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afterthegreatunknown · 3 months

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Widdershins Gets Inadvertently Insulted, and Semi-Reveals his Feelings

Welcome to the fourth ‘chapter’ of my Seven Six Widdershins Family Members AU. Inspired by the Six Baudelaire AU by unfortunate-stranger-losers, in this AU, the Book!Widdershins Family and Netflix!Widdershins Family are now combined together to make a family of six. This 'chapter'...it's a lot.

Off-screen: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny after telling Mr. Poe they’re not going with him, hitchhiked their way to Paltryville, due to the mystery of a now-gone group photo and newspaper headline. They soon get illegally adopted by Sir to work at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Olaf as such spends two weeks trying to find the Baudelaires, for Mr. Poe lost tabs on them. During the second week, Mr. Poe hears rumors about the children being at a melon mill, and he and his sister Eleanora go investigate it.

Of course, the Melon Mill no longer stands. But Olaf has an idea where the Baudelaires could be at, and gets confirmation after asking Madame Lulu at Caligari Carnival. Fernald isn’t happy to drive Olaf to the middle of nowhere that is the Hinterlands. He’s even less happy to be at Caligari Carnival, for reasons...

Because I'm still unable to make 'align center’, as well as proper breaks in HTML in the new editor, when you see [] brackets with ramblings inside them, it’s indicating a section change.

Fernald: “God! To think this place is still such an utter dump! I heard stories from my stepfather—well, I heard it was the tourist destination to go to back in the day.”

Madame Lulu, gesturing to their surroundings: “Madame Lulu is trying to get help as she can, yes. Very hard though to get money to fix things up. The House of Freaks generate entertainment, but not enough that audience give enough money in my pocket.”

(Olivia Caliban, mentally thinking: “I think it would better to get the rides working again. And games booths. And better refreshment. And acts. I think maybe forcing people who are oddly considered freaks by society’s standards is losing their charm at last.”)

Hugo, Colette, and Kevin, all sticking their heads out from their caravan, for they’re a bunch of eavesdroppers: “We’re trying the best we can as freaks, Madame Lulu!

Kevin, noticing Fernald, and smiles: “Hey! Nice to see you again Hooky! I-we haven’t seen you in a while! Are you alright? You sound sort of tense.”

Fernald, waving hook: “I’m fine. Thank you. I hope you three have a semi-decent day.” *turning to Madame Lulu* “Seriously. Do you ever plan on fixing up this place?”

Madame Lulu: “Fixing not in carnival’s future, yes. At least not now.”

With Olaf getting confirmation from Madame Lulu the Baudelaires are in Paltryville, he takes Seller as the associate, for Seller is only one who can handle Dr. Orwell’s personality. Seller and Olaf disappear for a full month, with disguises packed by Verne for them to be Foreman Flacutono and Shirley the Secretary, which came from the V.F.D. kit. Except for the Flacutono wig; Verne hates the V.F.D. wig enough to buy his own. That leaves Harper, Penny, Lucy, Verne, and Fernald back in the City.

Nothing happens for a full month. At the start of the next month, Seller calls the house, and orders Verne to take a train and/or steal a car to get to Paltryville. Seller for once, thinks Olaf is in over his head, and concern that something bad may happened at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Verne arrives just in time too.

Violet was able to save break Klaus free of his hypnotism after playing the researcher. Klaus was able invent something to save Charles from getting murdered. Sunny had her buck-wild sword fight with Dr. Orwell with her teeth (the wildest thing to ever happen).

And Dr. Orwell falls to her death. Well! Looks like Seller was right!

With Olaf soon getting expose from his secretary act, and Seller dropping his foreman act alongside the wig, the two high-tail the hell out of the mill before Mr. Poe, his sister, and the authorities arrived. Verne in his stole car is waiting outside the fence, and frowns upon seeing Seller and the lack of wig on his head.

Verne: “Do you know how difficult to find such a decent looking wig without a shine?! Do you also know how time consuming it is to get a shine out of a wig!? God! I should have given you the shitty V.F.D. wig had I know you would carelessly throw a wig away!” Seller: “You can buy a decent looking wig without a shine or the materials to get a shine out a wig at a reasonable price, Nemo! Why not bitch about your nephew’s wooden hands!? They’re the one that take up a lot of money!” Olaf, patience wears thin: “As much as I enjoy watching a good conflict, WE STILL NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. Nemo, start driving to the train station!”

Meanwhile, while this is going on —near the end of events—Tegan officially joins the Queequeg as the second member of the Crew of Two. It would have been a great occasion, if it wasn’t for the fact that day is also Fiona’s fifteenth birthday. Fiona isn’t that upset her birthday was a bit overshadowed by Tegan’s arrival, and doesn’t cry at her party. Fiona finds some positive from Tegan’s joining the Queequeg.

Fiona: “She may not be a mycologist, but Tegan does know fungi. It’ll be nice to have someone around with a similar interest. I just hope we’ll have the chance to discuss it though. With the way everything is, well as Tegan’s new-found professionalism, the chances of that seem very slim.”

As Ephraim departs from the Queequeg to go out on his mission, Ephraim gives Fiona and Widdershins parting gifts. For Fiona, it’s her birthday present: a copy of The Mysterious Island. For Widdershins, it’s a reminder of “the greatest chance you would never get normally.” It’s a painting of Ephraim himself. Tegan covered her face in embarrassment over the gift (rightfully so because WHAT IS THIS GIFT).

Widdershins: “…This is a fine gift, sir.” (Mentally though, Widdershins is all, “FUCK THIS PAINTING AGAIN?”) Fiona: “I agree with my stepfather. It’s a very fine painting.” (Mentally though, Fiona is all, “And once again, Step-Grandfather has no idea what actually constitutes as a good gift.”)

Returning back to Olaf and the Acting Troupe, they lay low for a week. The Baudelaires find themselves having a happy time at Prufrock Prep. It’s not because the academy is a wonderful place itself, but because they finally have friends in the form of Duncan and Isadora Quagmire. However, such happiness doesn’t last long.

Olaf, after getting around round of help from Madame Lulu (for ‘Orphans off to a boarding school’ is too vague of hint, as well as it surprisingly refers to other orphans), takes Penny and Lucy as his associates for his newest scheme. However, this time around, he asked the ladies to go on ahead first as cafeteria workers. Olaf is unsure how he can get around the advance computer Vice-Principal Nero programmed roaming outside the school, and wants them to figure out the computer’s flaw.

Two weeks pass. Penny and Lucy call the house and tell Olaf about the flaw. They believe that if he’s in a disguise that hides some particular features—namely his eyebrow— he’ll go undetected. And so, Olaf goes to back to the hell that is Prufrock Prep under the disguise as Coach Genghis, with a new plan in action.

With Coach Genghis around, he makes the Baudelaires run laps at night for the S.O.R.E. program to get them time and get them to fail their class. As such, to help their friends in the realm of research, the Quagmires decide to dig up information about Olaf, as well as something else the Baudelaires requested.

Klaus, unfolding the drawing from Ike’s room that he kept: “I found this in our Aunt Josephine’s husband’s private room.” Duncan, narrowing his eyes, leaning close to the drawing: “That’s an interesting illustration. What it is of?” Violet: “We don’t know. Our Aunt Josephine only told us was that her husband Ike was studying it with a few others within their…friend group, but that’s all.” Isadora: “It must be something dangerous, private, or both if she kept quiet on it.” Sunny: “Senildeah!” (“What about the headlines!?”) Klaus, turning to Sunny: “That’s right! I nearly forgotten about those! Thank you, Sunny!” *turning back to the Quagmires * “In Ike’s private room, there was a newspaper headline about The Thistle of the Valley accident. Our time in Paltryville didn’t tell us anything about it. We only learned more about parents and their…friend group.” Duncan, pulling out his commonplace book and pencil, writing things down: “Paltryville, The Thistle of the Valley…” *looking up, smiling* “It’s still not a lot to go on, but it should be enough to find basic information, even if it’s unfortunately wrong.” Violet, smiling: “Thank you. I know it might be a mystery that won’t get solve completely, we’re grateful that you’re helping us.” Isadora, smiling: “We’re friends, and that is what friends are for.” Sunny, grinning, clasping hands together: “Daw…” (“Daw…”)

Meanwhile, back in the City and in Olaf’s house, Seller and Fernald are at each other throats, and Verne and Harper are playing card games that isn’t Roland’s Folly. The closest things to interesting is Harper getting updates regarding Gustav’s corpse and Monty’s house. Gustav’s body was found floating down from Swarthy Swamp to a river that leads to Lake Lachrymose, and that Monty’s place got mysteriously burned down, with rumors of two arsonists in odd get-up having set the place on fire.

Actually, Monty’s place getting burn happens right after Olaf enacted his plan to kidnap the Baudelaires after they get expelled from Prufrock Prep. Olaf orders the remaining troupe to pick them up. Verne and Fernald have one car to drive Penny and Lucy and the kidnapped children, while Seller and Harper have the other car to drive Olaf himself, because he at the moment, doesn’t want to share the vehicle as them.

But there’s a small change of plan regarding the kidnapping.

Duncan and Isadora, having disguised themselves as the Baudelaires (with Sunny being played by a sack of flour), get themselves kidnapped. Near sunrise, the Quagmires make their escape, but fail to see ‘Sunny’ was left behind. Lucy, having watching in the shadows alongside her sister, panicked, and ran onto the field.

Lucy: “Is the baby sick! IS THE BABY SICK? WHY DIDN’T YOU GO WITH YOUR SIBLINGS, BABY?” *The bag of flour flops over, and Lucy screams* Penny, joining her sister: “…That’s flour. That’s a bag of flour! Why would Violet and Klaus not have their sister running tonight alongside them?” Olaf, joining them as well, connecting the dots on why Violet and Klaus were oddly the same height, unlike all the other nights: “…Those annoying orphans brats. Ladies, go after the two Quagmires!” Penny and Lucy, confused: “The Quagmires?” Olaf: “Yes, the Quagmires! They were pretending to be the Baudelaire Brats the whole time! Like I said before! Go after them! I have a feeling they’ll be useful to us!”

Verne and Fernald as such, get a surprise when driving away from Prufrock Prep.

[A Kidnapping in the Happening!]

“You got to be kidding me! You two got the Quagmires Triplets?!” Fernald continued to look back behind the front passenger seat, not giving a damn that he’s unbuckled, because fuck car safety at the moment.

“Triplets?” asked Lucy, trying her best to keep Duncan from moving around. “There’s two of them though! The newspaper said they’re twins!

“Just because there’s two of us doesn’t mean we’re twins, lady!” shouted Isadora Quagmire, struggling against Penny’s tight grasp on her. “Our brother’s death in the fire doesn’t change a thing about our birth!”

“You lost your brother in a—OW! I got bit! How rude!” Lucy’s winced, and loosened her grip on Duncan Quagmire. Duncan as such, started to kick against the back side-passenger door in a rhythmic pattern.

“FUCK YOU ALL!” yelled Duncan at the top of his voice. “FUCK! YOU! ALL! YOU HEAR ME? YOU HEAR ME!?”

“Don’t you go breaking the door, brat!” growled Uncle Verne. “God, talk about having a hell of a drive back! Why do you have the Quagmires!?”

“A ruse is what happened!” Penny struggled to keep Isadora still, while trying to grab the burlap sacks from the backseat pocket to throw onto the Quagmires faces. “These two tricked us by pretending to be the Baudelaires! The boy was Klaus, the girl was Violet, and a bag of flour was the baby! How stupid that last one is!”

“Oh, fuck off with your stupid-ass complaints and insults about us!” Duncan continued to kick the door, and then glared at Uncle Verne. The glare had Fernald wondering what the Quagmires discovered about V.F.D. exactly. “You’re a bunch of miserable, selfish, assholes ruining other people’s lives without a damn over something stupid!”

“I agree with my older brother!” exclaimed Isadora. “You’re doing this all willing too! How do you live with yourselves! Don’t you care what others might think! Like your family?!”

“Shush, annoying little girl!” sneered Penny, managing to cover Isadora’s face with the burlap sack. “Now stay quiet, or else I’ll do something you’ll wish never happened to you. Unless you want me to do it your older brother! He bit my little sister, after all!”

Isadora did that, but it doesn’t stop her from moving around in the backseat anyway. Duncan meanwhile, continued to curse like a sailor at the top of his lungs. Well, at least until Lucy stuffed the burlap sack into his mouth. Fernald had to give up his jacket to Penny to cover the brat’s eyes.

[Must Be HELL of a Ride Back...]

Meanwhile, back at on the submarine Queequeg, V.F.D. finally got to Widdershins’ request for another crewmember, for Phil joins as the cook. Because Tegan is the unofficially part of the Crew of Two, Phil is delegated as an additional member; the chef.

With Tegan around, Fiona either helps Phil in the kitchen, or assists her stepfather and Tegan on reading charts and maps and submarine repairs. Fiona only has enough idle time to read The Mysterious Island. Fiona has yet read her stepfather’s birthday present, for it’s still in its wrapping.

(It’s a surprise tool that will help later.)

Tegan is doing a great job of being part of the Crew of Two. She keeps the Queequeg in almost near perfect condition, and almost always shadows Widdershins. Widdershins doesn’t mind her tailing, at first. He slowly grows irritated as Tegan unknowingly insults him. Widdershins wouldn’t mind the insults (for he’s quite use to insults) if Tegan didn’t compare him Ephraim while doing so. Tegan is harsh on Widdershins for not going back to land to restock on supplies so quickly, unlike Ephraim’s supplies runs. Tegan complaints to Widdershins on switching back and forth between subject matters, for Ephraim focuses on one thing at a time.

One day, Widdershins and Teagan were walking to a trolley stop with bulk of groceries in boxes, for they went on a supply run. There at the stop, is a thirteen-year-old boy with dark hair and dark wearing a backpack, holding a folded map in his hands. The boy has a mask covering the lower half of his face, like he has a cold and doesn’t want to spread germs. The boy eventually starts a conversation with them.

Thirteen-year-old Boy, muffled voice: “You got a lot of groceries for just two people.” Widdershins: “We’re actually carrying groceries for four people! Aye!” Tegan: “Eight people really, given we’re stocking up for supplies.” Thirteen-year-old Boy: “Stocking up?” Tegan: “Aye. It’ll be a while before we can go get groceries again, so we’re preparing.” Thirteen-year-old Boy: “Ah.” *nodding head, tilts head to side* “Thank explains why you have everything in bulk. Odd to see you don’t have small snacks in bulk.” Widdershins: “None at all! But we do have crackers!” *Widdershins sets the boxes he’s carrying down, and takes the top box off, setting it onto the ground. He then pulls out a rather large box of circular, salted crackers* “We got it for free, and while I like snacking on crackers, I don’t like this particular brand! Aye! Would you like to have them?” Tegan: “Are you—” *rolling eyes* “I can’t believe you’re doing this right now!” Thirteen-year-old Boy, tying his best to not laugh: “I was always told by my parents that I’m not supposed to take food from people I don’t know…” *stomach growls* “…but given my personal circumstances, I think I’ll make this the sole exception.”

The thirteen-year-old boy takes the box of crackers just as the trolley arrives. The boy goes onto the trolley, while two people get off the trolley. The boy takes a seat near the window, and waves goodbye at them, with Widdershins and Tegan waving also.

