to make the comics accessible to a number of people who may be blind, or DeafBlind. Having options is helpful. For ther issue of some panels needing extra description in order to make sense, I thought of including time-stamps and descriptions in the description section, labeling it as image descriptions for the blind. Include dialogue for reference. Or an audio description could be added such as:
Audio narration: “Bee sits on a couch writing.”
Sound Effect of a purring cat.
Audio narration: “Blind Beta picks up an orange cat and puts him on the couch next to them.”
Dialogue: “I’m so glad I have a cat to cuddle with!”
I will touch on this in the video section, but while it is sadly not possible to add audio descriptions onto YouTube as of 2021, you can add them manually through websites you like YouDescribe. For your comics, I suggest, reading about YouDescribe, downloading the app, creating a narration transcript for your web comic performance, and posting the described audio performance onto YouDescribe. Post both versions as close to the same time as you can, and include a link to the described version in the YouTube description. A glance at YouDescribe will tell you not all videos are available with descriptions and not all blind people are aware of this service. Not all videos are searchable in their library either. However, it is an option I wanted to include.
You could also simply include the audio narration in your main YouTube video if you would like. Or any combination of my suggestions you feel comfortable with.
YouTube Videos/Video Clips:
I wanted to cover YouTube videos and video clips shared on websites like tumblr. For small clips, image descriptions and transcripts could probably be listed together. I have seen this done and it seems to help people.
Again, the original poster should post the description with the video. This is because they know the most important parts and because all reblogs of the post will include the description, so no one will have to hunt down a description that may not exist.
For the clip or clip compilation, mention where the clips come from, who is in them, and what they are doing. You could probably have a separate paragraph for each clip and include times-stamps if possible.
For videos you post on YouTube, descriptions can be very helpful! Unfortunately, YouTube does not support adding an audio description track at this time. Ideally, YouTube would have a description track one could turn on and off such as with subtitles. Until then, if you want to add a description, you should add one yourself when you post the video onto YouTube or any other website.
Before I get into how, let’s go over something else.
What videos need descriptions?
-Recipe videos - especially ones with only text. Ingredients, steps, measures, methods, any flourishes or special scenery (such as when shopping for ingredients) should be described. Blind people don’t just want you to read the recipe to them. They want to know what is happening in the video and how it is being done.
-Tutorials - These often contain a voice-over and accompanying images to demonstrate. A creator can opt to simply include more visual description along with the other information in the voice-over or add extra narration later (see the “How?” section below). For these videos, make sure to avoid or expand on any visually dependent parts such as “click here” or “fold here” or “when you finish, it should look like this”. Videos that contain only text and demonstration, however, will need a more traditional audio description the same as any other video.
-Silent aesthetic videos - Sometimes containing music or focusing on natural noise, these videos are usually vlogs with soothing activities or daily routines. They often show scenery, pretty things, or tours. Because these videos are silent, sometimes containing only text, they are not accessible. However, they can be easy to describe, perhaps in a soothing or educational fashion.
-Music videos - Because these videos are by nature visual, they may not be accessible. They may also have inconsistent, poor, or changing lighting for aesthetic purposes or set changes. This means audio descriptions would be helpful.
-Text-based videos - Obviously these are not accessible or may be difficult to read depending on font size, style, or background. For these, putting the text in the description may suffice. Label it so that blind people are aware they are getting the same material. If the text includes pictures or short clips, you could also simply include your own narration on the video itself or see the “How?” section below for another alternative.
-Game Play-Throughs - Games can sometimes be completely inaccessible pe very difficult depending on the person’s level of site. A lot of video games a not accessible or difficult to play, with quick-moving graphics, perhaps small text, or other difficulties. Because of this, blind people may enjoy game plays on YouTube for video games and mobile games.
-Skits or other performances - Think of these as Netflix shows with audio description tracks. Blind people may miss out on some visual humor, plot elements, or other fun visual aspects like costumes.
-Original Films, Animation, Clips From Shows - Again, think of it as any TV show that needs to description to cover visual aspects of what is happening. Scenery, characters, what they’re doing, any text, facial expressions, etc.
Pet videos- Because pets are cute and they should be described! Especially because these videos are sometimes hard to follow, such as a pet doing a trick.
How? How Do We Provide This?
There is always the option to add your own audio descriptions. However, that way confuse already-existing narration or may not be possible for already-published videos. You may also have trouble speaking and wish for someone else to provide audio descriptions. The video may be a music video or one you want to remain silent for the aesthetic. You may want to add a description to a video you enjoy that is not one you uploaded personally.
A free website and mobile app called YouDescribe can help with that. It allows people to add audio descriptions to videos on YouTube. You can even describe videos on a wishlist. Find out more here.
If you describe your video or have it described, be sure to link to the YouDescribe video in the description of your YouTube version so that people can find it easily, or note that it is available on YouDescribe.
Here is a link to the website
And a link to the app.
This site may be a bit too niche, but I figure if it helps one person, I’ll be happy. My entire blog is niche, when you think about it- targeting writers who specifically want to write and read about blind characters. It’ll be fine.
Keep in mind that audio descriptions may not be accessible to all DeafBlind people. An inclusive option could be to include a description under your video so people with Braille Displays can read it.
Print Books, Audiobooks, Large Print Books, or Braille Books?
Let’s get into something you writers might be interested in. Books! Let’s say you wrote a book with a blind character. How do you make sure it can be accessed by blind readers? You want to have a few options.
Print books - These are accessible to people with reduced vision. It is also possible to scan print books to read with voiceover, but I can’t imagine many people buying books simply to scan unless they borrowed/found it. So it could be an option, I suppose. Scanning books also takes time because you need to do each individual page.
Audiobooks - Audiobooks are great. They are accessible to blind people who can hear. They are cheaper to produce than Braille books, take up less space, and are better for the environment. They can be expensive when you buy them. Libraries have extensive collections now, however, because libraries don’t usually have any Braille books and very few large print books, not all blind people use them, even for digital access. However,many blind people love audiobooks so it a good way to make sure your content is accessible.
As of now, my library app is accessible with a screenreader, so reading audiobooks is possible. E-books are not currently accessible with a screen-reader on this particular app.
Make sure to release your print books and audiobooks at the same time or as soon as possible. It isn’t fair for blind people to have to wait, although there are cases where not having an audiobook is understandable. Keep in mind that the less options you have, the less accessible your content will be.
Large Print Books - I used to get large print books myself. I would say it is less likely publishers will want to publish large print books because they are, of course, larger and take up more space. (Not as much as Braille books, but we’ll get into that.) As you may assume, they are also less popular with readers. Publishers make exceptions for textbooks, so if you are making a textbook or an educational book, particularly one with drawings, publishers might allow it. They also might consider making large print editions of children’s books. Large print books can sometimes be found at libraries, although they are usually crammed into their own limited section. That shows how rare it is for large print books to be printed compared to regular-sized books. I have an extra note about this in the children’s book section, but for the most part, I think you can get away with not having a large print edition of your book.
Braille Books - I should you one doesn’t just make a Braille book. Feelings toward them are generally complicated. They can wear down over time, cost a lot, and take up a lot of space. One volume of a book is several volumes of Braille books. Libraries don’t generally have them- you have to request them from various places like The National Library Service for the Blind (NLS). For more information about obtaining or borrowing Braille books, look here.
Braille Books have largely been replaced by refreshable Braille displays and audiobooks. However, they are still important. They can also help DeafBlind people, if a book cannot be read on a Braille display (see the section on e-books below). My suggestion would be to skip Braille books unless you are writing for children (see the Children’s Books section) or your book contains many diagrams that need to be embossed.
Children’s Books -
I wanted to briefly discuss children’s books. With children’s books, you will, of course, want to have a print book and an audiobook available, perhaps even someone reading the book on YouTube. If the book has pictures, descriptions of the pictures would be nice. This is also where I think large print and Braille books may be not only possible or more likely, but important. Children are just learning to read and will continue to explore a love for reading. Therefore, a lack of reading material can be challenging.
If possible, you may want to consider asking your publisher if large print or Braille versions are possible. While websites are available so that children can get books, you may want to ask for your book to be published in these formats if your story has a blind MC.
Braille literacy is declining in the blind community, with children (and frankly many others) choosing to use VoiceOver and audiobooks to read rather than Braille. Being able to read helps reinforce spelling, grammar, meaning in ways that are not possible with having things read to you. That said, children should also be encouraged to learn technology and use audiobooks when they feel comfortable.
If you are publishing a children’s book, particularly with a blind MC, consider what your options are for increasing accessibility.
E-Books:
This is one of the more accessible options, as it can be read with a screen-reader or Braille display. E-books are also common enough that they are released at the same time as print books. The text can usually be adjusted and readers usually have a Search feature. However, accessibility is still a problem with e-books. While authors cannot fix this, they should be aware of it. You can read about accessibility issues here.
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I hope all this helped somewhat. I provide sensitivity reading for blind characters for anyone who is interested.
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midnightsconspiracy · 3 years
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Office Romance?
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Office Romance? - @midnightsconspiracy
Summary: It's Mouse’s first day in the 21st district. Jay introduces him to the whole team, except you who seems to always be out until you finally meet at Molly’s and completely hit it off
Warnings: None
Word Count: 2193
Requested: Nope but my requests are currently open
A/N: This is my first time writing for Mouse and the longest fic I’ve written, so hopefully everyone likes it! :)
Masterlist
It was Mouse’s first day in Intelligence, it was finally the day that he was going to turn his life around. No longer living in sketchy areas and gaining felonies but instead becoming a legit member of society and working for a reputable institution, the Chicago police department. He had been recommended to the boss by his friend and former military buddy Jay Halstead, who unlike himself, had managed to get a proper holding in society after being discharged from the Rangers. This was finally his chance to show Jay and everyone else who cares about him that he could do something else good with his life and that he was more than just his time in the military.
Meeting Jay outside the district, the two men embrace in a warm hug, briefing saying their hellos and reminiscing on old times before they ascended the stairs. They pasted Sergeant Platt, Jay giving her a small hello in which she ignored and Mouse, despite having only met her once, gave her a polite smile. Punching in the passcode alongside his handprint, he unlocked the door climbing the second set of stairs up to the place he would call ‘home’ for hopefully years to come. Reaching the top Jay paused, Mouse quick to follow his actions.
“Guys this is Mouse, Mouse this is the Unit. That’s Dawson, Lindsay, Olinsky, Atwater, Nadia, and Sergeant Voight’s in his office.” The people in the room all averted their gaze from their own individual work, with Voight even exiting his office to greet him as well, to greet the newest member of the team, all presenting him with a momentary smile, short greeting, or handshake.
“Oh and Y/LN and Ruzek are currently out chasing up a lead right now but should be back soon,” Jay quickly followed up, trying to familiarise his buddy up with as much as possible to make him as comfortable as he could, knowing mouse struggled with rejoining society.
“Ok-k, well it's good meeting everyone, and I hope I can be of assistance to you all,” he mumbled out nervously, he admired Jay and Voight for giving him this opportunity but it still didn’t stop the feelings that they had a level of superiority over him due to their jobs. Taking him downstairs to his own tech room, he prompted Mouse to take a look around to get accustomed to his surroundings.
“What do you think buddy?
“I think it will do the job just fine,” he smiled back to jay reassuring him that he could do this.
“Ok, well if you’re all good I’ve got work to do myself,” Jay announced before turning and leaving Mouse to his own devices, finally leaving him to prove himself worthy.
—————
Mouse’s day was hectic, to say the least. Members of the team were constantly in and out of the tech room or calling him, getting him to give them vital information as quickly as he possibly could. But he thrived in the conditions present, what previously was extreme anxiety when he first entered turned into adrenaline. He hadn’t experienced such a high-intensity situation since his time at the Rangers, but he loved it. The Rangers was the place he felt most at home and alive, but the ‘accident’ had caused him to be honourably discharged. He wanted to be back in Afghanistan with Jay and his other military buddies desperately, feeling as though he had a place there, that he was actually contributing something good to the world, but this would do for the time, this was the best thing for him right now.
From what he could figure out, the unit was dealing with a human trafficking case in which multiple girls were found dead by the Docks, thrown into a container, and starved to death. Pulling up the names of multiple different men, he stared into their eyes as the pictures came up on his screen and felt no remorse for them as he heard each man be dragged into the cage one by one. The team managed to successfully find lead after lead, deciding to either all roll out together or keep sending Ruzek and Y/LN out. It was already about halfway through the day and Mouse still had not met the said people, only occasionally hearing their voices or being told to send them the information he was finding.
—————
As the day further progressed things started to flatline, leads found previously being a bust and nobody seeming to find anything worthwhile. The whole team worked tireless upstairs as Mouse found them the material they needed downstairs. Finally, after an hour of absolutely nothing, Dawson managed to get vital information from a CI and so a feasible lead was afoot. As the others were gearing up and getting ready to finally make some arrests, Jay popped his head into Mouse’s tech cave.
“Mouse I need you to send me the information on Spencer Phillips ASAP,” he was just about to walk out when he turned his head slightly to utter a few final words to his friend,
“And good job buddy, we really appreciate it.” Mouse smiled as he looked up the information for Jay, maybe he was going something good for the world, especially if his dearest friend thought so.