(Widdershins and Tegan will not know that they interacted with Quigley Quagmire until a dispatch got sent to them a week later when on the Queequeg:

Fiona, looking up from her charts: “Stepfather! Tegan! We got a telegram!” Widdershins, running down the spiral stairs: “Here I thought it wasn’t working!” Tegan, sliding down the pole: “Who send it to us, Niece Fiona?” Fiona, looking at telegram: “It’s from Quigley Quagmire.” Widdershins and Tegan: “What?” *Everyone looks at the dispatch* Dispatch: Captain Widdershins, I know this isn’t how one must use the Volunteer Factual Dispatch, but I must thank you STOP. The crackers you gave me lasted me a good while STOP. I am unsure when I’ll communicate with you again, but just know I heading towards the Mortmain Mountains for personal reasons, as well as related to the organization. Hopefully we will communicate with one another in the future STOP.”)

The two people that got off the trolley are real estate agents. One of them opened up their umbrella due to the sun, and they begin talking. There, Widdershins and Tegan hear that Monty’s home is gone, due to a fire of unknown origins. The land is now up for sale as potential retail development.

Widdershins was ready to stand up and ask them question as a random, curious citizen, but for the first time in years, he hesitates, and keeps quiet. This has Tegan going on yet another comparison, after they return to the Queequeg (Fiona is in the makeshift library, while Phil is out in the main control room looking out the port window).

[~If you say it like that, it must mean that you hate me~]

“Why did you stay silent, V? Remember our old man’s philosophy!” Tegan’s voice was close behind him, yet seemed so far away. “He —or she— who hesitates is lost!”

“I know that, Tegan.” Widdershins gripped the bottom box tightly as he tried to set the boxes onto the table. “I can’t forget such a philosophy, even if I wanted too. Aye, I had it drill into me longer than you.”

“Why did you hesitate then? Aye! You could have asked them more about it as a random, curious citizen. I think they wouldn’t have mind that!”

“I could, but I didn’t, aye.” Widdershins inhaled, and then exhaled. It’s all just a matter of keeping it under control. He can do this. He can do this. Widdershins took the first box off, and then the second box.

“That still doesn’t answer my question. Why didn’t you ask, V? Aye! If Stepfather was here, he would have asked them for sure!” Tegan’s voice goes slightly higher, as well as defensive. “Stepfather would have asked nonchalantly without a second thought! Aye! Stepfather would have successfully gotten more information! Having so many years of experience, our old man’s actions unlike yours—”

“Are correct! Aye! Are ideal! Aye! Are what the organization wants in a true volunteer! Captain Ephraim B. Widdershins does everything right, and everything I do is wrong!” Widdershins spun around on his heels, and gave a cold, stern glare at her.

Tegan, still carrying one the boxes, stared at him with her brown eyes. Her eyes blinking fast behind her triangle glasses, and her lower lips quivers. “V…”

“Is everything okay? I heard loud voices!” Phil’s voice called out from the outside.

Widdershins stared at Tegan, and then closed his eyes. He knew he fucked up big time. He had to apology, not just to appease his old man, wherever he is right now.

“I’m sorry.” Tegan’s voice was small.

Widdershins reopened his eyes, and stared at Tegan, and shook his head. He then took a step towards her.

Tegan took a step back, still with the box in her hand. The way Tegan was acting now, Widdershins was reminded of that day so long ago. Tegan was six, thinking him as a ghost from her past haunting them. He can’t blame Tegan for acting like this now.

The two of them didn’t speak for a bit. But Tegan eventually, took a step closer to him. Widdershins carefully took the box from Tegan’s hands.

“Don’t apologize, Tegan,” said Widdershins. “You didn’t know how I felt, because I didn’t tell you. Aye, so don’t go feeling guilty over something you didn’t know of.”

Tegan remained quiet, but she did nod her head.

“To tell you the truth about all of this,” continued Widdershins, “I’m doing this in the perspective of an outsider. As an outsider, Captain Ephraim B. Widdershins is a great submarine captain. He’s a well-respected volunteer in the organization. His stepdaughter as such deserves the best chaperone. Instead, you got stuck with—”

Widdershins couldn’t help but pause mid-way. Insulting himself would make Tegan feel worse, no doubt. Widdershins just sighed, as he placed the box onto the table.

“Tegan, I’m fine with you disrespecting me as your brother. Stepbrother,” said Widdershins. “As your chaperone though, I insist you accept and respect what I do, and do exactly as I say. And I said it was best we didn’t engage in conversation.”

Tegan once again, nodded head. In a quiet voice, she replied, “Okay.”

[~No! I don't hate you at all~]

Despite all the bickering and unknowing comparisons, there is one good thing going between Widdershins and Tegan. And that, is calling Phil “Cookie” for no apparent reason. Widdershins started it first, and Tegan jumped onto it. It drives Fiona off the walls to where she told them over dinner one night, with the meal being some sort of fish, vegetable, and cheese casserole (it’s not as bad as it could be, too).

Fiona, passing the black pepper to her stepfather: “It’s just impolite! It’s more polite to call someone by their proper name!” Widdershins, dumping black pepper over the casserole Phil made for diner: “Maybe so! Aye! But I have yet heard Cookie complain about it!” Tegan, drinking some lemonade, for they can’t have the lemon-lime soda: “He clearly likes the nickname. *turns to Phil* “Isn’t that right, Cookie?” Phil, *serving himself casserole, smiling*: “I do like it! I don’t mind the nickname at all. I always wanted a nickname when I was a kid! Cookie is a very nice nickname to have!” Fiona, doing an expression that is similar to the well-known scrunch-up Kermit face: “Well, alright then. I’m just surprise that you two when in a blue moon, are scarily so much alike. And this is considering how you are the opposite of one another.” Tegan, nearly choking on her lemonade, having feeling insulted: “Scarily alike? Niece Fiona, understand that comment is just uncalled for! He may not look it, but know at times he’s an empty head with no thoughts.” Widdershins, setting the black pepper down: “That means you too, can be an empty head with no thoughts.” Tegan: “…” *Pushes Widdershins off his chair* Widdershins, from the floor: “Hey!” Tegan, smirking as she swaps their plates: “It’s mine now, V.” Phil, still smiling: “Ah, siblings bonding. How wonderful!”

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #fanfic #widdershins family curse concept au #captain widdershins #tegan widdershins #verne widdershins #fernald widdershins #fernald #hook handed man #fiona widdershins #ephraim widdershins #count olaf #the acting troupe #the theater troupe #the bald man #the white face women #madame lulu #(there's a lot of characters in this chapter. tagging those in au + those with 'roles'. hence madame lulu but not olivia caliban)

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misslavenderlady · 2 years

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The Boys Who Wouldn't Grow Up - Chapter 3

Summary: Being the good brother that he is, Marko helps David get out and have some fun in Santa Carla. David is expecting good music, but little does he know there's a special someone he'll experience too~

I'm afraid my story doesn't have the iconic Sax Man™, but it does have the musical genius of Hall & Oates! For those of you who need a refresher, Maria is the employee at Max's video store that Marko, Dwayne, and Paul flirt with (in a deleted scene she trains Lucy in her new job)!

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A few days had gone by and barely a word had been traded between Max and David. Their conversation after their first dinner home had definitely soured things between the two, and while Max was struggling to figure out the best way to talk to his son, David was purposely avoiding his father at all costs. Marko was visibly uncomfortable with this, choosing to just spend time with either his grandmother or the dog to avoid asking about what happened.

Despite the efforts to maintain a sense of peace, Marko was starting to feel the itch of cabin fever from being cooped up in the house for so long. He hadn’t gotten any real chances to explore Santa Carla properly, and he thought it was stupid not seeing the place he was going to be for the rest of the summer. He didn’t have a driver’s license and David wasn’t willing to either give a ride or lend his bike so his only option was a 15-minute walk to the nearest section of the beach.

Luckily, that path had gotten him far enough to find a bulletin board on the street across from the sandy terrain. It was littered with newspaper clippings, sketchy job postings, and an alarming amount of missing person’s posters. Hopefully, they were just for runaways and nothing serious.

After scanning all the papers, Marko finally found something that would help with the boredom. A concert was playing tomorrow night, and it was just the kind of band that both he and David liked. Snatching up one of the copies pinned behind the main page, Marko jogged home, excited to get himself and his brother out of the house for a night on the town. Surely this would put David in a better mood!

“No.” was all David said when Marko had shoved the flier in his face. So much for a better mood.

David was lounging on the couch in the living room with a journal in his lap and the history channel on a low volume for background. It was one of the few moments of peace he had in more space in the house. His father was busy on the phone with his work colleagues back in their hometown and wouldn’t disturb his solitude for a couple of hours. Of course, that didn’t stop Marko from bugging him.

“C’mon, David! Staying in here all day sucks! Some of us DON’T want to be hermits all summer!”

“Fuck no,” David emphasized, not wanting to be bothered any longer.

Marko let out an exasperated sigh, frustrated but not ready to give up. It would be better to try going with the emotional side of his brother.

“Look, man, I’m worried about you. Even though you’re a pain, I don’t like seeing you unhappy” Marko said. He reached out to push David’s journal downward, forcing the older brother to actually look at him when he was talking.

“If you stay here you’re just gonna keep wallowing in misery, and I know that’ll make you feel worse. Let’s go and have fun, and forget all the other garbage going on”. Even if this was for Marko’s sake of getting out of the house more, there was some genuine care behind it. Despite their brotherly quarrels, he did worry about David and his well-being a lot.

David knew there was some sincerity behind Marko’s words, and it put a pang of guilt in his heart. Just because he was angry at his dad didn’t mean his little brother deserved that kind of treatment too. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

“Fine. But I’m driving us. You’re not touching my bike after the last time I let you give it a try” David said. He remembered how long it took to buff out the scratches after Marko didn’t put the kickstand down properly. Luckily, that didn’t seem to be a problem because he was so happy with the answer that a big, dopey smile spread across his face.

“Hell yeah! I’m gonna wear that jacket we got on our last vacation! I’m gonna look so damn cool!” Marko exclaimed, running off to prepare his outfit for the next night. David couldn’t help but smirk a little as he rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the journal in his hands. Even if the concert didn’t make him feel better, at least it would put his little brother in a good mood. That definitely counted for something.

One of the things David and Marko had in common besides their taste in music was their taste in fashion. After David had drastically transformed his style and filled his wardrobe with leather jackets, dark shirts, and spiked jewelry, Marko followed suit.

He was pretty tame most of the time, but on special occasions, he loved breaking out the collection of elaborate jackets and fingerless gloves he had started collecting. He even learned some basics in sewing so he could add new accessories and patches to the denim jackets he had. Max didn’t understand their look, but it at least made the two happy to be creative.

Tonight was the perfect night to dress their best and have some fun. After putting together their outfits and accessories, the two went out to the concert on David’s bike.

Max had watched them pull out of the driveway from the kitchen window. As nice as it was seeing his boys out and somewhat joyful, it was hard not to worry about them being out by themselves. He sometimes saw them as small children, needing their hands held as they all crossed the street. Santa Carla could be quite crazy at night, and the last thing he wanted was his boys to get involved with local gangs or get mugged in an alley.

He wouldn’t admit it, but one of the reasons why he wanted them to be more mature was because he didn’t want them to be vulnerable and unwise to the dangers of the world. The better prepared they were, the more likely they were to follow the right path in life. It was difficult to find the right words to express that sometimes.

His mother must have been able to figure out why he looked so worried because she stepped up to Max’s side and put her arm around his shoulder. She smiled at her son and gave him a gentle pat.

“They’re not the only ones who deserve a little fun out,” she said. “Why don’t you go out for some fresh air, dear? It’ll help you clear your head”

Suddenly, a walk on the boardwalk sounded less scary and a bit more inviting. Perhaps Max had been spending too much time alone with his thoughts. A little exercise and a new environment would be for the best right now. Smiling at his mom, Max gave a nod and left the room to put on some sneakers before heading out.

The music at the concert was pumping with energy and power as it played over the massive crowd of teens and 20-somethings. Girls were hoisted onto the strong shoulders of the guys in the crowd to enjoy a better view. The light of several glow sticks and flames from lighters illuminated the darkness. The air was heating up fast because of the summer air and the people crowded together. All of the area was bursting with life, and everyone was feeling the rush.

Almost everyone.

The band onstage had been playing hit after hit for a good hour now, and while David had been liking the music, he was feeling his internal battery slowly drain. He had hoped to genuinely enjoy things and match the energy his brother had kept up, but he was still struggling. He wondered if other kids like him dealt with this. Genuinely wanting to try to have a good time, but their brains just not letting them. He remembered talking about it with the school counselor, but there hadn’t been enough time to go into detail about it.

Instead of jumping to the beat of the song with Marko, David had started smoking a cigarette, trying to relax a bit more. He knew it was a bad habit, but he tried to limit himself to just one stick a day. A little hit to make it through tough moments.

Marko whooped and hollered with joy as the band started playing a cover of one of his favorite Hall & Oates songs. The keyboard was boosting his already high energy and he found himself swaying along.

David gave him a small smile and nod, encouraging his brother to have fun while he enjoyed his smoke.

“Aren’t you a little young for those?” a voice asked to David’s left. Surprised, he snapped his head in the direction it came from, coming face to face with a girl. Not just a girl though. A breathtakingly beautiful girl.

She was shorter in height than David and looked at him with a gleam in her dark, brown eyes. Her hair had shiny curls that fell to her shoulders. Her almond-toned skin was practically glowing under the moonlight and she was dressed in a red-toned, strapless, bohemian dress. This girl was absolutely flawless from head to toe, and she had picked David of all people to talk to.

“Funny, that’s what the dealer who sold me them said” he joked, taking another drag, but being courteous enough to blow it away from her direction. Better try not to be as big an asshole as usual in front of the lady.

“You know, you have a really nice complexion, honey. Smoking will just take it away~”

The mystery girl reached out and brushed her fingers over David’s cheekbone, gentle with her long, painted nails. He could feel his heartbeat speeding rapidly, definitely not used to getting such intimate attention. The perfume on her wrist smelled of lilac, and it was already making him feel lightheaded in the best way possible.

He didn’t think twice before flicking the smoke to the ground and crushing it under his boot. Addiction be damned if it meant getting more attention from her.

“You wanna dance with me a bit~?” the mystery girl asked. Funny enough, she seemed to be whispering, but he could hear her clearly over the volume of the band. David’s tongue couldn’t form the right words, so he instead wordlessly nodded and took her hand in his. The smile she gave him when he accepted was enough to stop his heart.

Manic moves and drowsy dreams

Or living in the middle between the two extremes

Smoking guns hot to the touch

Would cool down if we didn't use them so much

The song was a perfect guide for the moves David and the mystery girl did together. Without even thinking, the hand that didn’t hold hers was wrapped around her slim waist. As he moved side to side with her, he felt his brain clouding, not thinking as it should, but just getting lost in the moment. When was the last time he felt this blissful?

We're soul alone

And soul really matters to me

Too much

As the two swayed to the beat together, she giggled, clearly enjoying the moves he was making up as he went. Her smile was the brightest he had ever seen, and he would have told her so if he wasn’t feeling so tongue-tied. It was so rewarding to let go and have fun. David truly felt like his best self right now.

Just a boy with a girl without a care in the world as they danced. It was odd feeling himself smile so much as it had been so long since he had a reason to do so.

You're out of touch

I'm out of time

But I'm out of my head when you're not around

He spun the girl around, feeling giddy from the laughter that escaped her. Their moves were growing bolder and the energy he had been lacking before was now free-flowing. She swayed so gracefully, almost as if she was floating on air instead of the ground. It was impossible not to be enchanted by her every move.

She stopped suddenly, holding her gaze with David. The way she looked at him made his body go still, almost as if he was paralyzed. He had just met this girl and yet she had complete control over him. She seemed to be studying him as if she was taking in every piece of information about him without saying a single word.

His heart was racing more than ever as the mystery girl leaned in and whispered close to his ear. The lilac scent was even stronger now. Without his own control, David shut his eyes and listened closely.

“Goodnight. I’m sorry…”

Whatever spell David had been under was broken and he could move again. His eyes shot open, and the girl he had enjoyed the dance with was gone. He moved his head around in every direction, desperately looking for her. There were plenty of people in this crowd, but none of them were her. How the hell did she get out of sight so fast? He had opened his eyes as soon as she spoke, so there was no possible way for her to get far.

Why did she leave? Why did she say she was sorry?

More confused and concerned than ever, David realized he hadn’t given her his name or even asked for hers. How could he be so stupid?! He wanted to end their moment on a better note, and if he was going to do that, he needed to find her quickly.

He rushed over back to Marko, who hadn’t seen what happened but was instead still lost in the music. David clasped a hand on his brother’s shoulder, grabbing his attention. Marko’s smile fell when he saw how overwhelmed his brother looked. He knew he had gotten tense as the night went on, but now he looked a lot worse.

“What’s wrong?” Marko asked, stopping his dance to focus on his brother.

“Follow me. I need to find someone,” he simply said, taking Marko’s hand and leading him to the wooden staircase at the back of the venue. He figured since it was the closest exit, she might have headed to the boardwalk. It was still impossible how fast she had left, but he would do his best to find her.

You're out of touch

I'm out of time

But I'm out of my head when you're not around

credit for the pics goes to quotev.com and mycast.io

#the lost boys #my fic #swap au #tlb #tlb 1987 #marko the lost boys #david the lost boys #maria the lost boys #au fic #swap fic

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f1united · 3 years

Text

Ensemble - Chapter Two: The Girl and The Gift

Charles Leclerc x Reader

Summary: Your Arthur Leclercs best friend. So why, after a random night in London, are you falling for his brother?

Chapter One: The Start

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol and sex.

Word Count: 5.8k

Note: This chapter begins in London and is marked where it switches to Mykonos. There are then some flashbacks mixed in so just watch out for those. Let me know your thoughts, enjoy!

*****

Chapter Two: The Girl and The Gift

Not long after Pierre had joined your table, Charles emerged from the toilets. Pierre had waved his hands to inform him of his updated location as he sat in the empty seat, unknowingly signing himself up for a night full of girly gossip and drama. The evening was spent reminiscing on childhood memories and sharing stories. It wasn't until Nat checked her phone that you realised how late it was getting.

"We better get going," She announced as she checked her phone. "The last train is in half an hour." You lived just outside of London which meant that most nights out were cut short by trains unless you had booked a hotel. You hummed in agreement as you finished your drink watching as Pierre began to whisper in Lucy's ear. They'd been flirting all night so her next sentence didn't come as much of a surprise.

"I'm going to chill with Pierre for a bit, I'll find my own way home tomorrow" The rest of the girls saw it coming too.

"Are you sure?" Katie asked. "I don't want you ending up in London on your own with no way home." She had a point. London could be quite daunting when it was late and dark, especially if you weren't a local.

"Well why don't you stay too?" Charles nodded his head towards you as he spoke. "That way you could leave together." Not one part of you questioned Charles' intentions as he spoke. He remained the responsible 'Arthur's older brother' that was being sensible and mature, making sure that everyone got home safely.

"If that's alright with you?" Your question was answered with a nod of his head. You all began to grab your things and headed outside, saying your goodbyes, telling them to text you when they were home safe as they encouraged you to do the same. By the time they'd headed for the station, Pierre and Lucy were already nowhere to be seen.

"I'm not sure about you but I'm in no rush to go back to the apartment just yet!" You spoke to Charles as you looked at the night sky above you.

"Where do you want to go in the meantime?"

“Have you ever explored London before?" You answered his question with one of your own. He shook his head. "So you haven't seen all beautiful sites it has to offer." The sarcasm was evident in your voice as you pointed down the alley way you were walking past full of black bins and plastic bags full of rubbish.

"I've only ever been here to celebrate races and I can't say I've seen much other than the inside of some bars and restaurants.”

"Well you're in for a long night Leclerc." Two hours ago Charles wanted nothing more than for him and Pierre to go back to the apartment. The lack of alcohol he'd consumed throughout the night was only adding to the tiredness he'd accumulated over the race weekend. However as you dragged him through the streets of London he realised there was no place he'd rather be.

You'd ridden Boris bikes alongside the River Thames, shown him your favourite restaurant in Covent Garden and taken him through Piccadilly Circus all the way to Oxford Street where closed shops lined the dark streets, pointing out your favourite ones as you cycled past. He never did things like this. As a F1 driver it was difficult for him to go almost anywhere without going unnoticed but tonight not one person had recognised him because for the night he was just a normal person with another normal person having a good time.

After abandoning the Boris bikes at the nearest drop off point you both headed towards the apartment. It belonged to Charles' mother and was often used by you and Arthur whenever he'd come to visit and couldn't stay with you.

"You seem happier than when I last saw you." His comment made you smile. It was all he could think about as you wondered through the dark streets. The last time you'd seen him you'd just broken up with your ex. Your relationship had been on and off for years but you'd finally called it quits for good. It didn't take a genius to see the relationship was making you unhappy, the anxiety, tears and sleepless nights were picked up on by everyone albeit your efforts to hide it. Arthur was the only person who truly knew what was going on and it hurt him to see his best friend in so much pain when she thought she was in love.

"Thank you, I'm in a much better place now. I've had time to focus on myself." You'd completely lost yourself throughout the time you were together, focusing so much on what he'd wanted and expected rather than what made you happy. The situation had increased your maturity and for that reason you were grateful your first heartbreak had come at such a young age. You'd correctly assumed that Arthur had made Charles aware of your sensitiveness to the situation to some extent as he made no further comments.

He had approached Arthur with concern after your last meeting. Despite a fun grand prix weekend you'd been blinking back tears and spent most of the time with a blank expression on your face. He hated it. He could see you trying to compose yourself, when he came to thank you for coming you'd done your best to smile, your voice was laced with excitement, but your eyes were empty, drained of emotion. He was grateful to see it had made its way back.

"Did you know I've never been to Harrods?" His random fact was a relief as he quickly changed the subject, allowing your mind to be brought back to the present rather than the dark times from the past.

"Even I've been to Harrods Charles. We should go tomorrow, you'd have a field day in the clothes section." As a part time student most of your spare money went into savings, a fund you'd created for your planned travels when you were done with your studies. It wasn't very often that you brought yourself nice things so despite your multiple trips to Harrods, you'd never actually purchased anything. You could see him deliberating your suggestion in his head.

"You can wear sunglasses and a hat with your mask, just don't wear a bright red Ferrari top and I'm sure we'll be able to keep ourselves to ourselves."

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" His question brought you back to reality slightly.

"I'll call in sick?" you offered. It suddenly occurred to you that this was the longest time you and Charles had ever been alone together and the idea of leaving wasn't something that you wanted to think about just yet.

Charles opened the apartment door with caution, neither of you wanted to interrupt your friend’s spontaneous night, nor hear any of the antics they were getting up to. You frowned at each other as you stepped into the entrance corridor. There were no faint voices, no mumbling or laughs, just the hum of the city that echoed through the slightly open window.

“Maybe they didn’t come back here,” your judgement became increasingly more likely as you followed Charles towards the kitchen and stood around the island.

“I’ll send him a text.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped away before placing it on the marble countertop. It lit up with Pierre's reply not long after he'd set it down. “They went to some hotel, apparently he’s dropping her home in a second.”

“He’s not the type to bring girls back to his home turf then,” you took the bag off your shoulder and placed in on the counter, grabbing a hair tie from inside and gathering your locks into a low ponytail. “Smart move.” Charles shrugged his shoulders at your observation.

He’d never really thought about it before, but he was the same. The few casual hook ups that he’d had over the years had never been in places he spent a lot of time like his house in Monaco, or his favourite holiday home in Mykonos, and never this apartment. Sure, he’d slept with people in those cities, but never in his space. You were right though; it was easier to forget about the crime if you never returned to the scene.

"Do you have anything I can change into?"

“There’s a top on the end of my bed.” You thanked him as you made your way towards his room. “I’ll grab some of my things so I can crash on the sofa once you’ve changed.” You stopped in your tracks, turning to face him as you stood in the doorway.

“I’m not kicking an f1 driver out of their own bed Charles, especially not post race weekend.” You crossed your arms as you lent against the door frame. “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

“I’m not letting you sleep on the sofa.” He argued.

“It’s one night Charles, I really don’t mind.”

“I’m not letting you sleep on the sofa.” He repeated.

“Well then it looks like we’re sharing the bed.” Your words not only surprised you, but also Charles. Neither of you were sure where this increased confidence had come from, but you didn’t want it to become awkward, so you tried to justify your statement. “Me and Arthur used to share a bed all the time!”

The look on his face as your eyes met with his across the room was one you’d so desperately been seeking without realising it. His head cocked, eyebrows raised and small smirk tugging its way onto his lips provided reassurance, giving you the confidence to confirm that this relationship was very different to your one with Arthur. You already knew it, you had felt it every time you’d looked at him since you were about 16, but this was the first time you could say with certainty that it was reciprocated.

Charles was dying to climb into bed with you. To wrap his arms around you and stay like it all night. He didn’t care about the fact that your hair would be in his face or that his arm would most likely be dead within the first half an hour. He just wanted you there with him, so he could learn things about you that he didn’t already know and fall asleep with the scent of your faded perfume beneath his nose. He suggested that he’d sleep on the sofa because he knew that wasn’t what you were implying.

“I’ll stay on my side,” you offered. “Promise.”

That’s what he was afraid of. Charles was a respectful man, he wouldn’t cross boundaries without permission, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without your touch. The thought of your body lying so tantalisingly close to his while dressed in nothing but your underwear and one of his shirts was driving him crazy.

“I’m a very good sleeper, you won’t even know I’m there.”

You couldn’t stop listing reasons for Charles to join you. He wished you would stop; his head was already full of so many.

“Well go and get comfy and I’ll join you in a minute,” In that moment he made the decision to give in knowing that if this was the only chance he got to lay in bed with you he'd take the opportunity, whether your bodies were intertwined or not. “Do you need a drink or anything?”

“A water would be great!” You smiled as you turned around and headed to the bedroom. Charles spent the next few minutes alone in the kitchen trying to convince himself that this was a bad idea. That it was wrong. You were his brother’s best friend and he shouldn't be this nervous or excited to lay next to you, but no matter how hard he tried to dislike the situation he couldn’t because it just felt right.

By the time he joined you in bed you’d already made yourself incredibly comfortable. He chuckled at the site of you tangled in the duvet before climbing in next to you. You laid facing each other and remained that way as you chatted about memories from the past. Childhood holidays and his earliest racing days to you latest life plans and hopes for the future. That's how you drifted to sleep, listening to his voice was more comforting than you'd like to admit. When you awoke in the morning you were unsure what terrified you more, the feeling of one of you completely reducing the few centimetres of space left between you or never knowing what Charles’ touch felt like.

*****

Maybe that’s why you were so unimpressed when Charles and Pierre joined the several of you seated around the long table on the patio with two unknown girls. The number of cocktails you’d consumed weren’t providing you with a great amount of rationality but then again it was difficult to justify being annoyed when you had no reason to be in the soberest of situations. The only person to blame was yourself, you’d had the chance to experience a night with Charles and a combination of your stubbornness, maturity and (let’s face it) fear of what could happen had meant that you’d missed out.

It was only as she threw her head back at one of his comments that it hit you, you were jealous. It was a feeling you hadn’t felt in years. Ever since your last relationship you had lacked almost every kind of emotion. You’d dated people since but that connection was never really there which is why you were full of confusion at the situation presenting itself to you. The feelings felt foreign to your body and you weren’t sure how to deal with them, so you did the one think that you were too young to do back then. Get drunk and try to forget about them for a night.

"Are you listening? Drink up, we're leaving in a second!" Arthurs voice provided a distraction from your thoughts whilst encouraging them. You tilted your head back as you finished the remainder of your champagne, your arm was already reaching out for the nearest bottle to see if you could sneak in a quick refill. You didn’t even like champagne but after having run out of cocktails about an hour ago you didn’t really have much choice. In any other situation you would’ve declined and waited until you were at the club but you weren’t really in the mood to sober up right now. You got up to follow everyone to the taxis, deciding that the bottle had too much in to be left at the table to waste, but not enough in that you couldn't finish it before you reached you destination. Putting the bottle to your lips this time, you took another gulp.

He noticed. He noticed the vast amount of alcohol you had consumed thus far. The unbothered façade you'd displayed during dinner was picked up by him the second he’d glanced in your direction. Your eyes often met his across rooms, at events, in the paddock, even at family dinners and it was always followed by a shared smile, but tonight you hadn't even looked at him and he couldn't stand it. Although he couldn’t be certain, he had a good idea what the cause was. Guilt was slowly consuming his thoughts. He shouldn’t have felt guilty, there was no real reason to, yet he did.

He knew if he had come alone you would've had a couple of drinks with dinner, just enough to prepare yourself for the club afterwards, allowing the sweaty people and sticky floor to become slightly bearable. He also knew that you weren't a huge drinker and that the lack of food you had consumed at dinner would only worsen the matter which was evident as he watched you fall into a taxi with Arthur and Carla as he climbed into a separate one with Pierre and, what they appeared to be to everyone else, their ‘dates’.

The club was busy, everyone excited to be back on the dance floor after its absence over the past year or two. Although it would've been nice to spend some more time with him, you were thankful that the crowds had engulfed you so you'd lose sight of Charles and her. You'd found your way to the middle of the dance floor and you remained there for hours losing track of time and somehow your friends too.

Unbeknown to you, Charles had lost his 'date' at the first chance he had. He'd met her on a boat during the day with Pierre and when his best friend had invited her best friend for dinner he felt bad for not doing the same. He was sitting at the bar with Pierre who'd picked up on the amount of attention he was paying you as you danced along with random strangers. The Frenchman questioned what he was doing when he noticed Charles tighten his jaw. Charles nodded his head in your direction and the pair watched as a man approached you.

The guy in front of you was only offering to buy you a drink but you knew you were way over your limit. You'd politely declined, naively assuming that he'd disappear back into the sea of faces but that wasn't the case. Your refusal clearly not accepted as he insisted. grabbing onto your arm in an attempt to pull you in the direction of the bar. Yanking your arm out of his grip you instantly managed to sober up as you came to the realisation you were going to have to fight this battle alone.

Charles knew you were a big girl, that you could handle yourself in almost any situation thrown your way, but as the guy reached out to touch you he could've sworn he moved quicker than his Ferrari. His presence shocked you as you flinched slightly at the unfamiliar grip on your waist.