—————
The lead had been successful and two arrests of notable people in a human trafficking ring were arrested. The case was not fully closed, the organisation still up and running, but the perpetrators of the murders were put away to never see a day in the sun again. That was enough for Voight to warrant the members of his team a break to go home, rest and in the younger detective's case visit the local bar, Molly’s. Coming back up to the main room Jay greeted Mouse, patting him on the back for a job well done, he had underestimated his friend, thinking that he may struggle with his job just as he had coped with his anxiety and PTSD after coming back from the Middle East. Walking further into the room Mouse finally got to see the infamous man who had manage to evade his line of sight for the whole working day, Adam Ruzek. Approaching him he finally got to introduce himself.
“Hi, it's nice to finally meet you”
“Yeah, you too Mouse, I feel like I’ve been swept off my feet the whole day, you coming to Molly’s”
“I wasn’t planning to but sure why not?” Mouse had a vague idea of what Molly’s was, Jay sometimes talking about the bar run by first responders, but he was excited to finally see it for himself. Turning to Jay, who was packing his stuff up at his desk, he assumed he would want to go to the bar alongside the rest of the team,
“Molly’s then?” He smirked knowing Jay would never turn him or drinking down,
“Of course.” Leaving the district together, the two guys headed in the direction of the bar relieved to finally get away from work and have some downtime. Unbeknown to them you were in the changing room with Kim chatting away, excited to go for a drink and ready to go upstairs to meet the new tech guy. Little did you know you would be very disappointed when you did so.
—————
Arriving at the bar the men settled into the unit's usual booth at the back of the bar, flagging down Hermann to get two beers so that they could finally unwind from a long day of stressful events.
“The rest of the team should be here shortly, but how was your first day buddy, tell me all,” Jay asked hoping that his friend liked the position so that he could work towards becoming an outstanding member of the community and chuffed that he was working alongside his best friend once more.
“It was good man, I don’t really know what else to say about it. Um..I finally felt as if I was doing something with myself, I felt that adrenaline I missed from the Rangers, but I miss it, the thrill, the relationships, everything really Jay.” Jay sighed not knowing what to say, annoyed at his friend for missing it, he had spent so long trying to pull Mouse out of that bad place, a constant cycle of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, that it hurt him that he wanted to go back. The tense situation was interrupted by the rest of the team arriving, taking up the rest of the room in the booth with Erin snuggling up to Jay and Adam getting up to buy a round for the table. All the usual suspects were there enjoying themselves, except one, you.
You had gone home to shower and get out of your work clothes before making your way to meet the rest of the team for some rest and relaxation, maybe nestling a few beers throughout the night. Making your way into the bar, you passed members of firehouse 51, making small talk with them before moving towards Hermann to get yourself an alcoholic beverage. Thanking him you turned to walk over to your unit's table, spotting an unfamiliar figure in the corner of the booth next to jay, which you could assume was the new tech guy Mouse.
“Christ Y/LN where have you been?” Your partner Adam boomed, already a little tipsy from the two beers he had consumed.
“Sorry I had to go home first, wanted to freshen up,” you smiled amused at how much of a lightweight Adam really was, despite claiming otherwise.
“Y/N this is Mouse, I don’t think you’ve met yet,” Jay interrupted you, drawing your attention away to introduce you to the nervous man beside him. Looking him dead in the eyes, you noticed how attractive he was, you had just presumed that Mouse would be less than average looking considering his measly nickname, but no, the man in front of you was undeniably handsome with a charming smile and deep blue eyes.
“Hi, it's nice to meet you, sorry I didn’t meet you earlier, seems like we were both at the wrong place at the wrong time,” you gave a shy smile, sitting down next to Kevin trying to look confident despite the nervousness you felt inside.
“I-its good to meet you to Y/N, seems like the universe is not in our favour huh?” He stuttered equally as nervous, for what you assumed was first-time jitters, but little did you know it was because he found you equally as attractive.
——————
Throughout the night you continued talking with all members of your unit but especially Mouse. You felt naturally drawn to him, not just because of your attraction but also the stories he told that fascinated you, some from his days in the rangers and other ones from his childhood. By the end of the night, you too had managed to move to sit next to each other, with the members of your unit seeing you hit it off immediately and so pushed you together hoping for another office romance. Completely enamoured by him, you didn’t even notice that the other people in the bar were starting to trickle out slowly and Hermann’s last order was thirty minutes ago. Finally noticing your surroundings after the bartender had called your name and told you it was closing time, you checked your watch noticing the late time. Turning to Mouse you smiled and softly spoke about the revelation,
“I didn’t even realise how late it was, maybe we should get out of here, wait wait! Not like that, well unless you want you.” Noticing what you had said, you shyly smiled hoping he wouldn’t think you were too weird.
“That sounds good,” he cheekily smirked moving out of the booth, allowing you to get out too and heading towards the doors of the bar, saying a brief goodnight to Hermann on your way out. You walked down the street together to where your cars were parked, going at a slow pace, trying to extend your time together for as long as possible. Locating your car you stood next to it as you went to say your goodbyes to the handsome man in front of you.
“Thank you for keeping me company tonight, I really enjoyed it”
“Yeah me too, but I was hoping we could do it again sometime, just you and me?” Completely taken aback you stuttered to think of your response, you weren’t not thrilled about it at all, just completely surprised that he liked you as you did him.
“I’d love to Mouse, give me your phone,” handing you his phone you put your number in, silently hoping he would be one of those guys that actually use your number instead of ignoring it completely. Proceeding to hand it back, you both stood in silence not knowing what to say. But in this situation, no words were needed, only actions. So when he leaned in to place his lips, you gladly reciprocated the affection, wrapping your arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. Little did you know this would lead to a lifetime of desire and devotion.
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djarinbarnes · 3 years
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me olvidarás - three
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Pairings: Javier Peña x female reader
Warnings for the chapter: charming javi. (again, yes he needs his own warning) kissing. dry humping. fingering. flirting. again, doubtful javi. talk about sex. a little angst. but a lot of fluff.
Word count: 6.2k
Summary: an undeniable warm summer vacation in Bogotá. simply trying to get away from your nosey, boring parents and live for once, you meet a man who impresses you beyond where your imagination could ever take you.
a/n: more slowburn, yet a little action. 😏
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The hours that pass after that are excruciatingly long, and you find yourself bored out of your mind. You have a small garden that connects your parents’ rented apartment to yours, and that’s where you spend the most of your hours.
Your trusty, worn-out copy of Jane Eyre is in your hands, and you’re nearing the halfway mark again. With sunglasses resting on your nose, you can get away with occasionally dozing off, your parents probably not even having noticed you weren’t at home all night.
Under the stinging rays of the sun you lay, finding comfort in your book as you miss Javi. Missing a stranger. How pathetic, you think to yourself and mentally condemn yourself to hell for 1. Falling in love with a devilishly handsome stranger that 2. Is pushing 40.
You can’t believe you let it come to this, no matter how good it felt. Somehow, with Javi, it felt right. You couldn’t explain why, but there was just something about his aura that captivated you and held you prisoner.
You knew you wanted to know more about him. You wanted to know everything. You wanted to feel him, all of him. And you knew now, that Javi was the one you were losing your virginity to, no matter what it took you.
Now, some may say that losing your virginity to a stranger you’ve met on some vacation is one of the stupidest things you could do, but right now you didn’t really care. You couldn’t care less about what other people thought of what was right and wrong, because you knew this felt right for you.
You reach over and take the soda by your side, sipping the sugary beverage into your mouth through the straw. You sigh and put the soda back on the table, the book following it. You lean back and let your skin soak up the rays of uv you so desperately need.
You don’t know how long you’re asleep for, but you’re startled awake by banging on your front door. You quickly sit up and gather yourself, before pulling your robe around your body, the flimsy material barely covering your skin.
You open the front door reluctantly, not really sure if you’re awaiting a visit from someone. Your head is cloudy from falling asleep in the sun, and you mentally cheer at the fact that you’re not sunburnt.
In front of you stands Javi, a tidy bouquet in hand. Your lips tug into a wide smile as you swiftly pull the sunglasses off your face, watching as Javi gulps at your undressed state. Bikini and a robe - he didn’t expect you to open your door like this. He really didn’t… And yet there you were. Even more beautiful than this morning.
You watch as he extends the hand with the bouquet towards you. He’s bought you roses. It’s your first ever bouquet of flowers, and they’re bigger than any roses you’ve ever seen before. Red, voluminous and just downright beautiful.
“I saw these and thought of you.” He says, and if you’re not mistaken there’s a slight blush littering his cheeks. You couldn’t have seen that right. Maybe he was just shocked that you weren’t really dressed.
“Oh my god, Javi they’re absolutely breathtaking!” You take them from his hands and bring them to your nose, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers. “Thank you so much.” You lean forward and place a kiss on his cheek before you turn on your heel.
“Come on in. I have no idea if vases exist in these apartments, otherwise I guess a glass will do…” you say as you rummage through the different cabinets in the kitchen, before making your way through the sparse living room before finally coming up with something that you figured was supposed to be a vase.
You watch him through your lashes as he takes uneasy steps around your apartment, looking at every little painting on the walls and books forgotten in the unsubstantial shelf, supposedly a bookcase. You set the roses in the filled vase on the small table in the middle of the apartment, before peeling your robe off your shoulders and placing it on one the chairs, before you make your way into your bedroom to change into something more comfortable.
You knew Javi watched you as you basically stripped in front of him, but you wanted to tease him. You were hoping that he would give in and possibly sleep with you if you teased him enough. He was a man, after all. And men had desires, after all.
You found a flowy summer dress, forgoing a bra since it was already a little tight around your bust. You swiped on a coat of mascara, mentally cursing yourself to the devil when you accidentally hit the bridge of your nose with the wand.
Understandably though, since your hands were shaking. You hadn’t even noticed before now. You quickly get rid of the black mark before you gather your lip balm from your bag, bringing it along with you this time if you were lucky enough to place more kisses upon the man in the living room.
His eyes followed you as you walked out of your bedroom and over to your handbag, putting the small container into the bag. You drape it over your shoulder and turn to him with a smile.
“Alright. I’m ready to see Bogotá through the eyes of you.” You walk up to him and he swiftly pulls you in for a determined kiss. Your arms automatically wrap around his next as you deepen the kiss slightly, pushing your body against his to have him closer.
His tongue glides over your bottom lip again, taking you back to the night before. You feel your heart pick up the pace at the thought. His hands are on your waist, drawing you impossibly closer. You feel the heat radiating off his body, and you figure it’s from the scorching heat of the Colombian afternoon sun. Maybe mixed with a little bit of desire. Hopefully a little bit of desire.
You whimper against his lips as his hands tighten on your hips, his fingers digging slightly painfully into your muscles. It’s a good kind of painful, though. It lights your nerve endings on fire, just like his touch did yesterday. There’s an urgency in the way he’s kissing you, almost like he was craving you as much you were craving him.
His hands are rough as they slide up your sides, swiftly coming around your upper arms to hold you out in front of him, your lips still perked as if he was kissing you, the swift breakage of your intimate moment making your erratically beating heart thud uncomfortably in your chest.
“We need to go. I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off of you if we do this much longer.” He breathes, and you can easily see the conflicting feelings battling away behind his hooded eyes. You lean into him again, forcing yourself out of his grip to place another kiss on his lips.
“I don’t want you to hold back.” You whisper against his lips, before you pull away and make your way to the door leading out to the small garden between your parents’ apartment and yours, which hadn’t been fully closed. “But we can do that later. Don’t need my parents to see anything,” you cast a smirk back in his direction, before sliding it open fully, walking over a small patio to locate your parents.
“Mom, dad, I’m going out. I won’t be home for dinner, alright?” you smile when you find them. Your dad is asleep in the shade of a balcony extending over the garden. Your mom is reading her usual magazine, and you know she’s deeply invested in whatever Doctor-Sexy novel that’s found its way into the magazine this time when she doesn’t protest.
Normally they would be against you going out alone in a city you barely knew, but you had spent most of the day yesterday checking out the city after your arrival, where normal people would’ve probably been tired after a flight like that.
But you weren’t - quite the contrary though. You had been full of energy and determination as you’d dressed yourself in your most comfortable hiking shoes that you’d packed with the knowledge that Bogotá was located on the high plateau of the Andes.
You loved exploring - a lot. In the span of a few hours, you’d found more than enough small taverns, shops and restaurants you wanted to visit in the three weeks you were staying in Bogotá. When the sun had gotten too warm and the air too humid, you’d gone home, taken a shower and changed clothes - and you know what happened then. Something with a handsome stranger.
You had no idea where Javi was taking you, and it almost felt too good to be true. It felt like a literal fairytale, being swept off your feet by a handsome, older stranger who brought you flowers and complimented you on your looks, even though you barely knew one another.
Maybe it was the Colombian custom, but you couldn’t care less at the moment. It was a whole new world for you, to actually feel interest from the opposite sex - well, not exactly new, but the whole reciprocation of feelings that you were sure was there.
He even opened the door for you, watching you as you slid into the passenger’s seat of his car. He’s quickly on the other side of the car, seating himself in the driver’s seat. When the car roars to life, the sound of the engine finally manages to drown out the sound of your heart beating in your chest. You admire him as he pushes the sunglasses resting on his dashboard onto his nose.
It was so exciting and scary at the same time, going out with Javi in a city you barely knew. You hoped that he would show you something extraordinary, but you literally had no idea what he had planned for the two of you. You watched the small apartments slowly turn into nothing else but landscape, and it dawned on you that he was taking you out of the city.