"It's just me ma belle." Charles whispered calmly into your ear, placing a feather light kiss onto your cheek. Relief instantly washed over your body. You wished you could focus on the conversation that Charles was now having with the strange man in front of you but you couldn't. The only thing you could focus on was the feeling of your skin heating beneath Charles' fingertips and the tingling sensation that lingered where he'd planted the kiss. He'd never touched you before, the brief hugs being the most contact you'd ever shared, and now he was standing in a club with his hand around your waist as he fended off a random guy who'd taken an interest in you. "I think we should head home." When Charles spoke it felt as though each word was coated in sex as it left his lips. He hadn't meant it in a sexy way, you knew that. He wanted to take you home so you were safe. However his intense grip on your waist and his stubble lightly grazing your cheek when he leaned in to speak to you was putting thoughts into your mind that you knew shouldn't be there.

You looked up at him, your eyes locking for the first time that night. Your eyes always showed a lot of emotion. Your body language was often hard to read but you always made eye contact when you spoke. He frequently used it to determine what mood you were in but this time he was met with one he'd never seen before. Despite them having a drunken glaze, your dilated pupils held a look of lust. He could've sworn you were mentally undressing him. You weren't. Instead you were thinking of how much you wanted him to undress you.

"I think that's a good idea." He could hear the smirk in your voice over the sound of the music as you let your lips gently brush his ear lobe while you spoke. He shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath in an attempt to pull himself together. You were disappointed when his hand left your side but satisfied when it quickly intertwined itself with yours. His skin was softer than you were expecting, the rough patches slowly disappearing over the summer break. Your hands remained that way as you walked through the streets of Mykonos. Neither of you spoke, you just remained in a comfortable silence. As the villa came into view Charles was basically marching down the street, his strides increasing as your little legs tried to keep up. He dropped your hand when he reached the door, searching his pockets for the key to unlock it.

The villa was colder than you were expecting, a shiver ran down your spine as the air con hit you. You headed towards the kitchen and grabbed your sweater off one of the bar stools, sliding it on over your outfit.

“So you’d let Carla drive your car huh?” his face instantly broke out in a smile as you relieved some of the tension between you both. “You know that’s not true.” Charles followed you to the kitchen and watched as you perched yourself on the edge of the counter. He poured a glass of water and took a sip before handing it to you which you gratefully accepted.

“You’d let your date drive it instead?” He rolled his eyes as he chuckled at your sarcasm, hoping that you’d forgotten about the girl he’d sat next to during dinner as quickly as he had. “How many girls get a turn before me?” Although he didn't let it show, your question had offended him slightly. Despite his popularity with women he was never one to disrespect them, especially not you. He took a step closer to you, standing directly in front of your legs that were pressed firmly together.

“You’re the only one I want to see in that seat mon Cherie,” That was one nickname that he’d never called you, yet it rolled off his tongue so effortlessly. He leaned against your legs and you slowly parted them so he could stand in between, closing the distance between you both. “I’d let you drive it again in a heartbeat.” Your eyes were fluttering between his eyes and lips, your stare only breaking when he leaned in to speak in your ear just like he’d done in the club. He placed a kiss on your cheekbone and slowly worked his way up to your ear.

“You looked very sexy behind the wheel of my car.” You locked your hands with his while he continued to speak, closing your eyes in a desperate attempt to try and calm your heart rate down. You wanted to say something back, engage more in the conversation, but for the first time in a long time you were at a loss for words. You loved driving, you'd often join the boys go karting growing up and learned to drive as soon as you could, so when Charles asked if you wanted to drive his Ferrari back to your home after your Harrods shopping trip you were more than excited. It was a nice change from the train ride you were expecting.

He'd watched your eyes light up when you realised he was being serious. It was the closest you'd ever been to driving something even remotely similar to an f1 car despite it being different in so many ways. Your smile was infectious as you put your foot down on the motorway, leaving London behind. You'd never even driven an automatic car so this was a completely new experience. He'd taught you how to use the paddles to manually change gears if you wanted to and how to shift through its different modes as you drove around. The only disappointing part of the journey was reaching your destination, your trip home considerably quicker than you would've wanted. After spending the whole time focused on going fast and not crashing, you'd selfishly not noticed how Charles was feeling throughout the drive.

He'd been trying to keep his eyes trained on the road in front of him but couldn't help steal a glance in your direction every now and then. He was always surrounded by fast cars, something he realised after seeing you sat in his driving seat he'd begun to take for granted. He felt overwhelmed with pride, he was the one who was making you this happy. He felt privileged seeing you this free as your hair flew around in the wind while you rested a hand out the side of the car, trying to resist the force of the air pushing it back. It was his turn to be selfish as he realised that he always wanted to keep that moment for himself. He didn't want anyone else to make you feel like this, give you this experience. He wanted to be the one to make you smile.

“Don’t go quiet now mon Cherie.” That nickname. Again. “I think we still need to discuss what happened in the shower.” You instantly snapped back into reality at the mention of the shower. His hand fell from yours and toyed with the bracelet on your wrist. The one that you nervously played with in situations like these. The one that he’d gifted you last year. The one with his name etched into it.

The morning that you'd woke up in Charles' bed you were alone. An empty bed was something you'd become accustomed to over the past couple of years but in this instance it made you awaken quicker. The note left on his pillow stopped you from worrying, he was out on a run.

You respected his commitment to his career and took the opportunity to go for a shower. The warm water felt refreshing against your skin, goose bumps slowly appearing across your skin at the sudden change in temperature. Rubbing Charles shower gel into your skin you closed eyes and lent your head against the tiled shower wall. It wasn't clear at what point you'd become so aroused, but the steam from the shower and the smell of Charles covering you definitely had something to do with it. You allowed your hands to roam your body, his name unexpectedly falling from your mouth as you brushed past your breasts. The careless use of his name had caused your eyes to widen and your hand to clamp over your mouth. It had left you lips so naturally but felt inappropriate to say aloud.

It wasn't until a few days later that you realised he'd heard. He almost hadn’t. If he’d unlocked the apartment a mere three seconds later your words wouldn’t have reached his ears. His run had been sweaty and he was still out of breath but his panting soon stopped. His eyes widened as he heard his name leave your lips and he froze. He didn’t want to announce his presence, he knew he wasn’t supposed to hear it and didn’t want you to feel embarrassed that he had. He didn’t know what to do. He felt as though he was invading your privacy but knew that if he shut the door you’d hear it close and know he was there. So instead he stuck his foot between the door and the doorframe to keep it slightly open as he waited for the sound of the shower to finish running. He tried to focus on something else, anything else, but he failed. All he could think about was you, in his shower, without him and how badly he wanted to join you, just so he could make his name fall from your mouth the way it just did over and over again.

You thought you'd gotten away with it. He'd entered the apartment just as you were stepping out the bathroom and he'd acted as cool as ever. The weekend was slowly becoming a distant memory that you were trying hard not to dwell on, hating that you were missing his presence so much already. It wasn't until you were at work the following week that it became apparent your secret crush was no longer a secret. You were in the office early, earlier than everyone else. That wasn’t unusual, you liked to be in early as it often meant you could leave earlier too. What was unusual was the box placed neatly on your desk.

Although the small parcel was addressed to you, you opened it with hesitation. A small gasp left your lips as your unwrapping revealed a red box, the golden engraving of the word ‘Cartier’ on top. Confused, you gently opened to box revealing a bracelet.

You placed it on your desk as you searched for a note. Despite it being awfully obvious who it was from, you wanted some kind of confirmation or, better yet, a reason as to why someone had put this into your possession. You'd spotted it in Harrods with Charles. You hadn't mentioned it, just spent a few minutes mindlessly staring at its beauty. There was no point even considering buying it for yourself, the price tag was close to your yearly salary. Eventually you found the note.

'I've heard you like to moan it'

You picked up the bracelet once more, analysing it as you did so. It was so discreet, discreet enough that if the note wasn’t a big enough hint you might never have realised. His name. Etched into the inside of the band in the same font as the word ‘Cartier'. Any other name and he wouldn’t have been able to get away with it. No one had picked up on its personalisation in the past year. It had remained your little secret.

You gulped loudly, unsure of what to say next. The dull lighting hid your cheeks as they flushed red with embarrassment, just like they'd done when you'd read his note. Luckily it was situations like these you considered your stubbornness a strength. "All I could thing about was how much I wanted you to touch me Charles." With your lips dangerously close to Charles' ear you'd somehow managed to complete your sentence with confidence. The conviction in your voice had satisfied Charles although it was obvious that he hadn't expected it as he pulled his head back slightly to look you in the eyes. It was the first time you'd seen them so dark out of his crash helmet. They didn't have the same teasing smile paired with them as they did only a few moments ago. For a brief moment your heart dropped. What if he was just teasing you and you'd taken it too far?

"Say something." Your voice was barely audible despite the eerie silence that had settled in the kitchen as Charles picked up on your nervousness. His expression softened but he remained silent, placing his forehead against yours and gently brushing your noses. You both very quickly realised there was no longer the need for words. The last thing either of you wanted to do right now was have a conversation about what was going on because quite honestly neither of you were sure. All you knew was that as soon as the space between your lips closed, there was no going back. You were craving each other's touch and it was as though the kiss you were yet to share would be the seal of approval you both needed to explore each other in a way you hadn't before.

You'd had enough of the teasing, enough of the wondering and what ifs, enough of wasting time without knowing how his lips felt against yours. You moved your head up slightly brushing your lips with his before releasing one of your hands from his grasp and placing it on the back of his head, pulling it down slightly. As soon as your lips pressed against his you became overwhelmed with emotions. You relaxed into it, it felt so right. His hands began to explore your body, one placed on your thigh and the other tracing lines up and down your back, sitting on the counter top had worked in your favour as you wrapped your legs around his waist. It wasn't long before his tongue found yours as you let your hands snake beneath his shirt feeling his back and arms tense beneath you as he lifted you up from the side and placed you on the dining table which was at a slighter lower level.

His mouth left yours and you let out a small groan of frustration, he smiled at the sound as you realised he was only doing it to strip you of the sweater you'd not long ago put on, allowing him to rid you of it, not caring how cold it was anymore. In between the kisses he was placing down your neck you pulled his top over his head. Your eyes were trained to his shoulders as you admired him, only shutting when he re-joined your lips.

The sound of a key turning the lock at the front door caught Charles' attention. There was a high chance he'd consumed less alcohol than you tonight which is why he giggled slightly when you chose to ignore the sound and bring him back in for another kiss.

“WE’RE HOME” Arthur voice echoed round the villa. The sound of his brothers voice was enough for you to release him from your grip.

“Shhhhhhhhhhh, it’s 3am people will be sleeping.” Carla tried to whisper but the tiled walls carried the sound throughout the villa. You didn’t know if anyone else was home, you hadn’t checked and to be honest you hadn’t even thought about it. The only thing on your mind was Charles.

“Y/N and I are in the kitchen,” Charles called back. His eyes never left yours as he grabbed his shirt you'd thrown across the kitchen and redressed himself, not until Arthur stumbled through the door way knocking into chairs and making them squeal as the legs glided across the floor. You both watched as he regained balance and muttered a drunken apology before sitting himself on the floor.

"Good night Arthur?" you laughed slightly at the sight of him on the floor, he'd never been the most elegant drunk but at least he was entertaining.

"Great night." He confirmed as he laid himself down, a laugh leaving Carla's lips as she stared at the state of him. If someone had spoken to you a couple of hours ago you would've probably had a different opinion but as it turned out, you were starting to agree with him.

TAGLIST

@imthebadguyyy @abysshaven @phatyak

#f1 imagine #f1 masterlist #charles leclerc #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc one shot #daniel ricciardo #max verstappen #pierre gasly #lando norris #george russell #lewis hamilton #valteri bottas #carlos sainz

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madamedevien · 3 years

Text

Infernal Heat

Hey! It’s been a while - I really miss you guys. Anyway, I know that a lot of you were keeping up to date with my Mammon x GN! Reader fic...while I’m updating it regularly on my AO3, I thought that I’d post the chapters that I’ve got here as well. I’m planning for it to be a 4 chapter fic, but let’s see how that goes! Warnings in tags (both here and AO3) - monster fucking comes into play much more come Chapter 3 and 4. The biggest thanks to @mawwart for their inspiration and @popcherrypop for reading over what I had all those months ago and actually helping me find direction. I’ve got a bigger/cheesier spiel on AO3, but anyway. Fingers crossed that the ‘Keep Reading’ line shows up here...

Chapter 1: Embers

The Great Mammon had woken up in a mood. He'd felt this creeping up for days now and he wished that it would just come and go already. It was hella distracting to have a constant tug of warmth and want in your gut, y'know? And it was annoying to feel the incessant need to primp and to add to the nest of pillows, blankets, sentimental and decorative items that now overtook most of his bed. But he was due a heat cycle. Annoyingly, he felt that it was probably going to settle in properly on that particular day and he'd been wrangled into going shopping by you. And for whatever reason he'd agreed. Not because he had a crush on you or anything. Damn, he couldn't even remember what you two were meant to be shopping for, that's how addled his mind was. Mammon really just wanted to stay put and perfect his nest. Maybe show it off to you. Although he wasn't sure if you'd appreciate the fact that he'd stolen a few items of yours while on laundry duty to tuck into said nest. Or that he wanted to maybe do something kind of nasty to a piece of your clothing. If not you.

But would you want to? To see his nest? To lay in it, lay with him, to mate with him? He wanted you to. So very, very badly. He didn’t feel like he deserved you but, oh, to say that he wanted you was a vast understatement. Fuck.

He groaned and threw one of his tanned arms over his eyes. The silveret realised that he was going to have to partially dislodge his beautiful nest to pull out Goldie (he couldn't go shopping without her - the very thought was offensive!) and that he was going to have to get rid of his raging boner before he faced you.

So into a cold shower he trudged, loudly cursing the whole time.

---

Longest shopping trip in fucking history.

It seemed like you were in need of freakin' everything imaginable. He wasn't to know that you were actually just taking your time because it'd been a while since the two of you had some time to yourselves. The demon had been acting strangely around you the past few days, although he was completely oblivious to just how weird it’d been for you.

And today, the Avatar of Greed just wasn't engaging. Questions went unanswered, as if he hadn't heard even when clearly looking at you, no boasting or sulking occurred, no bets or harebrained schemes hatched...he didn't even take you up on your offer of Hell Sauce Noodles! The demon was completely disinterested in all of this - the only thing he was interested in was you. He was also trying very very hard not to let his thoughts slip into anything inappropriate. Which was probably the single most difficult thing he’d had to do in all of his many years. Mammon wanted to take your hand and lace your fingers together; to shamelessly nuzzle your cheek in front of everyone on Silent Avenue. The thought made his heart swell. Better yet, if you were mated, he could kiss you in front of the whole crowd before publicly mounting you and-

Damn, it was hard to keep lewd thoughts at bay. He could feel his cheeks burning and looked away when your concerned expression turned to him.