“Okay, so I guess I’m not going to see Bogotá today, huh?” you tease as you turn your body toward him. You watch as his lips tug into a smile as he casts a look at your bared legs, the soft swell of your chest under the flower-patterned dress you were wearing.
He noticed the air condition had made goosebumps rise on your skin and pebbled your nipples, letting him know you hadn’t put on a bra. God fucking damn it. He felt his pants tightening over his hips, and he mentally cursed himself to the devil. God, you were really going to be the death of him.
You watched as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, and you cast your eyes down his body. You bit your lip as you noticed the slight bulge in his pants. It was like a lightbulb going off over your head as you pushed the seatbelt strap under your right arm before leaning over the middle console slightly, placing your mouth right against his ear.
“See something you like, Javi?”
You watch as goosebumps rise on the skin beneath his ear, all the way down his neck. You look over his shoulder to take in the area of his crotch again, watching him twitch slightly. You bit your lip, overthinking a possible plan that wouldn’t distract him too much.
You slowly let your hand follow his front, all the way down to rest against the hard cock in his pants. You very much enjoyed the fact that you had this effect on him. You heard him draw in a deep breath of air as your hand finally came in contact with him, and you watched as his eyes fluttered slightly.
“What are you doing, hermosa…” you can hear he’s short of breaths, and it makes your heart do a slight flip. It turns you on, knowing the effect you have on him. Maybe it turns him on as well - knowing you’re aroused and willing to tease the living shit out of him.
“Eyes on the road, Javi…” you whisper in his ear as he tugs his lip in between his teeth, your hand moving over his bulge with gentle strokes. You tug his earlobe into your mouth, sucking on the soft flesh before you lick up the outside of his ear with a firm tongue. He lets out a moan as his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.
You place a kiss on his tragus, then his cheekbone before peppering kisses down his jaw. You reach the column of his throat, placing small kisses over his pulse point, feeling the way his pulse is beating erratically under the soft, tan skin. Your hand is still moving in gentle circles, his breath languid as he’s still watching the road.
“Does this turn you on, Javi?” you whisper into his ear and he nods with a gulp. You smile as you go back to kissing his neck, hearing the way his breathing got caught in his throat again. You barely feel it when he brings the car to a stop, but you definitely feel the way he turns his body violently, his hand grasping you behind the neck, drawing you in for a hot and heavy kiss.
His tongue is dominating your mouth, tasting every crevice of your teeth and the roof of your mouth. You’re a breathless mess by the time he lets you go, yanking his seatbelt off before he’s undoing yours and basically manhandling you into his lap.
You’re whimpering as his hands find your hips, grinding his crotch forcefully into your mound, drawing a moan out of your mouth. His tongue is still exploring your mouth with everything it’s got, drawing a wet patch into the crotch of your panties. The fabric of his jeans is rough against your inner thighs as they grow more and more sensitive as your arousal begins to bloom in your belly.
Javi’s hands are traveling up and down your hips, gripping your flesh on top of your dress, bunching the fabric in his hands as he continues to ravish your mouth. You place your hands on his shoulders to steady yourself, whimpering wantonly into his mouth as the friction from his bulge draws you closer and closer to an inevitable orgasm.
It’s a whole new feeling from the few times you’ve brought yourself satisfaction with your own fingers, and it turns you on even more to think that someone is present to watch you come undone. You bite onto his bottom lip as you moan out, the friction against your clit finally makes the coil in your abdomen snap. Your eyes snap shut as your fingers dig themselves into his shoulders, his hands stilling your hips over his, holding your convulsing pussy tight against his bulge, letting him feel the contractions happening within your panties.
You let his bottom lip go as you finally come down from your startling high, opening your eyes slightly to take in his lust-blown eyes looking right back at you. You tug your own lip in between your teeth, your chest heaving from the daze you found yourself in as you lean back slightly, accidentally leaning against the steering wheel, making the horn go off.
It startles both of you before you both break out into laughter of just how unconventional the whole situation was. You hoped that no one noticed your little escapade - hell, you didn’t even know where you were. You finally looked around, noticing you were literally in the middle of nowhere, and you saw nothing but water and trees around the car.
It was like he’d driven you straight out into what appears to be a lake, and you’d been too occupied with him to even notice where you were. You popped open the door and stepped out into what appeared to be a mix of sand and dirt. You let out a laugh as you finally inhaled something that wasn’t the warm air of the car that reeked of sweat and sex.
Javi followed you out of the car before opening the passenger door behind the driver’s, reeling out a blanket and a basket full of delicious looking food, fruits and two bottles of wine.
“How romantic.” You giggle and hear your stomach grumble, letting you know it hadn’t forgotten about the lack of food since the pancakes earlier in the morning. You almost moan out at the sight of ripe strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. “A picnic?”
“Come on,” he says as he makes his way toward a small spot behind some trees that has the perfect amount of shade while it still overlooks the water of the lake. From the place where you’re standing, you can’t make out how big it is. You follow him and almost throw yourself on the blanket the moment he’s laid it on the grass.
You’re happy that it’s grass you’re on top of - you hate having sand in between your toes, no matter how much you love the beach and walking barefoot. You smile as he places the basket in the middle of the blanket before sitting down on the other side of it, facing you.
“Don’t know how long I can sit on the ground. I am an old man, after all.” He says as he picks the wine out of the basket, wringing it open. You really like the whole screw-lid invention. It’s so much easier.
“From the things I’ve experienced, you’re definitely… Young by heart.” You giggle before reaching into the basket to pick out a strawberry. You hold his gaze as you push the red berry past your lips, biting through the fruit. You giggle when you feel some of the juice trail down your chin and watch his movements as he quickly wipes your chin with his fingers.
“Thank you, Javi.” You smile before chewing through the berry, very much enjoying the way he sucks the juice off of his fingers, and the way he looks at you while doing so. You watch as he pours two glasses of the wine before he extends one glass toward you. You take it and happily take a sip.
“You know, I actually didn’t take you for the romantic type,” You say as you both fill your mouths with fruit. “But this is pretty damn romantic in my opinion.” You let out a laugh when he shrugs his shoulders, letting you know you were probably somewhat right.
“Guess I’d have to be a tiny bit romantic seeing I just made you come in the driver’s seat of my car.” The way he says it so shamelessly amazes you. He says it like the most natural thing in the world - bringing a stranger he met yesterday to an orgasm in his car on their second date. This was a date, wasn’t it?
“I mean, if you wanna call it a date, then it’s alright with me.” He says and you furrow your brows before you realize you’d actually said it out loud. Asked him if it was a date. Oh my god. You mentally slap yourself as you let out a small laugh, before nodding.
“Alright. A date with the most interesting man I’ve ever met.” You say as you raise your class for him to cheer with you. “I know this summer is going to be unforgettable.” You say as the rim of his glass meets yours, making you both smile at each other.
The hours, like yesterday, pass by like you’ve known each other for a lifetime. You’re both telling each other even more details about yourselves that hadn’t surfaced the day before. Before you know it, the sun is setting, and you’ve found your way into Javi’s embrace. It feels like you belong there - like his arms were made for holding you.
“Is it safe to swim in the water?” you whisper as you watch the sun descend on the sky. You bite your lip at the thought of skinny dipping with a man watching you, maybe even joining you.
“In el Embalse de San Rafael?” he moves his body slightly to look down at you, and he watches you as you nod. “Yeah, it is.” He feels his heart pick up the pace as he thinks about seeing you in nothing but your underwear. Or the bikini, which he’d seen you in earlier. Then it dawns on him that you probably hadn’t brought it along, which left the only possibility… you being naked.
If you do decide to strip, he knows he’s definitely not going to be able to keep his hands to himself. There’s so much sexual tension between the two of you, he’s constantly semi-hard in his pants and thinking about what messes the two of you could create together. On the other hand, he knows that you haven’t been with anyone yet, and it makes him reluctant to just do anything with you.
The whole thing the two of you had done in his car had been completely on autopilot on his behalf, and it only dawned on him what he’d done to you after he’d felt you orgasm against him. He almost felt bad about getting you off, but then he’d seen the blissed-out expression on your face.
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t even noticed you shimmying out of his arms, discarding your summer dress and gliding your panties down your legs before his eyes are glued to the swell of your ass, moving as you slowly tread out into the water.
He feels his heart going through many if not all emotions right at that moment. He watches as you turn your body slightly, waving to him, encouraging him to follow you into the water. He gulps down a lump that has formed in his throat as he watches your body slowly disappear under the water, before he stands up and hurriedly pulls off his clothes, one item at a time.
He contemplates on keeping his boxer briefs on, but quickly decides to discard them along with the rest of his clothes. He notices you’re giving him privacy, as you’re facing away from him, and he silently appreciates it. It’s been a long while since he’s been this kind of intimate with a woman, and boy if he doesn’t feel some kind of nervous.
As he walks toward the edge of the water, he thinks over the last time he actually took his time in appreciating a woman. Not just pleasuring her - actually appreciating her. Sure, he appreciated some of his informants’ readiness in sleeping with him and satisfying his need, but he didn’t spare them much more than that. He kind of felt like a dick about it, now he thought of it.
Before he could think more about it, his hips had become engulfed within the water, and he was close, so close, to you. If he reached out, he was touching your shoulder. He admired the way the water dripped from your hair onto your shoulder as you took in the view in front of you, getting just as lost in your thoughts as he had been in his.
He slowly submerges himself in the water behind you, and he’s sure you know he’s right behind you. His arms come around your middle, pulling your back into his chest. You giggle when you feel his mustache tickle its way over your shoulder, his warm breath turning cold against your wet skin.
You feel his hands slowly, timidly, explore the front of your body, and you extend your torso slowly from the crumpled-up position you’d been sitting in. His hands slide opposite of each other, one up and one down as he places one hand on your hip and the other just under the swell of your breast.
You moan lightly at the contact, his touch once again alighting something inside of you. His thumb grazes the underside of your breast just under your nipple, and it makes you suck in a deep breath. It’s the first time someone has ever touched your chest, and it feels so damn good. Then he’s gingerly rolling your nipple between his fingers, making you whimper out - and it’s almost not possible that it feels even better. But it does.
You lay your head back against his shoulder as the hand on your hip travels further down and in between your legs. You tug your lip in between your teeth as his lips continue their assault on your neck and shoulder. You feel his fingers experimentally moving in between your folds, rough pads gliding over the very delicate lips of your pussy.
“This okay?” he whispers in your ear as his hold on you tightens, drawing you closer to his body. You feel the evidence of the effect you have on him as his erection presses into the small of your back, making you moan even more wantonly.
“Yes, god Javi, touch me.” You whimper out as his fingers drag through your folds once, twice, three times before he languidly dips just the tip of his finger into your wet core. It feels amazing when you do it yourself, but when Javi does it - it feels way better. Like he knows just the depth of where your most sensitive parts are, as pushes his finger in further, finding it in an instant.
Your hand finds his arm and you tighten your hand on top of the muscle, squeezing your eyes shut as he sucks over your pulse point. You’re left breathless by so little, and it makes you wonder just how little he needs to do to ruin you completely. It isn’t going to take much for him to take you apart.
Another finger dips into your core and you moan out again as he slowly works you open. His mouth is tugging your earlobe into its heat, and it feels like you’re going to lose yourself into pleasure. Your mind is spiraling into a haze as he thrusts his fingers into you, his thumb rubbing gentle circles against your bundle of nerves while his fingers are still pulling and twisting your nipple.
You let out a deep, guttural moan as he curls his fingers just right inside of you, making stars appear before your eyes. Your free hand makes its way into Javi’s unruly locks, the wet digits tangling with his dry hair. You feel yourself on the edge of going absolutely feral, simply wanting to turn around and absolutely ravish the man behind you. You want to lay him against the sand of the shore and ride him senseless.
You let go in his arms, relishing in the fact that he’s bringing you pleasure so easily. You clench around his fingers as he holds you close, your cunt milking his fingers, silently wishing it was his cock. You knew it would probably take some getting used to - having something as big as the thing you so obviously felt against your back inside you.
You were certainly going to find out if you could though, and just how much of him you could fit inside of you. Maybe not right now, but sometime later, that was for sure. Your chest is still calming down from your high and Javi’s arms are still keeping you anchored to the ground. You were sure that you were going to ascend into heaven at one point during your orgasm.
His arms are warm around you in the cold water, but it still makes you shiver lightly. You wring out of his hold, turning to face him before you’re kissing him intently, bringing both of your wet hands into his hair this time, pulling his front close to yours. You feel him nudge against your stomach and you smile against his lips, before you hum slightly.
His arms come around you yet again - or rather his hands come around you to grasp the flesh of your ass. He moans into your mouth as you move your body against his sensually, wanting to repay the favor. He doesn’t let you, though, because he’s pulling away from you shortly after.
“Come on. You’re shivering.” He says as he finds your hand under the surface of the water, pulling you by the hand to the shore. On the way there, you get to admire the muscles of his ass - the way he carried himself made something clench in your pelvis, even though he’d just given you an orgasm. Were you already ready for round… 3?
The angry, red wound on his shoulder reminds you just what kind of a man he was. You wondered how long it had been since he had been shot - the wound looked partially healed, and there was just the slightest scab over it. You didn’t know much about gunshot wounds, but it appeared that he was shot from the front. You wondered if it had gone right through. It looked like it.