On the trek home (finally!), he fell into a lazy pace behind you and Mammon couldn’t help it as you walked together. His cerulean gaze raked over the beautiful curve in your neck - the space was perfect. In his mind, he could see how perfectly his head would fit and how the mark he could leave there would only accentuate the beauty of your skin. It’d be a gorgeous brand that would loudly proclaim to all, ‘I am mated to THE Great Mammon, the Avatar of Greed and Second of the Seven; don’t you dare even think to touch me’. The very notion only caused the flush of heat over his skin to worsen and his breath to hitch; he wanted to tear into his flesh to relieve himself of the insufferable and fiery itch.

The same thoughts washed over his brain again and again like some cruel tide, even once you'd passed through the doors of the House of Lamentation.

It took only a scant moment. He didn’t even think. The silver haired demon was aware that he was losing his mind due to his damned biology, but he didn’t realise that he was so far gone that he would do something so stupid. It was only your screech that alerted him to the fact that he had pulled you tight to his chest, that he was actually in the process of sinking sharp fangs into your supple skin. The sudden realisation made him tear off of you in surprise.

Beel had been the first to burst through a doorway and into the corridor. The redhead stopped dead in his tracks and stared wide-eyed at the two of you; you with your hand clamped over the section of your neck that had been bitten, and Mammon an arm’s length away from with a look of abject horror painted over his handsome features. Stupid Mammon, indeed. The next to burst in was Lucifer, who looked ready for a proper melee. The sound that had come from you had genuinely startled the older brother, not that he’d admit that if asked. As his garnet gaze took in the scene before him, his mouth twisted unpleasantly. “Mammon…” Lucifer’s voice was dangerously low. Mammon shook his head urgently in response, “Nonono, Luci, it didn’t - I mean, yeah, it is what it looks like an’ I didn’t mean ta, but it...it’s not deep enough. Y’know?” The second brother sounded desperate. Mammon anxiously twisted his rings around his tanned fingers and had to fight back the tears that threatened the edges of his vision. He could have hurt you. “Oh, I think you’ll find that it’s more than deep enough.” Lucifer stalked toward you and put his hand on top of the one you were using to cover your wound. “Let me see how much damage the fool inflicted on you”. Mammon could see the frown that pulled at your mouth as you revealed the bite mark to his brother. No proper damage - the indents might linger, but no blood had been drawn; no skin had been broken.

“It was more from the surprise than pain, Lucifer. I just wasn’t expecting someone to bite me, you know? That’s the kind of thing that I’d expect more from a very hungry Beel.” Your attempt to lighten the mood only made the Avatar of Pride’s expression sour further - but Beel muttered a small, “Fair”. Lucifer sounded positively glacial when he spoke again. “Beelzebub, please take our brother to his room." The Avatar of Gluttony nodded solemnly, gently taking the second eldest’s shoulder. Mammon stared miserably at the floor, guilt clearly written on his flushed face although he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He didn’t trust himself to. Not after such a stupid stunt. As the other two made their way up the stairs, Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose.

This wouldn’t be pleasant.

It was no surprise to Mammon that Lucifer texted him shortly after the whole ordeal. He was just thankful that Lucifer hadn’t decided to come up to his room and literally tear into him after biting you. Of all the people to bite in the entire Devildom, it just had to be you didn’t it? Lucifer: Mammon. I have strictly instructed the household that you are not to be disturbed until I have given the all clear. You will stay in your room and I will bring you provisions at regular intervals. If you need anything, you will let me know. Are we clear? Mammon: Yes. Lucifer: Good. He waited, hopeful that Lucifer would provide an update on you. After an eon of waiting (which was actually all of seven minutes) he decided to ask. Mammon: Are they okay?

Lucifer: They are. And they will continue to be so long as you stay in your room and do not venture out. Ensure that you lock your door and remember to take your pheromone blockers as well or the whole house will reek of your mating scent. What were brothers for, if not a good motivational speech? --- Chapter 2: Flames Even with Lucifer’s reminder, Mammon had forgotten to take the pheromone blockers and to lock the door. He’d been far too distracted; worrying about your state of health, whether he’d damaged your relationship beyond repair, still trying to keep the lewd thoughts at bay, his instincts fretting over the piece of nest that had been dismantled earlier… It was a lot to be preoccupied with, okay? Without the pheromone blockers, the corridor outside of Mammon’s room was thick with the sweet perfume of a demonic male in heat. It was rich and cloying, the kind of scent that would cling to one’s clothes much to the annoyance of the other residents (Asmodeus excluded). Mammon, however, didn’t care. He was too busy now attempting to cool the heat in the pit of his stomach and to regain some clarity of mind. An attempt at sleep had been made once his nest had been repaired and Goldie tucked into her rightful place, the lights turned down low and his clothes discarded to some far corner so that he could crawl into the nest in a comfortable state...but how could he sleep when obscene images of you kept popping into his head? At first, he had tried to keep some semblance of his mind. The demon didn’t like to lose control during his heats. If he could keep his mind, he would keep to his more humanoid forms - and that was what he wanted. Because if you did, by chance, happen upon him...well. He didn’t want to scare you. Before he allowed himself to spiral into the anxiety of your imagined reaction, he reached for his ridiculously large bottle of lube. If he was going to dwell on the thought of anything, it was going to be how good he knew you’d feel… --- Mammon wouldn’t have been able to say how much time had passed. He had brought himself to orgasm more times than he could count - but it only seemed to just take off the edge. A demon’s heat was never an easy thing, but why was this time around so damn difficult? Satan would have been able to answer that with ease, the smug bastard; if a demon chooses a mate they will, naturally, be most inclined to couple with said mate for optimal breeding. To not couple with a chosen mate could make a heat worse - but to withhold coupling at all? Well, it would be a foolish endeavour. The Avatar of Greed hadn’t realised just how he was slipping ; wings and horns had appeared without him even registering and his fangs had dropped to a predatory length (which he only noticed when he had apparently attempted to put a mating mark on a pillow covered in one of your stolen shirts that he’d been desperately rutting against, much to his embarrassment). His breathing was rough. Mammon was equal parts exhausted and invigorated. He wanted nothing more than to let his knees fall out from under him so that sleep would hopefully take him - he wanted to stalk down the hall and into your room and fuck you senseless. And if Lucifer found out? Well, Mammon would love to see him try to pry you from his arms. The very thought made him snarl, his grip on his cock tightening. It was enraging to even think that his brother would dare, a thought that had him so preoccupied that he didn’t hear the door click open. His blue eyes slipped over to you and the wet sound of him furiously fucking his fist stopped abruptly. It was impossible to tell which one of you was redder. This was not what he had been expecting. “Uh-” A rasp of your name interrupted you. “Didn’t Lucifer tell you not to come?” He watched as you nodded dumbly, “Yes”. Heavy breath was the only noise to pass between you several beats. The demon in front of you was wondering whether this was fate; you weren’t running, you looked interested and, fuck, you smelled so good. You smelled aroused and it made him growl; “C’mere then”. The way that you slammed the door and scampered toward him practically had him preening in pleasure. Just as eager, Mammon scrambled over to meet you, flustered yet excited, and hauled you up close to him. He bumped your foreheads together. From here it was easy to see how incredibly blown his pupils were, to feel how desperately ragged his breathing was. You were dangerously close. “Now, see here, I'm gonna give ya one chance to go. ‘Cause if I kiss ya, I’m not gonna be able to stop. I won’t be able to let ya go. You’ll be stuck with me for the whole fuckin’ ride, ya hear?” Holy shit, his voice was so strained. “Then kiss me, you dummy.” No repeat was necessary. Mammon threaded his fingers into your hair, hesitating for only the briefest moment before pressing his lips to yours. When you responded in kind his fervour, his deep rooted greed, quickly followed. He’d wanted to kiss you from day one and not a moment had gone by since without him imagining it. This felt so incredibly right. But he couldn’t ignore the heat curling in his gut. He needed you, wanted you. And as far as he could tell, despite the dark whispers in the back of his mind saying otherwise, you seemed to feel the same.The way that you returned his greedy kisses, how your fingers had twisted sharply in his hair, how you didn’t seem to mind the messy clicking of his elongated fangs against your blunt teeth as he tried to figure out how best to navigate your mouth in this form - how could he deny that he was wanted? Mammon's only regret when looking back on this evening with you would be not savouring your body laid bare for him for the first time. His mind was too heat-addled to appreciate it; he was unable to slowly peel off your layers and to have the sentiment returned in kind as he had previously fantasised about. In his mind’s eye, he had a whole big romantic gesture planned if you had decided to sleep with him. Previously, he had imagined how he would make love to you and treasure every moment of it...but alas… Your clothes were quickly stripped from you, sharp fangs nipping at new skin as it was exposed. There was no delicate treatment here and he paid no heed to the sound of torn material. When he next plundered your mouth, it was far smoother than the first time - he was a fast learner, after all. The only complaint that he had about kissing you was that it muffled those beautiful noises of yours. When he broke the seal of your mouths it was to gently toss you back toward the top of the bed, deeper into his nest and into the comfort of a ridiculous amount of pillows - to properly secure you into his nest. To see you like that felt...good. It felt right. It was clear that was exactly where you belonged. The very image had him growling in satisfaction as he took the opportunity to crawl over your body, his fingers gripping at the meat of your thighs and hips as if ensuring that you were truly there with him. Thankfully, his nails had not yet turned into talons or they would have pierced through you with ease at the way that he handled your flesh. Mammon had to take a deep breath when he looked at you this time. He needed to make sure that he didn’t hurt you while doing this - it was the last thing in the world that he wanted. It was unusual for the Avatar of Greed to put the needs of others before his own...but you weren’t just some ‘other’. You were you. His very own treasure, his very own mate. Reluctantly, a hand left your body to fish for something buried within the nest. “You’re fuckin’ gorgeous,” He coated his fingers generously in lube, desperate to ensure that he would cause as little pain as possible, “Just fuckin’ perfect”. Two fingers slipped into you as Mammon spoke, his tone low and hoarse. Never had he imagined just how difficult it would be to hold himself back like this, nor could he have been prepared for just how much desire he felt in that moment. The sensation of your hot core wrapped around his fingers had him shamelessly rutting against your thigh, a poor attempt at taking the edge off of his lust. A human really had no business wrecking him like this. His heat cycles were normally pretty boring - desperate rutting for a day or two and then back to normal life. You had no right to set his skin aflame like this, no right to have him feel like he could cum just from the noise you made once he had three fingers fucking into your heat. The way his blood was rushing in his ears was deafening...and he wanted more. It didn’t take too long for it all to get too much. Even all of the dark hickies that he had furiously littered your neck, chest and shoulders with weren’t enough to distract him from the wet sound of his fingers preparing you or the stunning sounds he managed to pull from you when he got the angle of his hand just right. Mammon would never admit it, but he kind of missed his target. The point of removing his hand from you had been to slip himself right in. Instead, as he kissed you he rolled his slick cock against your sex...which, to be fair, had felt better than your thigh. And if the sound that you’d made in response was anything to go by, you thought so too. He liked that noise. A lot. So he rolled his hips against you again, groaning in response to you. Ever eager to please, the greedy demon found a rhythm that you both seemed to enjoy in the interim. “Ya like that, huh?” Mammon wasn’t sure where the cockiness in his tone was coming from when internally he felt so nervous. It was those very nerves that quickly had his hand moving to guide his cock to your entrance and thrusting into you before you could retort. Mammon didn’t realise it would silence both of you. By no means was he a virgin. The Great Mammon would have it known that he was a proper Casanova type, thank you very much. He just didn’t realise how different it would feel coupling with someone that he truly and deeply loved. The heat causing that deep need to breed the closest thing with a pulse didn’t help things, of course. It was...incredible, for lack of a better word. Divine. Mammon choked on an Infernal curse once seated completely in you and had to literally bite his tongue to keep an anchor on his self-control. All of that hard earned control was thrown out the window when his name passed your lips. There was no hesitation in how his hips pistoned, fucking into you relentlessly. His hands manoeuvred to cradle the back of your knees and he pushed your legs back to allow him more access to your body, his fingers gripping hard enough to bruise. The noises that left him were snaps and snarls of Infernal praise, not that he realised. The only thought on Mammon’s mind was his primal objective of breeding you until neither of you could move ; it didn’t matter whether you could actually fall pregnant or not. No logic or worry clouded his mind with these thoughts. All he could focus on was filling you with his seed until he couldn’t any more, the thought of your stomach tender and round because of his affections toward his mate... Mammon’s first orgasm came with an embarrassing quickness. When he spilled inside of you, his teeth sinking into the tender flesh of your chest, he was quickly filled with a relief and warmth that he hadn’t felt in ages. For the first time since his heat had set in, there was true clarity in his mind. While his natural instincts weren’t completely quelled, it was enough for him to actually think with something other than his adamantly pulsing dick. His relief quickly fell to mortification, the shadows of which were clear on his features when he pulled back to look at you. His cheeks were tinted red both from exertion and embarrassment ; he hadn’t paid enough attention to get you to climax. He was quick to stutter out your name, mouth tripping on the words that were trying to get out of his mouth as his sluggishly content brain tried to supply words just beyond reach. “What, isn’t The Great Mammon going to make me cum?” Your sass fanned the flames in his loins. A playful snarl was made in response, “Oh sweetheart. I’m going to make you cum so fuckin’ hard you black out. You won’t be able to feel your legs by the time I’m done with you”. And so The Great Mammon set to work. --- Mammon hummed contentedly as you lazily played with the hair at the nape of his neck hours later. This was perfection. Strong fingers stroked your thighs as he enjoyed the sensation of you wrapped around his hips, the pleasure of you sat on his lap while cuddled up together in your nest. The demon toyed with the thought of pushing his hips up just to make you gasp from the overstimulation, but decided against it. Although he was loath to admit it, you needed rest - because Mammon had been good to his word, ensuring that you both had more than your fair share of orgasms. But this was good. The fire in his gut had died down to crackling embers, although he knew it would flare up again soon - but you would be there to help ease him through it. And you even seemed to like helping him out. What was the phrase… ‘mutually beneficial’? Somethin’ like that. His eyes fluttered open when he heard your chuckle. He couldn’t help but wonder if you knew how freakin’ stunning you were when you smiled like that. “What?” When your eyes met his, he was pouting frowning. The laugh that you let out only made his brow furrow more, “I said what. What’s got ya laughin’ like that, huh? You should be out like a freakin’ light by now”. It wasn’t until you replied that he realised how obvious it was, “I didn’t know that demons could purr”. Mammon squawked loudly and attempted to divert your attention - he sounded like a damn motor! It wasn’t fair! He wasn’t even able to control the way he was going off… It was embarrassing. “Well, yeah, y’know, sometimes. We’re incredible ‘n mysterious creatures us demons, y’know! Demons are capable of things that your human mind couldn’t even comprehend! Anyway, ’s not like ’s all the time or anythin’ like that…” He tried to occupy himself and forget about the heat radiating from his face by playing with your hair - but he could feel you smiling against the crook of his neck. “Yeah?” “Yeah.” The incredible and mysterious demon sounded more like a petulant child (well, a purring and petulant child). “So, when do you normally purr?” “I dunno. When we’re happy, I guess?” “Does that mean I haven’t made you happy before?” The way that he spluttered was definitely worth teasing him. “Who said that ya haven’t made me happy?! ‘N besides, this is different!” Even Mammon couldn’t deny that he was now pouting, but he tried to focus on the feeling of your fingers running along his shoulders. It was nice; soothing, even. Until he felt a sharp tug on the back of his neck. “Ouch! You gotta be more gentle than that!” The look of surprise on your face made him want to curl in on himself. “Mammon - are those feathers?” “Phffft,” The greedy demon rolled his eyes and tried to deflect your query, “Shaddap. You dunno what you’re talking ‘bout”. When your mouth opened again, he did take the opportunity to thrust sharply into you. At the gasp, he lurched forward with a passionate kiss. Simply to shut you up, of course. No hidden agenda. His pleased purring melted into a deep rumbling, the fire in his belly stoking itself back to life. It was impossible for him not to roll you over to allow him to bask in more of your shared passion. The laughter that ensued, laughter that he was sure was aimed at him, only made his heart swell as much as his cock.