You caught yourself getting lost in thoughts about the kind of people he chased - if he chased people - that could leave him with a wound like that. You decided you were going to ask him about it, when you felt the time was right. For now, you let your eyes wander again.
Back on land, you’re still admiring his body, and you’re admiring him very shamelessly. It was like he brought out the worst in you - an untamable, aroused demon. You hadn’t ever eaten someone up with your eyes like you were currently watching Javi. You knew he felt your eyes on him, but you weren’t sure how he was handling it.
You tilted your head as he brought his boxer briefs up his legs to cover his ass and shield his crotch from you. You reluctantly walked over to your own clothes, also pulling your panties back on with your back turned to Javi.
There was that awkwardness again… you sigh as you pull your dress back on, the wetness of your body making the fabric stick to your skin uncomfortably. The dress clings to the back of your thighs as you tie the band behind your neck, and just then, you realize how much the temperature has actually dropped, simultaneously with the sun setting.
Even though it was still warm, you were sure the temperature had dropped more than a few degrees. The goosebumps that rise on your skin this time are from the coldness of the air around you, as you make your way back to the blanket you were previously sitting on, looking through the basket to find the next thing you were filling your grumbling stomach with.
You slightly ignore Javi as he sits down beside you, feeling kind of mad at him for acting the way he did. How did he just take you on a romantic date by a lake, proceed to give you an orgasm while you both were stark naked in the lake, care enough to get you out of the water because he could feel you were cold, and then go on to blankly ignoring you while he got dressed?
“So, I was thinking we could go somewhere to eat, if you’re hungry. I was thinking maybe I could treat you to some empanadas and a beer?” You almost rolled your eyes at him but caught yourself before you could actually do it. You let out a deep exhale, not really knowing how to handle the situation unfolding.
On one hand, you were starving for something that wasn’t wine and fruit. Empanadas and cheap beer sounded so perfect, and you silently cursed Javi to hell for being so thoughtful and yet so resistant. You kind of hated him for not taking advantage of you. It sounds weird, saying it that way, but you really did wish he wouldn’t hold back with you. You didn’t really think further before the words had already left your mouth.
“Is there something wrong with me, Javi?” you say with so much uncertainty it takes him aback. Where the sudden doubt from you had come from, he had no idea. You appeared to be so sure of what you wanted - so sure of yourself. And yet here you were, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes.
He understood why you felt that way, though. He didn’t feel good about why you possibly felt this way, but he just couldn’t bring himself to let go with you. He didn’t want to selfishly take advantage of you, even though he desperately wanted to feel you clench and come around him. He wanted to feel the warmth of your cunt, and the warmth of having you close - closer than he’d already had you.
“Hermosa, no.” He speaks as he quickly draws you into his arms, pulling your trembling body back into his warmth. Why was he so damn warm all the time? You hated yourself for the way your body so easily relaxed into his body, calming you down in an instant.
“There must be something wrong with me. Why don’t you want me?” you whisper as he’s peppering kisses into your damp hair, his hands sliding up and down the length of your arms. It feels so good, being right there in his arms. The tremble in your body has been turned down to nothing more than a little shiver, and you feel yourself relaxing into his chest.
“Trust me, hermosa, I want you so much it hurts.” It felt weird, putting it into words like that, but it was the truth. It wasn’t just in the way his cock ached to find solace within your heat - no it was so much more than that, and it scared him more than anything had ever done before. He didn’t even feel this way about his ex-fiancée.
“I want it to be perfect for you. But I’m scared, hermosa. Scared I’m going to hurt you. Scared that I’m not right for you, hell, even good enough for you. I want you to have the best. And I’m not the best.” He speaks as he looks out into the mountains on the opposite side of the lake, that mountain ridge separating the two of you from the bustling life of Bogotá.
It was easier to say it to you, when he wasn’t looking at you. He felt so bad about turning you down again and again, even though he knew you would come onto him again and again. He was afraid you were going to change your mind about him, hell, he was afraid he was going to change his mind about you.
His head and heart were going a thousand miles an hour. It’d been so long since he’d been honest with someone in this way. Not even Connie, not even Steve. Not even his informants. You just had that effect on him. Wanting to open up to someone.
“Javi…” you finally speak, and he closes his eyes, awaiting your next words. He feels as you wiggle out of his arms, before he feels your legs straddling his, your hands sliding up his arms before coming to a rest on his shoulder and his neck. He feels you press a gentle kiss to his lips, before he finally lets his hands come up to rest on your hips.
“You could never hurt me. At least I don’t have the imagination to think of why you would hurt me. Everything I’ve experienced with you has been absolutely amazing.” Your fingers are rubbing soft circles into the nape of his neck, and he feels the tension leaving his body slowly.
“Javi, I want to do this with you. I want you to give me an unforgettable summer. And I know you can do just that.” You lean in and place another kiss against his lips, this time feeling the reciprocation of his lips against yours. “I want it to be you. I want to give myself to you.” You breathe against his lips, making goosebumps rise on his arms at your words.
His mind is imagining so many things as the warmth of your inner thighs spreads over his hips, seeping into his hips and straight into his groin. He’s imagining other women with your face on them, how he would fuck them into senselessness in indescribable positions, bringing them undeniable pleasure.
Yet he can’t bring himself to act on his feelings and desires just yet. He knows you’re going to be saddened by him turning you down yet again, but with this rejection, he also knows that he is going to give into you, sooner or later. You just had to wait.
“Okay, hermosa.” He says against your lips, before capturing them in another kiss. “But not yet. Not today.” His hands are working over your ass, massaging the soft flesh with his rough hands. It draws yet another wet patch into your panties, joining the dried one already left there.
“If I’m going to have sex with you, I’m gonna be doing it in a proper bed.” You giggle at his words, just the thought of the two of you coming together as one alighting your nerve endings. “But right now, I think we both need to eat something.”
・ ⋆ ・ ⠄⠂⋆ ・ ⠄⠂⋆ ・ ⠄⠂⋆ ・ ⠄⠂⋆ ・ ⠄⠂⋆ ・
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the-cosmic-ghost-18 · 3 years
Text
The Morning After The Night Before - Chapter 12 of Bacon Bits A William "Ironhead" Miller Fic
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Pairing: Will “Ironhead” Miller x F!Reader
Notes – So this chapter has a small section from Will perspective so hopefully, it makes sense when you read it
Warnings - Smut, Oral M!receiving
Word Count: 3.3K
Masterlist
As I started to wake up the first thing felt was the ache between my legs. The next was the arm that was wrapped around my waist. Will had his hand sprawled over my stomach. His breath was fanning the back of my neck. I then felt his half-hard dick resting against my arse. So I shifted back slightly and rocked against it. I felt Will’s breathing pick up on the back of my neck. Will then grabbed my waist to stop me.
“Morning.” He said in a voice laced with sleep. I hummed in return. He slowly slides his hand up and down my abdomen. I shifted and flipped to lay on his chest. Looking up I could see that Will hadn’t quite woken up yet. He looked good in the morning. Moving my leg I slide it over his groin.
“Morning to you too,” I said then leaned up to kiss him. “What time is it?”
“Early.” Will said while looking down at his watch. Slowly I moved my hand which had taken purchase in his chest to the middle of his abdomen. Looking up at him I slowly slid it down under the covers and to his rapidly hardening dick. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I said while stopping just shy of his member. Looking up through my eyelashes I asked. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No but you don’t have too.” He asked.
“But I want to.” with that, I slide my body down his. I kissed my way down his body I reached the tufts at the base of his dick. Stopping there I slowly wrapped my hand around his now fully hard dick. Looking up I watched as Will’s face contorted in pleasure. He had his eyes closed and tilted his head back. Testing the waters, I pumped my hand a few times before stopping at the top and rubbing my thumb over the precum which had started leaking out. This caused Will to clench his hands into fists by his side. Taking it as a good sign I moved my mouth to cover his member and took it in. The salty taste is the first thing to hit me. As I took more of him I could hear Will’s breathing pick up as I used my tongue to press against the vein on the side of him. As I started to bob up and down, I used my hand to grip the part of him which couldn’t fit inside. As I picked up the pace Will started to buck his hips up to meet my movements. He took one of his hands which was by his side and gripped onto my hair. I slid my one free hand and cupped his balls.
“Ohh shit.” Will moaned out as I give him a squeeze. And that must have been enough because he came without warning down my throat. I could feel as ropes and ropes of his cum hit the back of my through. I continued to suck and lick him until he pulled me off him by my hair. Looking up at him I used my thumb to whip the excess cum and spit which had leaked out of my mouth. Placing my thumb in my mouth I sucked it clean. Moving back up to him I laid myself flat on his chest. Looking up at Will he was still blissed out from his orgasm.
“God, you are beautiful.” He said while sliding his two large hands up and down my back. Leaning down he kissed me on my forehead. I could feel him drawing circles over my hips and we laid there for a while. It was nice. Peaceful. Well, it was until someone knocked on my door.
“Y/N have you seen Will he isn’t in his room?” Benny asked from behind the door. Thankfully I locked it last night. Looking up Will gave me no help.
“I have no idea,” I said. “He might have gone for a run.”
“Maybe. I tried calling him but he didn’t answer. Well anyway, breakfast should be soon. We have a lot to do today.” He said before I heard him walked down the stairs. Looking up at Will I saw a slight smile on his face.
“You’re lucky I can think on my feet,” I said while moving to get up. Sliding off the bed I leaned down I grabbed one of the many pieces of clothes littering the floor. Sliding it over my head I got up. Just as I went to walk off, I held a hand slap at my arse. Looking back, I saw Will had moved to lay on his front with a large grin on his face. “You better work out how you're going to go on a run.”
“I’ll climb out the window. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done it.” He said while pulling his boxers on. Walking over to the bathroom I started up the shower. Turning around I saw Will standing in the doorway. He only had his boxers on. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t. So, I walked over to him.
“Penny for your thoughts.” I asked bring my hands to settle on his chest.
“I wanna keep this between us.” He said while gesturing between the two of us. “I don’t want to rush this.”
“Neither don't I. Last time I rushed it all went to shit.” I said while moving my hands to cup his cheeks. "We just keep it between us till we are comfortable."
Turning to look at the rapidly steaming up mirror I saw that Will hadn’t left any marks which I couldn’t cover-up. Lifting my shirt, I could see a few purple marks around my chest and on my hips. I should be able to hide those. Will moved to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle pulling the shirt back down. He nestled his face in my neck. I could feel his bread scratching me. Turning my head to face him to look at him. He pulled me into a slow kiss. It was gentle and telling of the conversation. Of all the things unsaid at present. Pulling away Will rested his forehead against mine. Like he really didn’t want to break the little bubble that the two of us made in this room last night. Away from the world.
“I should go be for Benny sends a search party.” Will said. He moved to the main part of the room and put this shirt on from last night. Pulling the top, I was wearing off I could feel Will’s eyes on me. Looking over my shoulder I could see Will sat on the end of the bed doing up his shoes while looking at me. Flashing him a smile I opened the shower and got in.
Making my way downstairs I was meet with the smell of coffee and bacon. Frankie was at the hob making food while Lindsey was sat at the table with Benny. Grabbing a cup, I poured myself a cup of coffee. Moving next to Benny I grabbed the sugar out of the holder.
“Did you find Will?” I asked before taking a sip of my coffee.
“Yeah. He got back about 10 minutes ago. I think he’s gone for a shower.” Before I could say anything back a woman appeared from the stairs. She was still wearing her clothes from last night. She gave us all a small smile and went out the front. It looked like she had called herself a uber and got in. Looking over a Benny he held his hands up. The next thing we all saw was Santi walking down the stair. He had a big grin on his face. Behind him was Will. He had changed into a loss fitting shirt and shorts. His hair was still wet from his shower. He walked into the room and grabbed a cup of coffee.
“So it was you that made all that noise last night?” Frankie said. Looking over at Will as he choked on his coffee. Santi looked like a dog who just got the biggest bone.
“Well, she was a loud one,” Santi said while walking over to Frankie. Looking over a Will I saw a wash of relief take over his features. They were talking about Santi and not us. “But she very much enjoyed it.”
“He could of any anyone in that bar last night.” Benny said while patting Santi in the shoulder. “Will you should have come you might have gotten laid for once.”
Trying to hide the smirk as Benny slapped Will on the shoulder. I could see Will over the rim of the cup going the same and trying to ignore Benny. Looking across the table I saw Lindsey giving me the death stare. Mouthing “what”, she said nothing and returned to her breakfast.
“So Benny. What are we all doing today?” I asked.
“We are going up to one of the lakes that me and Will went to when we were younger. So, get your swimming costumes and be ready soon.” He said and then walked out. Frankie followed suit with Lindsey trailing behind him. Santi finished his coffee and went upstairs too. Which left just me and Will. I watched as he moved to stand next to me.
“That was close.” He said while leaning down to meet my ear. “For a second I thought he was talking about us.”
“We weren’t loud were we.” I asked looking up at him.
“I don’t think so. But I was a little distracted to think about how loud we were being.” He said in hushed tones. “But the amount of time I have slept in a room next to Santi it doesn’t surprise me that he was louder.”
“Remind me never to share a wall with him then.” I said while a slight laugh. Looking down and seeing that my cup was empty I put it in the sink and went to walk upstairs. I was stopped by Will grabbing my arm.
“Wear the red one.” He said with a smile. “The one you wore to the beach.”
With that Will let go and I went upstairs. Walking into the room I opened my suitcase. I know the exact swimsuit he was on about. Luckily, I chose to pack it. I nearly didn’t. Changing I wore the swimsuit with a hoodie and shorts over the top. Grabbing a bag I put some sunscreen, a towel, and few other bits.
Heading back downstairs I found Lindsey in the front room. She had a dress on over the top of what I could guess was her swimsuit. Hearing me walk in she looked up at me. She had a smirk on her face.
“What?” I said to her.
“So you and Will?” she said while walking over to keep her from shouting.
“Me and Will what?” I questioned. I knew where she was going but I needed to dance around this as best I could before she got suspicious. And as if sent by God himself the rest of the boys came barrelling down the stairs. They had all changed into shorts and shirts. Looking into the kitchen I could see Benny filling a cooler with ice and drinks.
Getting outside I saw Will climbing into the driver's seat of the same truck we took last night. Taking initiative, I jumped into the front and sat on the bench seat. I saw Will look over. Then Benny opened the door on my side and made me move over. So I was like the meat in a Miller sandwich. And with that, we set off. Looking in the rear of the truck I could see Lindsey was in the same situation as me. She was stuck between Santi and Frankie. Looking forward with a smile I reached and turned the radio on. It started to play rock music.
“Didn’t take you for a rock fan Will.” I said.
“Well, there is a lot you don’t know about me.” He said while looking away from the road. This cause Benny to scoff next to me.
Will turned into what looked like a secluded road. It looked a bit like the road Will had taken me the right previous. Looking out the front though I was meet with a huge lake surrounded by mountains. It was stunning. There was a small little pebble beach with grass surrounding it. Will stopped the car and Frankie pulled in beside us. Sliding out of the car I walked over to Lindsey to give her a hand with some of the stuff. Taking one of the big blankets in the bed of the truck I laid it out on the grass.
By the trucks
Will looked over and saw you stripped of your hoodie (well actually it was one of his) and shorts. He spotted the red fabric and had to readjust himself. It probably wasn’t his best idea to ask you to wear that, but he likes it. Frankie and Benny went over to the two of you to help set up the BBQ and set down the coolers. That left Will with Santi. See Santi wasn’t blind, he knows exactly what was going on between the two of you. The girl he brought home last night was quiet, he was covering for Will.
“So how long have you been sleeping with Y/N?” Will tried not to make a face. The question really caught him off guard.
“We aren’t.” Will studdered out. He thought the two of you were careful last night. "What makes you think that?"
“The two hickies you’re trying to hide under your shorts. The scratches on your back.” Looking down Will saw two small purple marks by the waistband of his shorts that he was now pulling up. He didn’t even know about the scratches. “And the two of you aren’t very quiet.”
“Please don’t tell anyone.” Will looked over to you. Lindsey was helping you put sunscreen on your back. He had been so careful not to leave any marks on you. “What made you sure?”
“You choking on your coffee his morning.” He said while giving Will a slap on the back. “I won’t tell anyone. You deserve this Ironhead. You deserve her.”
“But I don’t want to lose her.” Will said while looking up at Santi. He and Santi had always been close. Santi knew Will inner demons because he had the same. Will knew you wouldn’t leave like she did, but in the back of his mind, he couldn’t shake that thought. Santi must have caught the look on Will’s face.
“You won’t. Have you seen the way she looks at you?” Santi said as he got the rest of the stuff. “Just be honest with her and let her in.”
With that Santi make his way over to everyone. He knew Santi wasn’t wrong that’s what scared him. He was scared that once he let you in. Full let you in he would hurt you. And that was his worst nightmare. This morning he didn’t want to leave you in that room. He wanted to just stay in bed and ignore the world. He pulled out of that though by the sound of you laughing. It was like honey. Lindsey had been chasing Frankie trying to get him to put sunscreen on. You were clinging onto Benny’s arm to keep upright. With that Will made his way over.
A few hours Later
After having some lunch me and Lindsey had decided to do some sunbathing while the guys had been throwing around a football. It was nice.
“Did I tell you that me and Frankie are thinking about having a kid?” Moving to sit up I looked over at Lindsey. She looked genially happy.
“Really.” I said.
“Yeah. We have been thinking about it for a while. Frankie’s shop is busier than ever, but he had guys which can do the work. And I’m not getting any younger.” Pulling Lindsey into a hug.
“What am I going to do at work. You’re the only reason I don’t miss things or forget things.” I said while pulling out of the hug.
“I will just have to show you. Just don’t tell the other. We want to keep it between us till we do.” She said while looking over at the guys. They were running about still. Will had the ball while Benny was chasing him.
“Your secret safe with me.” I said. Looking over at the guys I couldn’t see them. Wondering where they were me and Lindsey got up. Suddenly Frankie came running behind Lindsey and Will behind me. Just grabbed us and threw us over their shoulders. So I held on for deal life and they both walked over to the water. Behind us, I could see Benny and Santi. Benny was whistling and shouting at us. But Santi was just looking. He looked like he knew something. Before I could think Will throw me into the water.
“Frankie, I am going to kill you.” Looking over Lindsey was chasing Frankie out of the water. She wasn’t very quick but she was agile. Will on the other hand started to splash me.
“Ohh your on.” With that, I splashed with all the force I had. But Will had other ideas. He swam up to me and grabbed me by my hips. He pulled me out above the water and throw me. Landing in the water I resurfaced to find Will staring at me. He had the same look he had last night. It was a dangerous look. Thinking about the conversation this morning I swam to shore and out. If I had stayed I wouldn’t have been able to help myself. Grabbing one of the towels I watched as Will waded out of the water.
The air had started to cool down at this point in the day and Benny thought it would be a good idea to start a bonfire. Getting comfy I allowed the warmth of the bonfire to dry off my skin. It was nice. It was peaceful. It was good seeing all the guys in their element. They were chatting and laughing and telling stories. Making eye contact with Will I saw his features soften as he saw me. He mouthed “You good?” which I nodded in return. He smiled and turned back to the story Benny was telling us all about how the guys got stuck somewhere. I wasn’t really paying attention. I was looking at Will. He looked so carefree and calm. This was something I could get used to. Looking over I saw Santi get up and walk over to sit next to me.
“I know about you and Will.” He said in hushed tones. “Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me. All I wanted to say was that he really cares about you he just struggles to share that with people. I have never seen him like this. Not even for his ex-fiancé.” Santi paused. “All I know is that he would do anything for you. He deserves someone like you after everything he has been through.”
“And who is someone like me?” I asked curiously as to what he meant.
“You see his demons and aren’t scared of them.” Santi said while looking down at me. That thought stuck in my head. I had never been scared by Will and hopefully never would.
Taglist -
@aimee-wildner @my-name-is-alice-ayers @whiskeymeaway92
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cuddlepilefics · 3 years
Text
Ear infection
Fandom: Stray Kids
Sickie: Seungmin
Caregivers: Stray Kids (mainly Changbin)
Prompt @sicktember
No one's POV.:
Seungmin had been battling a very persistent cold for the past three weeks already. He had been so stuffed up that he could barely hear over the congestion. Breathing through his nose had been impossible and he had been excluded from vocal practice to protect what little he had left of his voice. It got so bad that he had to spend two entire weeks at home resting, too run down to dance and too hoarse to sing. He had felt so miserable that he didn't even put up a fight when Chan asked him to take some time off to recover. Usually, Seungmin would put up a fight and insist that he was alright but this time, he didn't have the energy to do so. Now, after what seemed like forever to the vocalist, he could finally breathe through his nose again and his throat had stopped hurting. The low-grade fever had disappeared over night and he felt loads better than he had in a while. He was still somewhat congested, his hearing muffled. His right ear was only a little muffled, while he barely heard anything with his left ear. Seungmin was convinced though that he only needed a few more days for the congestion to clear up fully and then he'd be fine. He'd been sick more than long enough after all.
Chan was surprised to see his dongsaeng up early. The younger had been pretty fatigued from his cold for a while, so him being one of the first ones up hadn't happened in a while. He also looked a lot healthier and the leader was happy his friend was getting better. "Good morning, didn't expect to see you before heading out", the Aussie smiled, leaning against the kitchen counter sipping his coffee. Seungmin made himself a cup of tea and hummed: "Good morning, hyung. Yeah, I feel a lot better actually. I'd really like to go to work with the rest of you again." – "You sure you're well enough for that yet?", Chan frowned, eyes furrowed with worry, "You still sound a little stuffy." – "Yet? It's been over two weeks", the vocalist sighed, "I'm still pretty congested but other than that, I feel fine." The leader shrugged, Seungmin could still change his mind and go home early if he wasn't up for it after all. "If you say so, you can try", he smiled, leaving the younger alone so he could get ready. Minho walked up to Seungmin next, greeting him. The vocalist didn't react at all, so Minho repeated himself a bit louder. "Yah, Kim Seungmin, stop ignoring your hyung", he said loudly. Seungmin's head snapped up, staring at the dancer in shock. Turning his head, he stammered: "I-I'm sorry, hyung. I wasn't ignoring you." – "What's up then? I kept talking to you but you didn't react. Were you spaced out or something?", the older cooed worriedly. The vocalist shook his head, explaining: "You stood on my left side and my left ear is still really muffled. I didn't hear you, hyung. I'm sorry." Minho nodded in acknowledgement but didn't seem too satisfied. "That cold's really not letting go of you, is it?", he frowned. Seungmin shrugged lightheartedly, smiling: "I feel better for the most part, I'm sure the congestion muffling my ears will clear up soon."
Unlike Chan, Minho had doubts about letting his dongsaeng go to work today. Seungmin still wasn't 100% better and with how persistent his cold had been, the dancer feared the younger would get worse again if he started pushing himself while not fully recovered. His doubts amplified when the vocalist passed him and Felix in the hallway on the way to his room to get changed. Seemingly out of nowhere, Seungmin started to stumble, his shoulder brushing the wall and he might even have fallen if Felix didn't catch him. The Aussie helped him sit down and studied his face worriedly. "Are you okay? Going to pass out?", he frowned. Seungmin shook his head, laughing sheepishly: "I-I'm fine. Not even dizzy, no idea why my equilibrium went out the window." – "You wanna try to stand?", Minho asked, reaching out a hand to help his dongsaeng up. As soon as the vocalist stood on his own feet again, he stumbled, so Minho and Felix supported him from both sides and walked him back to his room, telling him to lay down while Felix would get Chan. While the Aussie was gone, Minho felt Seungmin's forehead for a fever but his temperature felt normal. "I'm serious, hyung, I felt completely fine and then I just fell sideways", the younger insisted but stayed on his back anyway. He turned his head to the side and smiled at Chan when the leader walked in. Felix had already told him what had happened but he wanted to hear it from Seungmin himself too, so he asked: "Can you tell me what's going on, Minnie? You seemed better when we talked earlier." – "Hyung, I don't know. I feel better and out of nowhere I just fell to the side", the vocalist sighed. That sounded odd to Chan but his dongsaeng seemed sincere. That didn't mean he'd trust the younger to go to work though or to stay home alone for that matter.
"Well, it's obvious that you can't come with us if you can't even walk in a straight line by yourself", Chan pointed out, making Seungmin's face fall, "Honestly, Min. You're worrying me. Are you sure this is really just a cold with how long you've been sick? Maybe we could drop you of at the doctor on our way to work." – "No, hyung, please. I'm fine", the younger pouted. "At this point I don't even want to leave you home alone, so don't even start about going to work", the leader warned, "I know you're frustrated by now but don't make yourself worse by pushing yourself too early." – "How about we make a deal?", Minho offered, "If you manage to walk to the kitchen and back here without losing your balance, you can stay at the dorm alone and we won't bother you about seeing a doctor. Maybe you're fine to work tomorrow after one more day of rest.... If you lose your balance though, someone's staying with you." Chan nodded, the dancer had a point and hopefully Seungmin would agree too. Though the vocalist really wanted to go, watching dramas in peace still sounded better than having an overprotective hyung keeping him company, so he got up and nodded, starting his walk to the kitchen.
He wasn't even halfway down the hallway, when he had to admit defeat. Feeling the ground under his feet tip to the side, Seungmin relied on doorways and walls to steady him and had to support himself on anything he could find. Walking without holding on to anything somehow just wouldn't work. He sighed and turned around without even making it to the kitchen, stumbling back to his room. A single tear ran down his cheek when he plopped down on his bed again. Why couldn't he just be fine already? Minho sat down next to him and rubbed his back. The dancer could understand why his dongsaneg was upset but there was no use in taking him to work in this condition. Chan had left them for a moment to organize a few things but Changbin soon joined the two and smiled sadly, humming: "Hey, Chan told me what's going on and said they didn't need me as urgently at the company, so I should stay with you for today." Seungmin nodded, not really happy about it still but he didn't think the rapper would be all over him like some of the other members might. "It's okay, I won't bother you if you want to rest or watch dramas alone. I'm just here in case you need something or want company, I know we barely spent time with you recently because we were always busy", he smiled, knowing the vocalist was usually quite good at taking care of himself.