#obey me #obey me mammon x reader #obey me mammon #obey me shall we date #deVien writes #deVien writes for asmo #Infernal Heat #Smut #mammon x gn! reader #mammon x gender neutral reader #Gender neutral reader #Mating cycles #Heat cycles #mating cycles/in heat #Feral Mammon #Monster fucking #Well gradual monster fucking #Insecure Mammon #Kind of a breeding kink but that's more instincts

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patalliumapples · 3 years

Text

Sooo we’re all in agreement that James is most likely going to be possessed by Belial in chain of thorns right? I mean it seems obvious, it’s been teased at for two books now, but.

In chapter 4 of COI we get this:

[James] could never truly fall with Matthew to hold him up.

We also have this section from chapter 24:

“No, I have never thought of this body as a final destination for my soul. More of a method of reaching that destination.”

“Which is still James.”

In that same chapter, James also almost gives himself up to Belial, it is only Cordelia saying no and Lilith appearing that stops him from doing so:

James looked at Belial, his gaze level-and desperate. Perhaps only Cordelia, who knew him as she knew the map of her own heart, could see it. But it was there, desperation, and worse than that, despair.

James, no. Don’t do it. Don’t agree.

“Only if you swear,” James said, “that no harm or hurt will come to them-”

Alright let’s break these down.

We have James just randomly mentioning that he could never truly fall with Matthew there... which is interesting word choice, seeing as fall tends to refer to the Princes of Hell “falling” from grace. Even if that word choice was accidental, that quote builds into the idea that without Matthew there, something bad will happen to James.

Belial created this crazy plan to have Jesse’s body, but it didn’t matter because at the end of the day, Belial still wants James. Taking over James is still his end goal.

James was so close to giving himself up to Belial. He was desperate. Now, compare this to Chain of Gold. James never entertained the idea of allowing Belial to take him over. During those scenes, James was adamant against it. The fact that he was so close to doing this in Chain of Iron means he might be pushed over the edge in Chain of Thorns, it means he might actually give Belial permission.

And, now, when Cordelia, who has generally saved James’s ass, and Matthew, who kept him from “falling”, are gone.... Belial might step in. James might finally crack and allow Belial to take over his body. Really, all Belial would have to do then is create a controlled environment where James’s friends and family are in danger, maybe even manipulate him by saying something about Cordelia and Matthew leaving him. James probably wouldn’t resist that time.

My guess is James would be possessed around the beginning of the book then, since I don’t think Matthew and Cordelia will be in Paris for too long, and Belial will probably want to move quickly if he realizes this.

Now, of course, we always have the possibility of Lucie being possessed instead. That would be a fun curveball to throw in. Have all the focus be on James, all the focus be on him being possessed and WHAM! Lucie is instead.

What made me think of this is this little bit in chain of gold:

“Recall that you are not the only one I could approach.”

He waved a black-nailed hand, and multicolored light streaked across the dark air. It resolved into the shape of Lucie-Lucie in gear, her hair up in a determinedly tight chignon. She looked exactly herself, down to the ink stains on her hands. James’s stomach clenched.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” he said. “Besides-Lucie would never agree.”

Belial laughed. “Don’t be so sure.”

I just find it very interesting how little people think about Lucie being possessed by Belial. Yes, he is a sexist asshole, but also that possibility still exists. I’m thinking that maybe he would get sick of James refusing him, so he would turn to Lucie. Maybe he would use the fact that she doesn’t want to be overshadowed or forgotten to his advantage? Idk, but it’s definitely still a big possibility.

There’s probably more evidence for this, but this was just from a quick scan of some of the later chapters of both books. Maybe I’ll make an updated version after scanning more of the books.

aaaaand @queenlilith43 asked for me to tag them!

#i've been meaning to make this post for m o n t h s and i've only now gotten around to it #thanks to julie for telling me multiple times to make this lmao #the last hours #tlh #chain of gold #chain of iron #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles #james herondale #lucie herondale #cordelia carstairs #matthew fairchild #tlh theories

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bubblefina · 3 years

Text

King of hearts chapter 13

Masterlist

Summary: Reader and Tom meet during their years at Hogwarts, but as the years pass a rivalry grows between the two of them, which leads from soft beginnings to tragic endings.

“Admiring his devilishly good looks as that heart of yours beats faster every time he says your name?” Tom adds, making your cheeks heat up.”

Pairings: Tom x f!reader

•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.

Chapter 13- A duel

A week later, Hogwarts managed to be rebuilt, with new additions along with it. Now that the school was able to function again, students were allowed to return to their everyday classes. With the rebuilding came new rules and regulations. Apparition on Hogwarts grounds is forbidden, no student or professor can apparate to or from Hogwarts. Hogsmeade trips for third years and above are cancelled until December. Aurors would patrol the grounds and beyond until Christmas break, ensuring the safety of the school.

The DADA classes introduced dueling clubs to second years and above, for the purpose of teaching more advanced defense techniques against the dark arts, along with dueling in general. The first meeting took place during a Thursday evening, just before dinner was starting. Professor Merrythought along with the charms professor, professor Elms, worked together to begin the club and allow for demonstrations.

The professors were the first to duel, using spells like expelliarmus, protego, and finite. They picked and allowed students to volunteer to duel each other. No nasty jinxes or spells are allowed during the duel, the professors didn’t want the students to greatly hurt each other. As the duel went on, people like Abraxas fought Tom, Lucy fought a Hufflepuff boy and lost against him.

As the professors praised the students who fought, they also looked to the crowd of students for other participants.

“Shall we have someone from Ravenclaw join the duel, miss l/n?” Professor Merrythought looked towards you.

“Me?” you pointed towards yourself.

Merrythought nodded and motioned you to join her on the stand, “Professor Elms tells me that you excel in his charms class, I’m sure you’ll do well in this duel.”

Professor Elms called up the last person you wanted to see, Lela Selwyn. She walked to the stand with her smug face and brought out her wand.

“A Slytherin versus a Ravenclaw, this shall be an interesting match.” Elms spoke as both him and Merrythought walked off of the stand.

“Now remember, no dirty tricks, this will be a fair match, wands at the ready.” Merrythought said.

Both you and Lela brought out your wands and held them to your face.

“Careful now, l/n. Wouldn’t want you falling off the stage.” Lela said, an evil smirk plastered across her face. A few Slytherins started to chuckle at her comment.

“I’ve told you before, Selwyn. Next time I fall, I’m bringing you down with me.” You set your wand down and turned to walk away from her, after walking 10 steps you turn around and point your wand at her in an offensive stance.

“On the count of three, cast your charms to only disarm your opponent, no nasty jinxes of any kind.” Merrythought instructed.

“One”

“Two”

“Flipendo!”

Lela pointed her wand at you, blue light erupted from it, casting its way at you.

“Finite!” you shot a spell back, the mixture of red and blue light erupting from both of your wands caused a small explosion, causing you to step back a few feet. You looked at Lela with furrowed brows.

“The professor said we had to disarm our opponent, not knock them backwards, or can you not understand simple instructions Selwyn?” your hand gripped at your wand, visibly irritated.

“Miss l/n is right Miss Selwyn, the point of this demonstration is not to harm our opponents, it is to disarm them. Please try again.”

Lela looked as if she hadn’t been paying attention, rolled her eyes and turned to walk 10 steps away to regain her position, you did the same.

The countdown began again, and this time you were the one who shot a spell first.

“Expelliarmus!” you waved your wand and pointed it at Lela, knocking her wand out of her hand.

“Excellent miss l/n. Now, the both of you may continue with your duel with more spells that are in your inventory, but remember, no nasty ones. Please begin.”

After the next countdown ended, the both of you lifted your wands, ready to cast the next spell that came to mind.

“Relashio!” Lela shouted at you. You managed to dodge the spell by kneeling to the ground.

“Impedimenta!” you tried to slow down Lela’s movement, but she countered it again.

“Levicorpus!” the spell had hit you. Your ankle hoisted into the air as you flung upside down, flailing to get control again. Your uniform skirt began to fall to the rules of gravity, but thank Merlin you decided to wear stockings underneath today.

“Liberacorpus!” you chanted the counter curse for the spell Lela was using and landed back on the ground with a thud. She wanted to play dirty by using spells that wouldn’t necessarily cause harm, but were still a pain in the ass. The professors, who seemed to be invested in the duel, seemed like they didn’t care about what spells were being used, so you decided to use some special spells underneath your sleeve against the person you despised the most.

“Saltu Caeli!” a vaulting charm of some sort was cast out of your wand, it flung Lela into the air for a few seconds before you could cast your second charm, “Incarcerous!” Ropes had wrapped themselves around Lela, who was still in the air, and brought her down to the floor with a bang. A few gasps were heard amongst the crowd, and a few claps as well.

Lela, who looked a bit flushed, reached for her wand and undid the ropes, got up and pointed her wand at you. You didn’t know what she was going to cast next, but you had Finite ready just in case.

“Incendio!” a burst of flames came your way, but you had countered it, and when you could finally look at Lela again when some smoke subsided, she had this crazy look in her eyes.

“Stupefy!” another spell shot at you, but again, you managed to counter it.

“Expelliarmus!” you tried to disarm Lela before she could use another spell against you, but she dodged it and prepared for another spell.

“Serpensortia!” Lela let out another spell, a black looking snake conjured itself from her wand and landed on the dueling table. A few gasps were heard around the room. You took a step back as it slithered towards you, baring its teeth.

Shooting a spell at it wouldn’t do it any good, if the snake managed to survive it would become even more irritated and attack you even faster. The situation you were in felt all too familiar as well.

The professors took notice of the live snake on the dueling table and pushed through students to get to it. While they were making their way towards the table, the snake came closer and closer to you.

“Vipera Evanesca.” Merrythought had cast a spell towards the snake and walked onto the stage in front of you.

“Miss Selwyn, what are you thinking about bringing a snake to a duel? A venomous one at that, 15 points from Slytherin, take your seat,” Merrythought turned towards you, stern look on her face, “Take your seat please.” you were guessing that she wasn’t impressed with the actions you took either.

You gulped as you headed back to the Ravenclaw section. The fellow Ravenclaw students gave you a pat on the back and said that it was okay and that they were glad you stood up for yourself in the duel.

After the dueling club ended, the students were dismissed for dinner.

You met up with Azalea and Melissa, who decided to sit out on the dueling club to do things for their other classes. Of course, in a friendly fashion, you decided to tell them about your duel.

“She shot a snake at you?” Melissa said, choking on her potatoes.

“Don’t choke, madam Crafince is a bit too busy to deal with you if you collapse.” Azalea said.

“Yeah she did. Luckily, Merrythought made it disintegrate. I really hate her, you know, Lela.” you said as you cut into your food.

“In my opinion, I think she was getting mad at the fact that you were getting the upper hand and started to play dirty.” Azalea said.

“That's what I thought, too. I’m just glad I’m not the one that lost 15 points from my house.”

“Don’t worry, knowing them, Slytherin will gain them back in some way.” Melissa snorted.

“Did you get the chance to visit Naomi today?” you asked them.

“Azalea did, I had to help Utonell with her plants in Herbology.” Melissa replied.

“She’s still the same. They managed to heal all of her external injuries, but she hasn’t woken up yet. I hope she’ll be okay.” Azalea ripped apart a bread roll with her fingers.

“I’m sure she’ll be okay, most of the students that were knocked out are waking up, it won’t be long before she does too.” you reassure a worried Azalea who looked like she was about to ruin her dinner by squeezing the rest of it.

After returning to your dorm later that night, you collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion. You felt something tingle your arm and looked down, Orion had made her way onto your palm. You picked her up gently and began talking to her.

“I’m glad you’re nothing like that nasty snake I had to face today Orion,” you coo to her, rubbing circles on her head, “I never want to see Lela again, but I have almost 5 more years with her.” You placed Orion on her small pillow and fed her some snake food before you went to the girls' lavatory to take a shower and change into your pajamas.

★──────────★★──────────★★──────────★

The next morning, you had gotten an owl from your dad about some big news that had occurred back home.

Dear Y/N,

My sweet girl, I have big news. Your mother and I have learned that we are expecting a new member to this family! Your mother is around two months pregnant, and we are all so happy, and I hope that you will be when you get this owl. I hope to see you this Christmas, so we can rejoice as a family for this miracle.

Love, dad. ♡

You dropped the note onto your toast, it being smeared with some butter.

“What’s wrong?” Azalea asked, swallowing her cereal quickly, worried at your shocked appearance.

“My mom’s pregnant.” you whispered, cleaning the butter off of your letter.

“Really? That’s wonderful, y/n! Congratulations. Why don’t you look happy?” she asks.

“I am happy, I guess. It’s just that I never had the best relationship with my mom, so I don’t know how I should feel.” you tucked the letter into your robe and began to eat.

“What do you mean by ‘the best relationship with your mom’?” Azalea asked.

“Ever since I started doing magic, she’s just been acting weird. We’ve been getting into more fights, so I don’t know if I’m fully happy about this.”

“I understand, I remember when my parents divorced my mom and I used to not get along either, hence why I moved to Spain with my dad, but it got better. I’m sure you’ll make a great big sister to your new sibling.” Azalea gave you a hopeful smile, which lifted your spirits enough for you to stomach your breakfast.

Your classes for that day were plain. Barely focusing on what you were learning, your thoughts were all focused around the news in that letter. You didn’t think that your parents even wanted another child, they seemed pretty content with two kids. In the end you decided not to send an owl back to your dad, they’d see you at Christmas anyway, which is only a month away.

After classes had ended, you spent the day in the Ravenclaw common room on the sofa near the fireplace, blankly staring at the potions book in your hand. Slughorn said that he was planning on making a healing potion during the next class, and advised the students to study up on the ingredients used in the potion.

Trying your best to concentrate on your book, your eyes skimmed over the words, not absorbing any of the information. The crackling of the fire popped in your ears, making it that much harder to focus. It was snowing outside, so studying out in the courtyard was out of the picture. You reached for the letter inside your robe and pulled it out to read it again. It was only your dad that had written to you, not even your own mother could write a sentence to you. After staring at the letter for a few more seconds, you reached over to the fire and threw the letter upon the open flame, its edges instantly turning black and falling apart.

Tomorrow is Saturday, you closed your book. Potions is on Monday, you had two days to review the material, no point in reading if you won’t learn anything. Putting your book back in your dorm, you head out into the halls of Hogwarts, hoping to find a distraction from all the thoughts that roamed your head.

The snow had been finding its way inside the cloisters of the halls. While walking, you looked at the floor, bumping into many people on the way, mumbling apologies whenever you could. All of a sudden, you full on ran into someone that had books in their hands, their books falling to the floor. The thud of them dropping snapped you out of your trance, and you looked to see it was Solomon that you had bumped into.

“I am so sorry, Solomon!” you said as you bent down to pick up the books along with him.

“Don’t worry about it, y/n, but I have to ask, most people look ahead when they’re walking, so why are you looking at the floor?” he asked, his Gryffindor scarf covering his mouth.

“Something has just been bothering me all day, I can’t shake it out of my head.” you said, handing back two of his books.

“Care to talk about it? I have nothing better to do, and you look like you might run into someone not as forgiving as me if you continue walking like this.”

“Yeah, I think I do need to talk about it.”

You told Solomon about the letter and why you felt the way you did, and the fact that your mom didn’t even bother writing to you either.

“Your mother hates magic, correct?” he asks.

“Seems like it.”

“Perhaps, there’s a part of you that is fearing that this child will be used to replace you in some way. Your younger brother hasn’t shown any signs of magic, which results in him being spoiled by your mother, while you’re left to the side.”

“I never thought of it that way. Some part of it is true, I guess. I did get a little jealous when my mom started paying more attention to my brother after I started doing magic, but I never thought she’d try to replace me.”

“Remember that it is in your head, y/n. You are the type of person that can never be replaced, by anyone. I can see that you will be a wonderful big sister to your unborn sibling. If that child should be magical, you’ll be a wonderful magical tutor as well. Even if your mother doesn’t show you the same love she once did, you still have others that will.” Solomon stepped away from the spot the both of you were sitting at and pulled out his wand. He waved it around and conjured a small cup and filled it with what smelled like hot chocolate.

“Here, to cheer you up. Try not to run into any more people, things will get better, bye now.” He picked up his books and started walking to the other side of the hall, leaving you with the cup of hot chocolate in your hand. Taking small sips of the drink, you made your way across Hogwarts, feeling a little better now, the chocolate was definitely helping.

★──────────★★──────────★★──────────★

That Monday, madam Crafince had informed you that Naomi had awoken in the hospital wing. After classes, you accompanied Azalea and Melissa to the Hospital wing, eagerly waiting to see Naomi, who had been in a coma for almost a week. When you finally gained sight of her, she looked frail and weak. Her once shining blond hair was now a pale yellow color, and her blue eyes seemed gray.

“Hey, how’ve you been?” Melissa asked as she put her hand upon Naomi’s.

“I’ve been better…what happened?” Naomi asked, her voice very coarse.

“Grindelwald's acolytes attacked the school. From what we heard, the first attack was in the tower you were in, you were unconscious for about a week.” you explained to her.

“Did you guys make it out okay?” Naomi asked.

“Me and Azalea made it out with a few injuries, but y/n had a bunch of debris fall on top of her, luckily Tom Riddle was with her, he helped her out.” Azalea told her.

“The Tom Riddle?” Naomi sounded a bit shocked when she heard what Azalea had said.

“He’s not the worst person to be stuck with, I could have been with someone who was much worse.” you shrugged your shoulders and laughed.

The four of you talked as much as you could, but were informed by Crafince that Naomi needed lots of rest before she could be able to take in deeper conversations. The three of you left the Hospital wing, Azalea had unfinished homework and Melissa had to help professor Utonell with her plants again. You on the other hand went to the courtyard. It was still snowing, but it fell very slowly and lightly, good enough for you to walk around.

While looking at the snow falling, a small flower blossom fell between your feet. You picked it up with your gloved hand, wondering where it could have come from.

“I messed that up.” you heard someone groan behind you.

Turning around, you were greeted by a flushed looking Archer.

“Mess what up?” you ask him.

“I meant to conjure you a small rose but all that came out was a small blossom, saw you looking down for the past few days, thought it would help.” he shrugged his shoulders and laughed, so did you.

“It wasn’t a total mess up, I enjoyed the thought.” you place the blossom gently into your winter coat, walking over to Archer.

“What brings you to this part of the school?’ you ask him.

“I have a few minutes before quidditch practice, so why not talk to my favorite person?”

“I’m your favorite person?” you ask him, heart on your chest in an act of surprise.

“No, I thought Marcus Diggory would be here, but he’s not.”

You punched him in the chest, and he started to laugh again, which made you cheer up.

“You have quidditch practice even when it’s snowing?” you ask him.

“Even in the toughest conditions, the captain isn’t going to go easy on us just because the weather is changing.”

“Brutal, makes me want to rethink joining next year.”

“C'mon, I'll have fun knocking you around during our matches together, it’ll be great.”

“Yeah for you, I don’t want to fall off my broom ever again.” you began to laugh again.

“Okay, fine, but it will still be a load of fun, but I have to go before the captain sees that I’m missing, catch you later, y/n.” he waves you goodbye, and you watch him run back to the hallway, a small smile plastered onto your face.

“If you continue to stare any longer, you might burn a hole in the back of his neck.”

The sudden voice behind you makes you jump back.

“Who- what- ugh, don’t do that, Riddle!” you say as you whack him with your scarf.

“Okay, then don’t abuse me with your scarf.” he says as he seizes the fabric between his hands.

“Give it back, my neck is cold,” you mumble, quickly wrapping your neck again as he lets it go, “And I was not staring, I was simply…” you couldn’t think of a word, so you stayed quiet.

“Admiring his devilishly good looks as that heart of yours beats faster every time he says your name?” Tom adds, making your cheeks heat up.

“Why are you here anyway, usually you’re tucked away behind some book.” you say, fixing your outfit.

Tom pulls out a book behind his back, and you roll your eyes.

“I heard that your blonde friend has woken up.” he says, putting his hands behind his back.

“Yeah she did, I visited her not too long ago, she doesn’t look the best, barely remembers what happened.” you sat down near a small well and Tom continued to stand.

“The hospital matron will deal with her, and if she doesn’t get better, she may be transferred to St Mungos.”

“Speaking of, why were you staring at the window during the attack?”

“Curiosity. I was looking at the destruction the acolytes were causing, how simple it was for them to apparate here and destroy the castle as if it were nothing, how easy it was for them to corner students, knock them unconscious and stir worry into their hearts.”

“God, you’re so morbid Riddle, is there anything peaceful in that brain of yours?” you ask him.

“I could ask you the same thing, you were bumping into so many people on Friday I thought you’d bump into a wall and be knocked unconscious like your friend.”

You went quiet, Tom took notice of this and stepped closer.

“Did I hit a nerve?” he asked, a little smug.

“None of your business.” you crossed your arms and looked away from him.

“I didn’t get the chance to tell you, but you did well during the duel with Selwyn, a shame that I didn’t get to fight you and had to waste time with Malfoy.” he rolled his eyes at the last statement, which made you breathe out a small laugh.

“If I recall, we did a duel, and I knocked you onto your ass. Maybe we will duel seriously in the distant future, but I won't go easy on you.”

“Neither will I.”

“Speaking of, why didn’t you talk to the snake that was conjured in the duel, you could have easily stopped it.”

Tom sighed, “I don’t like showing that ability in the public, so please, never speak of it.”

You shrugged your shoulders and sat up from the well, “I’m going to go back inside for some hot chocolate, care to join me?” you extended your hand to him, which he looked at with a raised brow.

“No, thank you, I’ll be heading back to the Slytherin common room.”

��You’re trading in hot cocoa with me for the Slytherin common room? C'mon, Riddle, raise your standards.” you take back your hand and follow Tom as he walks back to the hallway. You were kind enough to say bye, but he didn’t return the gesture.

★──────────★

Spells used in the duel: ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Exeplliarmus: disarming charm

Relashio: releases the target's grip

Impedimenta: hinders movement of the target

Levicorpus:causes victim to be hoisted into the air by their ankle

Liberacorpus: counter to Levicorpus

Saltu Caeli:(I made the name up, but the charm is real) vaulting charm, flings opponent into the air

Incarcerous: binds target in ropes

Incendio: conjures flames

Stupefy: stunning spell

Serpensortia: snake summoning spell

Vipera Evanesca: snake vanishing spell

#tom riddle #tom riddle imagine #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle x you #tom riddle fanfiction #harry potter #hogwarts #horcrux #voldemort #daddy voldy #original characters

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natsubeatsrock · 3 years

Text

The Rewrite of Fairy Tail: Part 28 (Laxus)

Did Laxus truly love Fairy Tail?

Yes.

Do you not believe me? You think that I'm missing or overlooking stuff? What about him refusing to help with Phantom Lord? What about the whole Fantasia debacle?

Fine. I can do this. It's not like I plan to change Laxus. I might as well knock this one out. Craftsdwarf brought this up, so it's absolutely an argument in the ether.

Consider this both my grand return to this series AND the start of another Fairy Tail month!

Usually, I talk about characters in terms of three sections of their life. It's not as if I can't do that with Laxus. His arc fits neatly into as a member, not a member, and reinstation. However, I feel it's better to start by talking about two important moments regarding Laxus before he casts Fairy Law.

The first happens not long after we're introduced to him. Natsu and Lucy take the mission for Galuna Island, and Makarov wishes that someone will get them. Laxus is against it, and his reasoning is interesting. He believes that they're Fairy Tail wizards and should be able to take it.

Now, this isn't logic we haven't seen before. When Macao was stuck on Mt. Hakokbe, Makarov said a similar thing to Romeo. Though, it could be argued that Makarov was trying to, in his own way, get Romeo to calm down over a grown wizard's ability without trying to shame him. This was about two kids and a flying cat, one of which was a new member, taking an S-Class mission. The Strauss kids serve as reason enough to be worried about this. Mira is understandably angry about Laxus’ attitude.

At the same time, it's worth recognizing how Laxus views the situation. He doesn't believe that it's his job to stop members of the guild from doing stuff they should know better. This means extra considering Natsu's the one to do it. And, while he does acknowledge they might get kicked out over it, he believes that they should take care of it themselves. If they can't, they shouldn't be part of the guild. Laxus thinks that the guild should only have capable members in it.

The second moment is one that I'm not sure gets the notice it deserves. At the beginning of the Fantasia arc, Laxus stops by a bar and overhears people making fun of Fairy Tail as a guild. He doesn't take this lightly and beats him up. This happens before he attacks Gajeel (even the same chapter). While that moment obviously is famous for its own reasons, this moment also represents the lens Laxus sees the guild through.

I believe the best foil for Laxus' view of the guild is Erza. Her focus is on the value of individual members. No matter how prestigious the guild is, what matters is the connections between individuals. His focus is on the value of the collective. No matter what kind of person they are, what matters is that they don't make a mockery of the guild.

"But what about That Woman, Erza? Doesn't Erza get mad at Bisca for impersonating a Fairy Tail member?"

Even in that case, it was about being an imposter to the Fairy Tail guild, as opposed to ruining its credibility as a guild. She even extends an offer for her to formally join the guild. Laxus wouldn't extend a similar offer to the people mocking Fairy Tail. Gajeel made a mockery of the guild and he wailed on him the instant he saw him. This despite (if not because of) the fact was a guild member, at that moment.

This brings us to the big moment. Laxus casts Fairy Law to no effect. We all know how the spell works. (It only attacks the enemies of the caster.) Laxus has been setting himself as against the guild. He is outright the antagonist of the arc. He's casting as he's fighting Natsu and Gajeel. At the very least, they should be wiped out, if not his intended target (the entire guild).

But it ultimately fails.

I know a lot of people don't like this. How does Laxus love the guild when he's been a jerk to the members in it?

The thing is that Laxus doesn't love individuals in the guild, outside of the Thunder God Tribe. He loves the guild as a collective. In his mind, the two are separable - you could have Fairy Tail without the members he sees as weak. This moment proves to him that this isn't the case. The collective and the individual matter in Fairy Tail. Take that attitude to some other guild. (Shooting Starlight and pre-GMG Sabertooth come to mind.)

After everything that happens, he's kicked out of the guild. Normally, that would be the end of a character's time in a series. He misunderstood what the guild is about and serves as a reminder of what the guild stands for. After all, his dad Ivan has a similar purpose - even to the point of leading a guild that stands in direct opposition to Fairy Tail.

But this is Fairy Tail, after all. Villains rarely stay villains.

And Laxus' turn starts almost the instant he's out of the guild. The guild flashes their symbol as Laxus leaves. This brings back memories of his time with Makarov - the person he cares the most about in the guild. (Sorry Freed.) This is when I feel it starts to click for him that the guild is made up of individuals as opposed to a guild with individual members.

When he returns to the series on Tenrou Island, you can see the change in his views. He doesn't see Hades as an enemy for him to defeat. Fairy Tail ought to be the one to defeat him. You could argue it's splitting hairs for him to act this way. However, it's important to note that he's deciding to put the group's interest above his own. The focus of Fairy Tail's enemy matters more than settling a score with him over Makarov.

And after this, his expectation isn't to join the guild again. He knows he messed up in hurting the guild and he's not expecting to come back. Even during the Key to the Starry Sky arc, he doesn't expect to be reinstated as a member. It comes to him as a shock that Gildarts reinstates him as a member.

Once he was in the guild again, he came to care about the guild - the collective and the people in it. He fights all of Raven Tail after they antagonized members of the guild. He fights Torafuzar (twice in the anime) because of the threat he poses to the guild. He protects the members from Ajeel and fights Wahl after he hurt the Thunder God Tribe.

The thing is that Laxus' heart for the guild didn't start at this moment. He cared about the Thunder God Tribe. He clearly has respect for Mystogan and Gildarts. What happened is that he came to want to protect the guild's members, not just its reputation. I don't plan on touching this at all. I barely plan to do anything with Laxus that didn't happen in any version of the series. He might be all better for it.

#the rewrite of fairy tail #part 28 #laxus dreyar #yes i'm back after 7 months #life was busy #as for ft month...#fairy tail month: seven of these?#you know how this month goes by now

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thedevildomdaily · 3 years

Text

Demonic Possessions Chapter 7: Her Favorite Color

Note: Here’s the Master List for the full story. I recommend reading my stuff on my actual Blog if you enjoy OM! official music! Thank you so much for the support. Please let me hear from you in the comment section. I wanna talk OM!

Warnings: Swearing, NSFW (I told you I’d get to it soon lol)

“For the last time… I.DON’T. KNOW!!!”

It was another chaotic morning in the House of Lamentation. It was hard for Lucifer to believe that his home could become any more turbulent and disordered than it had been for the centuries that he and his younger brothers arrived in the Devildom. The arrival of the nephilim proved otherwise.

He sat at his seat in the dining room with his eyes closed, cup of coffee in hand; his posed as regal and reserved as usual, giving a false sense of calm. Lilly sat at his left, stealing a glance at him to see if he was going to do anything about the riot in progress in the attic.

The other residents looked up at the swinging chandelier, flinched at the occasional slamming of objects, and the slur of unbecoming language being exchanged between the eldest and youngest nephilim.

“I have a notion as to why their kind was expelled out of the Celestial Kingdom…” Satan said aloud as he took a bite of toast.”

Mammon scratched his head and looked at Asmodeus, “And why exactly are they try’n to kill each other this morning?”

“Oh!” The lustful demon chuckled, “It’s quite simple really. They are arguing over the color pallet of the room.”

“You’re tell’n me they are screaming over paint colors all mornin, wake’n me up so damn early!?” Mammon gritted his teeth.