Soon the rest of the group had left and Seungmin started feeling tired again despite not having been awake for too long. Maybe it was good he had stayed home after all. Yawning, he let Changbin know that he was going to take a nap before drawing the blinds in his room and going back to bed. It didn't take long for the vocalist to fall asleep. He didn't sleep for long though, waking up to an intense pain in his left ear. Gasping, he sat up and covered his ear with his hand. He didn't know what to do, so he struggled to his feet to go and find Changbin. Seungmin still struggled to keep his balance and slid down with his back against the wall, clutching his ear as the tears started falling. "Hyung", he shakily cried out, biting his sleeve to keep from whimpering. Why did it hurt so bad all of a sudden? The vocalist was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear the hurried footsteps approaching. Changbin crouched in front of him, taking in the tear stained face and pained noises escaping his dongsaeng's lips from time to time. Holding the boy by his shoulders, the rapper frowned: "Hey, you're okay. Can you tell hyung what's going on?" – "It-It hurts s-so bad", Seungmin sobbed, hand still pressed against his ear. "Your ear?", Changbin confirmed and the younger nodded, "Alright, you didn't eat yet, so I can't give you anything against the pain, right?" Seungmin nodded again. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do. I'll take you back to your room, we'll get you into some day clothes and then I'll take you to a doctor. You probably got an ear infection or something", the rapper explained, hoisting his dongsaeng up and walking him back to his room.
Seungmin kept crying while his hyung went through his closet, handing him clothes that the vocalist changed into without even really looking at them, not caring what he wore, just wanting the pain to go away. Changbin already called them a driver before wrapping his arm around the younger's waist, guiding him to the front door to put on his shoes. Seungmin held on to the rapper's shoulders, leaning against his side heavily. Why was he so unsteady on his feet? The car ride passed in a blur with the vocalist crying pain and Changbin desperately trying to comfort the younger but knowing he couldn't take the pain away. It turned out that Seungmin really had developed an ear infection as a result of his cold. That was also what was messing with his balance. He didn't even care anymore about having to miss a few more days of work, as long as it would just stop hurting so badly. With a prescription for ear drops and painkillers, the two went on their way home and Changbin allowed the crying vocalist to wait in the car while he'd pick up his medication. The rapper could tell his dongsaeng was getting exhausted after crying for so long. Hopefully he'd be able to nap when they got home, so he wouldn't have to feel the pain for a while.
When they got home, they washed their hands before Changbin sat the younger down at the dining table, asking: "What do you feel like eating? You can take the first dose of your painkillers as soon as there's some food in you." – "I-I don't know. Anything fast. I just want it to stop already. Maybe something soft too, my jaw's starting to hurt", Seungmin whimpered, resting his head on his arms. "Blueberry yoghurt okay?", the rapper mused, rummaging through the fridge. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught the younger nodding and brought him his yoghurt, along with a spoon, before pouring him a glass of water so he could take the pill afterwards. Keeping the Seungmin company while he ate, Changbin announced: "When you're done, I'll help you put in your eardrops too, okay? Maybe you can take a nap too, you look exhausted." – "I am but I don't think I could sleep, it hurts too bad", the younger pouted, rubbing at his eyes to stop the tears from falling. He forced his yoghurt down in record time before taking the medicine his hyung had prepared. After throwing out the cup and dropping the spoon in the sink, Changbin offered the vocalist his hand to help him get back to his room, where the younger changed back into his comfortable sleep clothes. "Alright, lay on your right side", the rapper instructed when Seungmin was ready. The other complied, getting comfortable on his right side. Changbin put in the eardrops, making the younger frown. Placing the bottle on the nightstand, he asked: "Should I stay or leave you to take a nap?" – "Stay, please? Please distract me, this feels disgusting", Seungmin pouted, playing with a lose string on his blanket. Changbin sat down next to him and started to play with his hair, talking about the most random things, not even sure, whether the younger was listening to him at all. When he heard soft congested snores, he knew his dongsaeng wasn't listening anymore and carefully got up from the bed, pulling the blanket up to cover the younger before sitting on the other bed, playing games on his phone, so he'd still be nearby should he be needed. 
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roadkill01 · 3 years
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Hange/Levi (platonic) x Male Reader
All you could do was watch as the tongs came closer to your fingers, digging underneath your dirtied fingernail. A shrill scream vibrated across the bloodied stone walls as the nail was ripped from your finger. Tears streamed down your face as you begged for this torture to stop, but it was all done to no avail. You felt the blood drip down and collect at the end of your limp hand. The only sound in the room was heavy pants heard from both parties and the occasionally splash of blood against the hard stone floor. Your torturer huffed, and pushed a hand through his sweaty hair, making it slick back and stick up in odd places.
“I don’t understand why you won’t just speak. I have taken all of your finger and toenails. Your body has been burnt and lacerated. I’m not even sure how you are alive...” you wished for death though. Pleading and begging for this seemingly endless torture to stop. Tears ran down your bloodied cheeks, and your torturer brought a warm hand to your face. He swiped away the tears with the pad of his thumb, smearing the blood up your cheekbone. He moved his hand to hold the stump at the end of your ear. A month ago there was a pretty silver earring attached to it. He didn’t like how it glistened in the candlelight though, so naturally it had to go. 
“You were so handsome [Name]. Such a perfect husband. Waiting patiently for me to come to you.” You didn’t understand what had come of the sweet boy you had grown up with. What had changed? Why was he forced to become such a heartless vicious man as this? The slam of a door brought you from your darkening thoughts. He had finally left. You let out cry after cry, mourning the old Eren. And wishing a peaceful death upon the new one. He had to rest. You know so much, and yet you didn’t. For just as life, Eren continued pushing on. It didn’t matter through which obstacle. The love of your life wasn’t initially put in to torture you, originally it was supposed to be Hange and Levi. Eren took it over, as you had heard from him and you’d been moved cells. Your captain and the one who thought of you as a younger brother, neither could apparently bear to do it. Nobody could. You were such a happy influence on them all, it seemed ridiculous that you were accused of being a traitor. You had been in this dreaded cell for a month now. The only person you had seen was Eren. You were the subject of inconceivable rumours when it came out that Reiner and Bertholdt were Titans. You had been close friends with the two, and frequently interacted with Annie. The survey corps couldn’t take anymore risks. You would never blame them for this. You heard clattering come from up the stairs, and wondered if Eren was home already. 
What surprised you however was the concerned deep voice that called out. “Hello? Is anyone here? Please call out.” You let out a nervous greeting to the stranger followed by heavy thumping come down the stairs, almost as if someone was jumping down them. You closed your eyes and sighed, the energy immediately dispelling from your body. If you were going to die now, you would accept it graciously. You opened them once more when the owner of these footsteps stifled a gasp. You only grew curious at the sound but didn’t look over yet. 
What made you look over, was when the voice called out a loud. “Hange. Your going to want to see this.” You looked over as Levi began to fiddle with the locks on the other side of the bars. You could see how is hands kept slipping and shaking. You took a shaky breath as another set of footsteps (which you guessed were Hanges) made their way downstairs. The second they saw the state you were in they took off their glasses, tears flowed down from their brown uncovered eye. “[Name]? Don’t tell me? No, no, I’m so sorry.” All you could do was watch as the bright optimistic person you’d come to known fell apart at the state you were in, and who could blame them. 
You looked half dead anyway, the clothes you once wore hand been dyed a crimson with the sheer amount you had bled. There was darkened ashy skin, where Eren had burnt you, peeling away and revealing the clashing pink of exposed flesh underneath. There were chunks that had been taken out of your body, namely your arms and thighs. The finger and toenails now newly removed seeped more of the dreaded red liquid. There was just so much. A seemingly endless wave of blood. It would never stop crashing upon you and those who stood too close. With a clank the door unlocked. Levi had opted for kicking the door in instead of trying to break the lock. Hange rushed in first, immediately undoing the rough rope pulled taught against your ankles and the chair leg. Levi coming next you, to pull away the loose pieces holding your wrist down to the arm of the chair. As the ropes were pulled away, you felt as though you could finally rest now. You were saved, right? Your limp body fell forward onto Hange as Levi undid the final rope on your left wrist. 
They held you up, and carried you like a baby as you clung to them. Your legs wrapped around their waist and your arms around their neck. Hange held your back and pulled you into them as they carried you up the stairs, Levi anxiously picking at his nails next to you and Hange. The pair walked through the upstairs in complete silence, not daring to utter a word. The only sound on that damned floor was the eternal dripping of your blood. As you reached the door to outside, Hange pushed your head into their neck, the sunlight would be a surprise for a man who had not seen light in a month. A small murmur was heard from you as you asked. “Are you two okay? If I die now, I need you to know I never once blamed you.” Tears unwillingly fell from their face once more and even Levi had to stifle a cry at the words. 
The commander of the survey corps carrying a limp body was a sight to see, so naturally it dragged the attention of surrounding villagers. Muttering began as they realised the body belonged to you, none other than [Name] [Last Name]. A strong soldier with a future in the military brighter than Queen Historia’s hair. You had always been good to the general public, and as such they had loved you in return. The survey corps knew the amount of influence you held over these villagers, even if you did not. They loved you, because you were kind even after the unrelenting dangers of the outside, you always kept your morals no matter how difficult and helped wherever you could. A small blonde girl ran up to Hange, ignoring the cry’s of the crowd gathered, and gripped the bloodied material of your shirt. She looked up to meet the commanders eyes silently pleading that you weren’t dead. She was one of many people you had helped and as such felt indebted to you. Your joyous face whenever you returned from an expedition out the walls would make her heart soar and you would even bring flowers for some upon occasion. She had a flower now, clutched in her trembling pale hand and she thrusted it into the space between you and Hange, and dropped it. The stem was discoloured and crumped from how tightly the young girl had gripped it. Hange nodded slightly, closing their eyes before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. 
“[Name] [Last Name] is not dead. Not now at least. We will get him into immediate care, and hopefully someone can tend to his injuries, as you can see they are quite severe. Do not worry though, we can keep you updated about his current condition and will tell you immediately if he does,” she began to choke up. “If he does end up dying.” A few in the crowd began to cry and others angrily shout. “Who the hell is responsible for this!” Hange looked down casted and they began to walk away, avoiding the question. If word got out that it was another scout, much less your own partner all hell would break loose and the scouts headquarters would most definitely be compromised. They would deal with Eren all in due time, and by god would he have hell to deal with. 
Levi however turned to the man, and feeling nothing but absolute hatred for the former member of his squad spat out a bitter, “Eren Jeager.” Hange could punish him later, as long as justice was brought for his friend. The pair began to speed up as Hange felt your heart beat grow weaker, eventually breaking into a full blown sprint. Levi ran ahead to prepare the doctor, saying it was of the upmost importance. You and Hange eventually reached the doctor with Hange practically flinging themselves through the door and gently laid you on an unused table. The doctor was quick to rush to your side and carefully peeled off the sticky clothing, occasionally using a knife to cut parts away. With your body lying bare, both the doctor and the longest surviving members of the survey corps could fully see the damage Eren had inflicted. Hange let out a choked sob as Levi just stood, anger and disbelief evident on his face. The doctor immediately ushered the pair out the room, and pushing a piece of paper into their hands. “Find these plants, there are drawings in case you need help with identifying them.” He then pointed to the forest a whiles walk away from the doctors house. He slammed the door in their faces and got back to helping patch you up. It seems he wasn’t all talk as he helped stabilise your near death condition. 
A knock at the door alerted the doctor of Hange and Levi’s arrival. He yelled at them for come in, not wanting to leave your body alone for any amount of time in case your condition would suddenly drop. The entered and the doctor set to work grinding the specific herbs and plants into a paste which he would apply to your body. Hange’s hand swiped over your newly cleaned face, you looked a lot better now that there wasn’t quite so much blood everywhere. The doctor smeared the newly made green paste on the more severe lacerations and quickly wrapped them in cloth. 
“I.. I don’t know if he’ll make it out alive.” The blunt statement filled Hange and Levi’s head. You wouldn’t make it? But you were [Name] [Last Name]? The boy who kept smiling through everything? And yet as your chest rose and fell irregularly both Hange and Levi knew the chances of you living were slim. 
≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾
“Can I see [Name] today mama? I wanna give him flowers!” The woman looked down at her daughter and ruffled her blonde hair. “Of course honey, be back for lunch though, okay?” The girl nodded, beaming and rushed out her house, sprinting over the mismatched cobbles and up to the woods where you resided. Once she’d reached the forest, the trees split, almost as if guiding everyone who came, directly to [Name]. She ran down the rocky path, the villagers had collectively gathered to make a stone path all the way to [Name] so people can easily come and visit him. She almost tripped and dropped the flowers but a bush caught her, and she steadied herself once more. When she arrived she already saw Hange and Levi sitting by the sandstone headstone. “Ah- Mx Hange and Mr Levi, I didn’t know you were here sorry.” Hange smiled at the girl and beckoned her to come closer. 
“That’s quite alright, we were just telling him we’d be back soon, we’ve got a mission coming up soon, and I can’t bring myself to not run every plan through him first.” Levi grimaced at their words, he knew they weren’t taking [Name]’s death particularly well, especially after Eren only really got off with a slap on the wrist. He would come with her, hoping they wouldn’t do anything rash especially after Moblit died. Besides, he too had come to care about the ridiculously happy [hair colour] boy in his squad. The girl came and sat by his gravestone, taking the dying flowers off the grave and putting on her fresh ones. Hange smiled at the action, glad that even if Levi and them were to die, there would at least be someone to take care of his final resting place. “I wish you the best. [Name] [Last Name]”
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abbysfrenchbraid · 3 years
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Kissed by a Wolf - Chapter 4
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Masterlist 🌿 (check for previous chapters) / Playlist
In this chapter, the reader fully joins Eivor’s clan and takes part in the celebrations before the raid. Talking with Eda does not go as planned.
Content Warnings for food & alcohol, mentions of physical abuse, lesbophobia, light smut and vomit.
Inspo Picture by @anaakeart​
The Sting of Rejection
You had already slept for a few hours when Eivor returned from her council meeting late at night. Even though she tried to be quiet and not to wake you, you were awake as soon as you heard her steps on the path outside.
Birna had curled up in your arms and raised her head when the warrior entered, not moving from her warm and comfortable spot. You remained still, your eyes closed as you listened to the woman’s movements. Her fur coat fell to the ground almost inaudibly, the wood of her trunk creaked quietly as she sat down to take off her boots, her leather pants rustled when she pulled them off and threw them in a corner.
Then you finally felt her motions, too as she lifted a corner of the quilt covering you and slipped in the bed, immediately scooting close to you. She gave Birna a few gentle strokes until the cat started to purr softly and Eivor lowered her head next to yours with a satisfied sigh. She smelled like beer and smoked meat, accompanied by that faint, wonderful scent of tree bark.
You must have stirred because Eivor lifted her head again, whispering: “Little bird… there are good news for you.”
Careful not to disturb Birna, you turned slightly and looked at her with raised eyebrows. She smiled.
“You are now one of us. Mine.” She watched your face attentively for a reaction. You closed your eyes and swallowed. So it was decided.
“Are you happy?” Eivor asked, drawing her fingertips over your healthy cheek.
“Yes, I am,” you answered, turning back around and scooting back against her.
“Mmhh. We’ll talk in the morn.” She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you close, then you both drifted off to sleep.
-
You were woken by Birna's demanding meows at the door. She had not left the hut since yesterday and was probably hungry and in need of a quiet corner. Eivor grunted, then she untangled herself from your limbs and cursed in her mother tongue when she stumbled over her clothes on her way to let the cat out.
“You won’t like it outside, little lady. The snow has stayed,” she grumbled as she opened the door. Indeed, Birna was not amused at the prospect of stepping into the cold, wet powder that painted the village in beautiful white and whirled into the room as soon as the door stood ajar. You pulled the blanket over your head to escape the stinging cold air, listening to Eivor and Birna bicker about the cat’s options for the day.
It really sounded like they were having a conversation, one that ended with Birna leaving with a last, angry cry and Eivor shutting the door with a thankful sigh. She let herself fall back on the bed and crawled under the covers. You stuck your head out.
“So, I’m one of you now?”
Eivor needed a moment to process your question, then she sat up and nodded.
“The council was thankful for your offer to help us prepare the raid and accepted your proposal. You’re going to come with me later so you can have another look at the map and tell us everything you know. In return, you will receive a wooden bangle declaring you part of this clan and my personal servant as soon as we return.”
You sat up as well and leaned against the headboard, fidgeting with the edge of the blanket as you tried to find the right words.
“I am very grateful for your trust. I know it normally does not come easy,” you said. “May I ask something else of you?”
The blonde raised her eyebrows with a questioning look.
“My- the people who came with me. How are they?”
“Oh, they are all well.” Eivor got up and started putting on her clothes. “Three of them have decided to stay with us freely and work in the stables and the longhouse. Two have yet to decide and your lady friend is refusing to speak to us. I hear she is eating, at least.”
A wave of relief washed over you. You were not the only one to change sides. You were fairly sure you knew who had taken up work in the village; the two remaining prisoners were probably the squires to Lord William. They had endured harsh treatment at his hands, but he had promised them a future as knights and held them in higher regard than his own daughters. It made sense that Eda was not willing to speak or change her mind. She blamed Eivor for the death of her entire family.
“Eivor?”
“Yes, little bird?”
“Do you think I could have a word with Eda? Maybe I can reason with her,” you suggested, holding your breath as you waited for her reaction. She considered it for a moment, then she shrugged and put on her coat.
“I guess it would do no harm. You can speak with her before we meet the others in the map room, maybe she will tell you something helpful.” She turned around. “Do you want to join me in the longhouse for breakfast?”
The question surprised you, but she was right. You were healing fast, and there was no reason for you to stay in bed any longer. You agreed and swung your legs out of bed, slipped into your wooden clogs and put on your new coat over the linen tunic. Hopefully, you would be able to acquire some more fitting and functional clothes soon, but now was not the time to worry about looks. Your face was still swollen and blue anyway, your bruises now starting to fade to green at the edges.
You quickly rubbed the salve Valka had given you on your tender cheek, then Eivor held the door open for you and you stepped outside into the snow. The air was hard and cold, but clear and when it filled your lungs, you could feel it chase out the last remains of smoke and illness. Walking down to the longhouse, two dogs ran toward you and circled you with excited barks and wagging tails, apparently delighted to see Eivor. She laughed and chased them around for a bit, then she told them she had other things to do and they let her be and ran off towards the stables.
When you entered the longhouse, Eivor was immediately greeted by cheers and excited comments regarding the coming raid. She smiled and acknowledged everyone’s words before leading you to a side part of the house. There was a fireplace in the center of the area, a hole in the roof directing the smoke outside. A kettle and a metal grid were hung over the fire and an old woman was stirring porridge with a gigantic wooden spoon. You both stepped closer.
“Sfáva, dette er Y/N,” Eivor introduced you, gently placing a hand between your shoulder blades. “She is from Williamsburg and has decided to join us. She is a cook, too."
The old woman slowly came closer, squinting her eyes at you until her face was almost directly beneath yours. Then she suddenly gave you a warm, almost toothless smile, deepening the crows’ feet around her eyes and stretching the leathery, weatherbeaten skin on her cheeks.
“Velkommen, Y/N,” she croaked and took your hand, patting it lightly. She chattered something in Eivor’s direction and the warrior translated: “She’s glad to have you here and hopes you can show her some English cooking. She does not speak your language, but she understands a few words and can grasp your meaning if you speak slowly. Our tongues are not too different.”
You smiled back at Sfáva, gently squeezing her hand.
“I’m honored to work by your side, Sfavá.”
The old cook let out a delighted laugh at your proper pronunciation of her name and gestured for you to take a wooden bowl. You and Eivor both took bowls and spoons from a table and Sfavá filled them with porridge. Eivor loaded up her meal with several sausages from the grill, to which you passed.
“I’m afraid we can’t eat together. My place is up there” - she mentioned to the table at the back of the room, standing orthogonal to the rest of the tables - “with my brother. I see your old companions have found themselves over there, maybe you would like to join them?” She motioned over to where the three men that had been released as well sat and ate their breakfast.
You nodded and wished the warrior a good morning, then you walked over and sat down with the others. Aelfric and Hal had been the stable masters back at Williamsburg and were excited about the variety of horses and possibilities here. Eivor had apparently put a lot of money and work into the stables, making them a much more enjoyable place than the dark, moldy ramshackle hut William’s old mares had spent their days in. Lewin was also content with his situation; he had joined the butcher and his son in preparing meat for winter.
They were all happy to see you, thanking you for your quick thinking and cautious behavior during and after the attack. Lewin was even convinced they owed you their lives. While they went on discussing the possibilities of hunting at this time of the year, you stared into your porridge and tried to find the words and the courage for a conversation with Eda.
What could you say that would explain to her your disloyalty to her name, your treachery to England, your betrayal against her after everything you had gone through together? How could you ever change her mind or her situation, what were your possibilities in this? Would she stay locked into a cell for the rest of her life? What would the Vikings do with her if she was nothing but a nuisance?
The others took their leave and you were still none the wiser. Absorbed in your thoughts, you let your gaze wander through the long hall. Your eyes finally got caught on the she-wolf at the elevated warriors’ table. She was deep in conversation with Sigmund and tapping her finger on the table as she made her point to him. He seemed to agree with everything she was saying, consistently nodding his head as he devoured his sausages.
Suddenly, Eivor caught your gaze and while she kept talking, her finger stayed pressed to the wooden tabletop. You could have sworn there was a hint of a smile on her face as she turned back to her brother to ask him something. Shaking your head, you got up and brought your empty bowl back to Sfáva’s side table.
Even though her eyesight seemed to be terrible, she immediately recognized you and repeated your name with a joyful fondness in her voice that made your heart swell in your chest. What a wonderful woman.
As you wandered around the hall to collect the dirty bowls people had left on the tables, you felt someone’s eyes on you. Smiling to yourself, you relished at the feeling a little bit longer before turning around to return Eivor’s look. To your surprise, she had stood up and turned her back to you, speaking with someone behind the table.
Slightly bewildered, you finished your round and carried the stash of bowls and spoons back to the cooking area. Just as you turned to ask Sfáva where you should wash the dishes, you saw something blue in the corner of your eye. You looked up and had to force yourself to keep your composure as you saw Randvi leaning against a wooden pillar across the hall and watching you from afar, her arms crossed and her face smooth and expressionless.
She did not move or look away when you saw her, standing perfectly still and continuing to look at you as you finally lowered your gaze and asked Sfáva about your tasks for the day. The old Viking explained her wishes to you with a mix of slow Norwegian and sign language, making it clear you should wash the bowls outside in a big trough and bring her another few sacks of flour. You felt uneasy as you left the longhouse to do your washing up, still followed by Randvi’s piercing gaze.
Eivor caught you outside, glad you had already settled in with your new work and thrilled for the raid. She was practically buzzing with excitement and her restlessness made you laugh, taking your mind off the strange moment with Randvi.
“What are you laughing at, eh? You are looking at a proud drengr, not a jester!” she exclaimed, furrowing her brows in feigned outrage and making you laugh even harder.
“You remind me of Eda and Delia on the eve before Christmas. They were so excited for the next morning, they could barely sleep.” Your gaze lost itself in the dirty water in the trough before you. You had some good memories with the two girls. They had been so innocent and happy. A hand on the small of your back drew you back to the present. Eivor had stepped closer.
“I will sleep like a bear in winter so long as you lie by my side,” she said quietly.
Her words and touch sent chills up your spine. Before you could reply, Eivor stepped back.
“But first, we will plan our glorious raid. And then we will celebrate. Oh Y/N, you will love it. Mead and food and great songs - we will be in good spirits tonight. And tomorrow will be even better!” Her eyes lit up at the thought of the joy and glory to come. “I need to look at a few things in the stables. Take this time to speak with your friend. I will come and get you when it is time to meet over the map.”
You watched her as she walked away, a spring in her step as she headed for the wooden building at the far end of the village. The dishes were clean, so you took them back inside and left them on the table for Sfáva. She was deep in conversation with two other Norse women when you filled another bowl with porridge and two sausages and quietly made your way to the cell in the back of the longhouse.
Eda sat on the floor where you had left her last. Her dress was dusty and stained, her hair was matted and her face looked grey and old. Dag, who was keeping watch again, let you in with a grumble and sat back down on his chair. Eda refused to look at you as you knelt down before her and offered her the food.
“Eda, please. You must eat. You look like death itself.”
“I don’t fear death,” she mumbled, still staring at her hands, “I fear traitors and backstabbing snakes.”
Her words knocked the air out of your lungs. You had not expected her to be this hostile. What now?
“I do not claim to know the pain you feel and the losses you are bearing. I am simply trying to live with dignity instead of wasting away,” you explained, tears welling up in your eyes. “Do you not see my face? Were you not there when I learned I was worth nothing at Williamsburg, nothing but dirt on your father’s shoe? Eivor has offered me a place in this world. She-”
“You and your precious Eivor!” Eda snapped, her gaze now burning right through your head and her face screwed up into a hateful grimace. “You fell to your knees the second you saw her, begging for her to take you. I will not be lulled into submission by a filthy little sapphic whore!”
This blow hurt worse than William’s fist. There was nothing left to say. You put the bowl down next to her, then you stood up and left the cell. Dag gave you a strange look when he locked the door again.
Just as you rounded the corner, you bumped into Eivor. She knew something was wrong right away, pulling you into her warm embrace and letting you cry into her chest for a long moment until she pulled back and lowered her head to look at you.
“What is it, my little bird? Will your friend neither soften nor think clearly?”
You just nodded and pressed your lips together, trying to swallow the lump in your throat. Eivor turned to look over her shoulder for a moment, then she pulled you into an alcove.
“You stay here and collect yourself. I will tell them you got held up and will be there soon.” She pulled you in for a last, quick hug, then she vanished from sight.
You took a few deep breaths and slapped your chest and torso, trying to fully return to the present, to your body, and to your rational thoughts. If Eda wanted nothing more to do with you, so be it. You had other things to worry about now.
When you entered the map room there were five men waiting for you alongside Eivor and Randvi. One of them was Sigurd, Eivor’s brother and the official chief of her clan, even though you felt like a lot of people cared for Eivor more strongly. You had just found out today that he was also Randvi’s husband. The other four you had seen before but you did not know their names.
Eivor looked up from the map first, smiling widely and rounding the table to introduce you.
“Everyone, this is Y/N. She was the cook at Williamsburg and has visited Fort Winton several times. She will tell us all she knows about the area and the castle.”
“What happened to your face, Y/N?” One of the warriors gave word to what everyone was thinking. You straightened up, trying to brace yourself against Randvi’s icy expression.
“Thank you for this opportunity to make myself useful here. My cheek made acquaintance with Lord William’s fist the day of your attack, but I am healing now and he is not, that is all that matters. And I have you to thank for it.”
Your answer seemed to satisfy everyone and you got to work. You spent the next hours telling them about every path and entrance to the castle you knew of, every person working there when you last visited, and everything about the Stewart that had taken over the shire. You even drew a plan of the order of the buildings and the rooms you knew of.
The Viking warriors warmed up to you quickly when they realized how much valuable knowledge you were giving them and even Randvi seemed to forget her hostility toward you after a while. The group even allowed you to stay for their debates on the right strategy, taking all your comments into consideration and thanking you for your help. Eivor reminded you at some point that you were still injured and told you to go back to the hut, put on the salve, and lay down. She would pick you up later for the feast.
Birna was already waiting for you at the door, mortally offended at having spent the day outside in the snow. She weaseled through the first crack in the door and was even more distraught when the fireplace was dead and the bed cold. You apologized sincerely and lit a fire to make Valka’s wonderful brew while you gently applied her salve to your healing cheek.
While your tea was steeping, you curled up with Birna and poured your heart out to her about Eda. She was a wonderful listener, snuggling up to you when you started crying and supporting your distraught words with agreeing meows. It was heartbreaking - the one friend you still had left did not want to be your friend anymore. You were all alone here. You had to admit that the Norse people were extremely welcoming to you and that Eivor would probably be very offended to hear you call yourself alone after two nights in her arms, but still. You were lonely. After you had drunk a cup of your herb infusion, you laid down, pulled Birna into your arms and cried yourself to sleep while the white cat silently watched over you.
-
A light grasp on your shoulder woke you and you opened your eyes to find Eivor crouching down before you, smiling softly at you. It was already dark outside and you had trouble finding your grasp on reality for a moment. Was it the next day? No. The feast.
Your mouth was dry and your eyelids felt heavy from crying. Eivor softly brushed the hair out of your face with her fingers.
“Good evening, little bird. Can I interest you in some excellent boar meat and warm mead?”
Birna answered in your stead, crying out as she stretched her little body on top of you. Eivor’s expression became even softer.
“For you, little lady, I have something special.” She took a small balled up bundle from her pocket and opened the stained cloth to reveal some fresh innards, probably taken from the boar. She placed the cloth on the ground in front of the fireplace and Birna jumped down from the bed to have her own royal feast.
You got up and followed the cat's example in stretching your limbs, feeling Eivor’s eyes on you as you put on your shoes and cloak and tried to comb your hair with your fingers. The blonde was next to you at once, holding your hands still.
“Wait. Let me.”
She opened her wooden chest and produced a beautiful wide-tooth comb. It was made from some kind of bone or fang. The warrior stood behind you and gently pulled all your hair back towards her. Then she began combing it out, starting at the bottom of each strand and carefully moving upwards, taking out any knots or dirt. Her fingers touched your scalp every time she took a new strand of hair, sending lightning down your spine and making the hair on your neck stand up.
“That’s better. I can braid it for you, too, if you’d like that,” Eivor said behind you. You brushed a hand over your long hair and felt its smoothness. You had never been allowed to wear your hair down at Williamsburg, always having to put it up in a knot and wear a bonnet or at least a cap. Today you had seen so many Viking women proudly wearing their hair down, some with intricate little braids and beads in theirs.
“I’d like that, yes,” you whispered, scared your voice would betray you. Every day, every hour here felt like a step closer to freedom and happiness.
“Sit down on the bed.” The blonde gently guided you to sit at the foot of the mattress so she could stand next to you. Then she began taking hair from your healthy side and braiding it along the hairline around your ear and down the back of your neck. She stepped around you to look at her work from the front.
“I think that is all you need. You’re beautiful.”
Your heart jumped into your throat, almost making its way onto your tongue. Your fingers followed the path of the small braid, admiring the perfect work of the warrior’s calloused hands. How peculiar, that these rough hands that wielded swords and axes bigger than your head could also be so gentle and precise.
A knock on the door tore you out of your reverie. It was Valka who wanted to take a look at your face and pick you both up for the feast. She was satisfied with your healing process and delighted to see Birna, having a little chat with the cat on the bed. You had to keep yourself from laughing when the thought of Birna being the true queen of this clan entered your head. She probably felt that the same way. The white cat was adored by everyone, and her demands were followed without question.
As the three of you made your way down to the longhouse, you could already hear loud singing and laughter. People were stumbling outside to relieve themselves in the bushes and others were just arriving, all being greeted with loud cheers and big jugs of mead. The same happened to you when you entered the great hall. A few warriors rushed to your side, greeting Eivor and paying you compliments and thanks for your help that day. Enthusiasm saturated the air like a humid day, filling everyone with joy and confidence for tomorrow.
Valka was quick to take the jug of ale from your hands and gave it to someone else who swore his love to her in return. She just smiled and pulled you towards the kitchen area. You had already lost Eivor in the mass of warriors jeering and singing praise to Odin. At the hearth fire, you met Sfáva sitting on a bench and enjoying a massive pitcher of mead. She cried out in joy when she saw you and hugged Valka tightly in greeting before squeezing your hands and grinning her almost toothless smile at you.
Valka asked you to stay with the older woman for a while and help her with the food; then you saw her talk to a red-haired woman and vanish in a dark corner with her. Maybe that was the woman she had spoken about with Eivor before? You wished her the best of luck.
There was not too much to do. The boar was on a spit over the great fire in the main hall and the men were responsible for cutting down the meat for everyone. You were grilling sausages and vegetables on the side and helping the boys open new barrels of ale that were consistently emptied within the hour.
Eivor came by soon, asking for more variety on her plate. It was obvious that she had already had enough mead to kill a boar, slightly swaying when she walked and getting extremely close when she tried to talk to you over the noise in the hall. Her face was red and radiating heat, her eyes had a drunk glisten to them and her laugh was rougher and dirtier than during the day. You were glad she was enjoying herself, although you could not help but wonder if this was the best idea considering her plans for tomorrow.
You spent some time outside cleaning plates at the trough and getting fresh air when you suddenly heard a noise around the corner. You debated for a moment whether you should risk a look but your curiosity got the best of you. As you stuck your head around the edge of the house, you weren’t immediately sure what you saw before you.
Two figures were leaning against the wall in close embrace, chuckling and mumbling sweet nothings to each other. As a cloud finally freed the moon and its light shone down on your village, you made out Valka’s golden headdress and the silhouette of the red-haired woman she had talked to earlier. Apparently, she had gotten lucky. You quietly moved back to your plates and smiled to yourself. Valka was a wonderful person, giving and loving and always putting others’ needs above hers. Eivor had spoken very highly of her trusted friend. She deserved to be happy.
When you came back inside and put the plates back on the sideboard in the cooking area, you noticed Eivor sitting at the front table surrounded by her men. And oh - there was Randvi sitting next to her. The two of them were leaning toward each other, their heads almost touching as they laughed about something Sigurd had said. It seemed that they had talked about their difficulties and made up.
You let yourself fall on the bench next to Sfáva and she patted your thigh, holding out her pitcher to signal it was empty. With a sigh, you got up to get her more mead and made yourself a plate of vegetables from the grid, seeing as you had not eaten since breakfast. Sfáva noticed you had not taken any meat and insisted you go get some boar meat. Upon the realization that she would not let you sit down again until you had tried the boar, you slowly went over to the big fire, hoping no one would notice you. The warrior there cut you a generous piece and you were almost back in your dark corner when someone called your name. God, no.
Aelfric, Hal, and Lewin were sitting at a table with some other stable boys and young maids. You gave Sváfa an apologetic wave which she answered with a loud, heartfelt laugh, then you made your way to your old companions. The boar was better than you had expected and you really were terribly hungry, wolfing down your food at an indecent speed and even going back for another portion. The others were talking about the two squires still sat in the cell; they were sure they would come around by the next morning. Who would really prefer the cold ground over these celebrations and the wonderful food that was shared fairly between everyone?
Looking over to the table at the back of the hall you could see Eivor and her friends conversing loudly, laughing and slapping each other's backs. At one point Dag danced on the table, but he soon lost his footing and went down in a wave of plates, jugs, rattling metal, and the yells of his fellow warriors. You stared at Eivor for a while, hoping she would return your gaze, but she was completely immersed in her conversation and never even looked up from her table. You finished your meal quietly, listening to the others talking about a new dice game they had learned and about a filly at the stable that was born in late autumn, a strange and dangerous time for newborns in the animal world. Together, they were sure they would get it through the winter safe.
Later you returned to Sfáva and leaned against the wall opposite her, warming yourself up by the fire and keeping an eye on Eivor, who was apparently in another drinking contest with one of her men. Randvi had her hands on Eivor’s shoulders and was cheering her on. A small figure stepped next to you, crossing her arms and following your gaze. Valka had returned.
You made no attempt to hide your feelings, you knew she had already seen through you. The healer put an arm around your waist and shook you slightly, looking up at you with a sympathetic expression.
“I know you saw us, Y/N.” The words took a moment for you to grasp their meaning, then you turned to Valka in surprise.
“Oh God, I swear I will keep your secret. I am a master at keeping my mouth shut.”
The smaller woman had to smile at your nervous reaction.
“I trust you. I am glad it was you that caught us and not someone else.”
“May I ask…” you hesitated, “what is going on between you?”
Valka turned her head to look at the singing warriors in the hall. There was a pain in her eyes that felt just too familiar.
“She is married. It was not her choice, but her father’s way of forging an alliance. Her husband is one of the hunters and away most of the time. When he beat her badly the first time, she came to me.”
The silence between you was heavy with meaning. When she began to speak again, her words grabbed your feet and pulled on them, getting heavier and heavier until you began to wonder why the earth had not opened underneath you and swallowed you whole.
“I know you wonder what happened between Eivor and Randvi. It is neither my place nor my ability to tell you everything, but I will say this, for fairness’s sake and because I think you already know in your heart. There was once love between them. Whether it still lives on, I cannot tell. But Eivor has told me that she is ready to leave this bond behind her because she feels something new, something far deeper and more intensive is coming. That is why she has pursued you. She felt something deeper the moment she met you.”
Valka turned to you and you fought to at least turn your feet so you could face her. Everything was spinning around you. The dark-haired woman gently placed her hands on either side of your neck and looked deep into your eyes.
“Follow your heart, Y/N. The gods will lead you. They have decided your destiny long before you were born.”
After recommending you should get some sleep, Valka left you frozen in place and dizzy. The noise that filled the room was now nothing but a single loud booming voice threatening to split your head. You needed to get some air. Maybe your bed was really the best idea.
You looked around for Eivor, but she had vanished from sight. It did not matter, you would find your way into her arms later one way or another. You said your goodbyes to Sfáva and the other servants, then you finally exited the longhouse and inhaled the cool night air.
Rounding the corner toward your hut, you were suddenly startled by a noise that sounded like an animal crying out. Maybe a cat? You tiptoed around the dark cottage to your right and suddenly stopped dead in your tracks.
Your heart dropped to your feet and all the blood left your face.
Eivor had pressed her brother's wife to the wooden wall and was kissing her passionately while her hands explored Randvi’s body under her tunic. They were so immersed that they had not heard you coming. You could not move, your feet suddenly weighing you down like boulders again.
The blonde’s knee was between the other woman’s legs and Randvi spread them for her lover, moaning into her mouth. As Eivor started attacking her neck with kisses, the auburn-haired woman opened her eyes and looked directly at you. The surprise in her gaze was almost unnoticeable, fading quickly to be replaced by malicious pleasure as she continued to stare at you while whining Eivor’s name and burying her fingers in the warrior’s hair.
Finally, your muscles started to work again. You turned on the spot and quietly made your way to Eivor’s hut. You felt sick. Closing the door behind you, you kicked your shoes under the bed and threw your coat into the corner. The cat on Eivor's pillow just gave you a questioning look.
“Oh Birna, if only you knew.” You threw yourself on the bed next to her, then you started bawling for the second time today. You cried until there was not a single tear left and you felt completely empty inside. Then you scooted close to the edge of the bed, turning your back to Eivor’s side, and tried to fall asleep.
Even though you fell into a state of absence, sleep would not come. Dread filled you when you heard teps at the door. But before Eivor could enter, you heard her cough and retch, probably throwing up into the thorny bushes a few steps from the door. A slight feeling of righteousness overcame you but it quickly disappeared again, leaving only misery and desperation.
When the warrior finally entered, you could hear her stumble through the room and curse under her breath as she hit her foot on the bed frame. She seemed to only take off her coat and let it fall to the floor before lying down next to you and falling asleep in an instant. A part of you had still hoped for her arms around you, despite everything. Now you could hear her ragged breathing and smell the smoke and alcohol on her hair and breath.
The tears came again and you silently cried into your pillow while the warrior slept soundly next to you, oblivious to your sorrow. Only Birna proved her loyalty to you by getting up from Eivor’s side of the bed and rolling up in the crook of your bent knees.
-
You must have fallen asleep at some point because you were woken the next morning by another salve of mumbled curses. It was still grey outside, dawn had only just begun. You stayed completely still and listened to Eivor dress herself and collect her weapons and shield from her trunk.
To your surprise, the warrior suddenly walked around to your side, crouched down, and lightly stroked your hair.
“Have a good day, my little bird. I will bring you honor and victory today,” she whispered, then she stood up and swiftly left the hut.
-
Let me know what you thought ❤️ (it’s okay if you hate me, I promise I’ll make it up to you in the next chapters)
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