“It’s kind of a big deal though…” Asmo explained, “The colors of your wall not only set the mood for the room, but also dictate the color of everything else in the room: curtains, comforters, accent pillows, rugs, the furniture itself...and then you have to consider the theme! Are you going modern, Victorian, futuristic? It’s actually a very serious situation. I remember when my bathroom was painted eggshell and not silverscreen! I was furious and nearly murdered my interior designer…”

Mammon stared at his younger brother, judging him for how serious he was about that incident. Lucifer had to intervene on the account that the designer in question was the royal designer in charge of the decor for social gatherings in the castle. Diavolo would’ve been upset if his designer was flayed to death.

When silence finally fell upon them, the brothers and Lilly sighed collectively before continuing the morning meal. Then entered Lena.

Mammon jumped at the door flying open near him. Satan, Belphegor, and Asmo laughed and teased their older brother’s reaction.

“Damn psychopath….” Lena muttered to herself with grit teeth as she pulled her chair back and sat down with extra force. She began to quickly grab at food, tossing it onto her plate, knowing she had to act fast before Beelzabub devoured everything.

The nephilim felt eyes upon her, but she didn’t address anyone at first. She just continued to get her food and began to eat.

With a mischievous grin, Amso was the first to break the silence, “Leee-nnnaaa...I missed snuggling with you last night…” He gave wink at her when she glanced in his direction. “Are you really okay with crashing on Lilly’s couch?”

“Not really, but it looks like I’ll be sleeping there for a while longer.” Lena stabbed into her scrambled eggs in anger, “Azriel has flooded my brain with so many decisions about colors and I’m about to scream…”

“And what was that a moment ago?” Mammon dared to ask.

A black aura formed around the nephilim and her eyes glared heavily at the second eldest demon, “A warning that apparently isn’t being heeded…” the greedy brother gulped and looked back down at his nearly empty plate.

“Seriously though, I’m so sorry. I’ve brought a lot of chaos into your home in the form of my brother…” her eyes raised to look at everyone and fell upon an indifferent Lucifer. “And sorry for waking everyone up so early this morning.”

“It’s okay...we’re totally used to this kinda of commotion...right guys?” Lilly responded, looking around to get others to join in.

“Oh um…” Leviathan’s face got red, “Y-yeah...usually it’s Mammon causing the Chaos...so this is really a nice change!”

Asmo and Satan chimed-in, agreeing with their older brother. Belphie yawned and nodded while Beel kept chowing down. It made Lilly calm down, glad her apology was accepted. Only Lucifer neglected to acknowledge or accept her apology. Well that and Mammon pouted at being picked on by everyone again.

************************************

Lena lingered in her last class of the day. She was looking at her phone, researching color options for her room. She promised her brother that she would reach a decision by the time she got back home to the House of Lamentation.

Not paying attention to where she was walking, the nephilim bumped into what felt like a brick wall. She quickly stumbled back and looked up. It was Lord Diavolo, accompanied by his stewart, Barbatos. Was everyone over a foot taller than her? No, the angel baby wasn’t.

“S-sorry Lord Diavolo!” Lena said with a clear look of embarrassment across her face. There was something about the prince that made her feel timid and jittery. Definitely unable to look him directly in the eye. It was so unlike her. “I should’ve paid more attention to where I’m going and not at my DDD…”

“It’s quite alright. The halls are empty now so the percentage of you walking into someone was extremely low…” he responded with a chuckle in his voice. He was always smiling and in good spirits. He also had this knowing expression in his eyes. Yeah, that’s what had her frazzled. His expression...and not those broad shoulders or the muscles that peaked through his school uniform shirt. Not his massive size and confident aura...and now she was staring at his tie.

“Miss Lena...are you okay?” he asked, seeing how she was spacing-out while glancing up at him.

“Oh uhm, I...I was just deep in thought about...COLOR CHOICES! Yes, color choices. I have no idea what to pick and I can’t go back to the House of Lamentation until I have or my brother will go off again…”

Diavolo chuckled and exchanged looks with Barbatos. The prince’s stewart gave Lena a very calming smile and asked, “If you don’t mind, may we see the colors you're considering? We could give you our opinion.”

Lena regained some of her composure and turned her DDD so the two powerful demons could take a look. “See, Azriel went overboard as usual. Now I know the difference between 99% of these colors; the tones lean to one side or another and the values vary going this way...I love color theory as an artist myself so it’s a really hard decision for either of us to decide on.”

Giving it a serious thought, Lord Diavolo took the nephilim’s phone to hold it closer. His large hand overlapped Lena’s, causing a deep crimson to spread across her normally snow white complexion. If he noticed, the prince didn’t give an indication. Barbatos smiled as usual and used his fist to cough slightly, catching his Master’s attention.

Looking back down at the blushing nephilim who’s arm was raised high at him and then to Barbatos, the demon prince chuckled and lowered his hand and gave an apology. “Well I’m not so versed in color theory, but these group of colors here really catch my attention. What do you think Barbatos?”

“A splendid choice.” he agreed, “And you might consider using these colors as accents once the room has been painted…”

“Barbatos is in charge of all decorating in the castle. His tastes are superb and he’s never let me down when setting up for events.” the prince boasted.

Lena thanked them both after looking at the colors they selected. “You guys are onto something with these. Thank you guys so much! I was afraid I might have to just camp out here tonight!” she chuckled.

“What are they onto?” A sudden voice boomed from the shadowy hallway behind the prince. Suddenly Lucifer came into view. He looked down at Lena with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

“Oh Luci! We just helped narrow down some color choices for Lena’s room. We heard it’s been rather interesting at The House of Lamentation in the mornings over this…” Diavolo chuckled. His voice was deep and boisterous. Lena could drink in that deep laughter for eternity she thought to herself.

“My Lord, if you have time to pick Lena’s colors, then you have time to go over those documents I sent you….” the demon scolded. “Lena, you are without your escort so I will accompany you home now.” Lena had sent Levi away since he was in a rush to pick up an order of “great importance” from Akuzon before Mammon could get to it.

“Haha, looks like I’ve been caught by Luci!” Diavolo responded, scratching the back of his head. We better return to the student council room before we get in trouble Barbatos.”

“Thank you both again.” Lena chimed. She followed after Lucifer, but looked back at the two, mouthing the words “I’m sorry” to them both. The demons both gave her a smile and Diavolo waved at her before heading back in the opposite direction.

********************

Lena and Lucifer walked home in silence for the most part. It felt both tense and awkward for the nephilim. The demon was a man of few words it seemed and she didn’t know how to communicate with him. It bothered her, but he didn’t understand why.

“So uh…” she began, looking down at the ground

“Yes?” he responded, with almost slight irritation in his voice, “What is it you want to say?”

“Well, this morning...I apologized for mine and my brother’s behavior and disruption of your morning.”

Lucifer waited a moment for her to continue, but when Lena didn’t, he let out a sigh, “Are you worried by my lack of direct response to your apology Miss Lena?”

The way he asked that rubbed Lena the wrong way; there was a smugness in his voice that reminded her of the Council of Elders the Van Helsing’s worked with. They always treated her poorly because of not only her mixed race, but her gender as well.

“I wouldn’t say ‘worried’ per say..” she responded with her own level of annoyance in her voice, “I just think it’s rather rude. If someone goes out of their way to apologize for something, especially before anyone comments on it, it warrants a response.”

“And was my silence over the matter not a response in itself Miss Lena?” The eldest demon brother didn’t even look at her once as he spoke. It was becoming more infuriating and she could see why Satan and Belphegor were always talking about pranking him. She’d have to get in on it sometimes. Give them more daring options to annoy the hell out of this pompous ass.

“I guess it was a response. But maybe it could give an undesired translation…” she hesitated with a cocked eyebrow. Lucifer didn’t comment, but she caught him giving a slight glare in her direction. “I might take that silence as indifference to how much noise I may make in the morning. It may lead to me thinking that it’s okay to blast my metal….no dubstep music in the mornings while i do my workout routine before showering.”

There was a moment of silence as they approached The House of Lamentation’s front gates. Then Lucifer gave the most ominous chuckle that Lena had ever heard. It was the complete opposite of Lord Diavolo’s. “Was that a threat Miss Lena?” he asked rhetorically, “You really think I’d let you ‘blast’ that sort of abominable form of music before sunrise in my home?” He finally fully turned to look down at her with that intimidating expression.

Lena looked right back at him with the same expression. It was like a contest of wills and all she could think of was that this demon was nothing more than a pretentious asshole. And the way he looked down at her, both literally and metaphorically, made her want to stomp his foot.

“What are you two doing?” a sudden voice behind them called.

It was Beelzabub with a couple sacks of burgers in hand, with a single burger hanging from his mouth.

“Nothing.” Lucifer glared at his youngest brother. “And why are you eating all of that? It’s Satan’s turn to cook tonight.” He paused for a moment and shook his head before going on by himself into the house.

Both Lena and Beel just stood and watched him leave. “Your brother can be a real piece of work, ya know that Beel?” He blinked back in response for a moment.

“I don’t know what you two were talking about, but Lucifer doesn’t talk a whole bunch unless he’s scolding or directing us…”

“Ah, he’s a Mr. Bossy Pants type. I guess it’s in the name though, right? Avatar of Pride. He’s probably never admitted to be wrong about anything has he? She asked, walking slowly with the redheaded demon.

Beelzabub thought long and hard about it for a moment, “I guess not. I’m not sure he’s ever been wrong about anything...except with his actions towards Be- oh, nevermind that. It’s in the past.”

Lena put his response in a pocket in the back of her mind. Having a little insight on the head demon in charge that even manages to boss Lord Diavolo around is nice.

*****************************

“There you are! I tried to ask Levi where you were but he grabbed his Akuzon package bolted to his room.” Lilly shouted when Lena and Beelzebub entered the house.

Lena chuckled and explained what happened up until this point. This caused Lilly to sigh and shake her head. “Sounds like Lucifer alright. He’s just hard to read, but don’t take his comments or silence for that matter personally. It’s just how he is. You’ll get used to it after awhile. And who knows, he might start talking in multiple sentences after getting to know you better.”

“Ha! That’s assuming he’d ever want to get to know me. I can tell he’s just under obligation to all me to stay here. He’d toss me out given the first chance he got. It makes me even more happy to have Lord Diavolo in my corner…” Lena couldn’t hold back her dreamy sigh, which caused the human to chuckle. Yeah it was pretty damn obvious what the nephilim was thinking about.

*************

Both Lilly and Asmodeus accompanied Lena up to the attic to see what her brothers had accomplished. Apparently Zak had given up on his plans to assist in keeping his siblings from causing too much trouble. It was a full time job he truly wished he got paid for.

Asmo had attached himself to Lena, always holding her hand or wrapped his arms around her like she was a stuffed animal. She didn’t mind it. He was a super clingy, affectionate type. And he smelled absolutely amazing.

“My dear brothers,” she began, “I have returned, as promised, with my final decisions for the colors we’ll be working with.”

Asmo looked down, over her shoulder at the pallet, but not before glancing at her cleavage and giving a sneaky little grin. “Oh my, Leeee-na! I adore these colors!”

“Thanks! I couldn’t have made my decision without Lord Diavolo or Barbatos. They both have great taste…” Lena gushed. Lilly and Asmo looked at each other and giggled at their friend’s response.

Azriel, in a comedic dash, ran to his sister and took the DDD from her. His eyes widened as he studied her choices carefully. “Lena….who picked these?”

“Uh, oh that would be Barbatos. He’s quite talented isn’t he?” Lena nodded. She could tell her brother was impressed. He had that glint in his eye that was a combination of joy and admiration only an artist could have. “They told me he choses all of the designs for the Academy and the castle…”

“I will have to pick his brain when opportunity knocks...he does show a refine taste for style and harmonization of colors. And he was a genius with the values he suggested for the accents.”

Zak looked at their sister and chuckled, “Barbatos better watch out. Someone may have a Stan on their case..” Lena laughed and nodded. It was very seldom that their big brother complimented someone else’s tastes. Azriel could sometimes be even more of a snob than Lucifer.

“All the teasing aside, I’d definitely like to thank them for their assistance. And with the colors selected, do we officially have a game plan ready for this remodel now?” The female nephilim asked.

Azriel nodded, “Yes! Let’s get to work, people! We’ve got a job to do!”

Zak and Azriel were going to stay in the attic to work on the necessary repairs needed before any painting could be done. Asmo and Lilly volunteered to take Lena shopping for the paints. This was for the best so Azriel wouldn’t go into another shopping frenzy.

****************

When the trio returned home, everyone had already ate dinner and were going about their own business as usual. Asmo had texted Satan ahead to let him know that he and the girls were going to grab a bite from Hell’s Kitchen while they were out so he wouldn’t have to fend off Beel on their account.

They delivered the buckets of paint and needed supplies for Lena’s brothers to get started. “Don’t stay up working on this too late please. Get your beauty rest big brother… and you too Zak.” The masculine brother chuckled and joked about it some before resuming the work being done on the ceiling.

“And thank you both for taking me to the store and out for dinner.” Lena pulled Lilly and Asmo in a little hug before letting them go. Asmo held onto her a bit longer, being his clingy, flirty self.

“And what do I get for helping you today, hmmm?” he practically whispered it into her hear, purposely grazing his soft lips against the shell of her ear. He discovered that was one of the little nephilim’s weaknesses.

Lips suddenly pressed against his cheek, causing an instant rosiness. “How about that kiss?” she chuckled. Lilly just watched the two flirt and shook her head with a smile.

“Careful, he will be relentless with you now.” The human headed to Mammon’s room to hang with her bro, or to pester him at the very least.

“Maybe I want a little more than just a kiss Leee-na…” Asmo continued, pulling her into a full hug. Her right arm hugged his waist, but her other held a bag in it. “I did manual labor for you today…”

Lena smirked back, enjoying all the flirtation they shared. It was nice to be sought after, especially after an intense breakup she went through recently. “Well, I suppose I could give you a bit...more…” she teased him and used a bit of her nephilim strength to push the Avatar of Lust against the wall by his bedroom door. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a direct kiss on the mouth, teasing him with the slightest moan, and sucking his bottom lip as she slowly pulled away. “And that’s all you get...for now my lovely.”

As she pulled away, Asmo let out a whimper. Not because he was weak to her, but because he was holding back his desires and his demonic urges. He really wanted to know what it was to fully experience a nephilim. “You’re so mean Leeee-na….” he pouted.

“I get that a lot.” she chuckled in response, “I do need to make a delivery before I get ready to crash for the night. I know my brothers won’t be letting me sleep in tomorrow.”

*****************

After a plethora of flirtations and teasing, Asmo finally retreated to his room. Lena smiled, biting her bottom lip as she walked away from the intense temptations he urged her with.

No, the nephilim had other plans that evening. In the bag she held onto was a gift for her guide and fellow nerd. She walked to Leviathan’s door and knocked. Of course there was an immedite request for a passphrase. “Leviiii..it’s me, Lena. you know I have no idea about Devildom Anime or manga yet. That’s why I’m here..”

There was a long pause before Leviathan opened his door. He hesitated before peeking around to make sure Lena was alone. He then slipped back into his room. Since the door didn’t shut in her face, she assumed she had permission to enter.

“So, you’ve returned from your filler quest for 6 buckets of paint, 10 paint brushes, and bonus loot?” The Avatar of Envy asked. It made Lena smile widely, understanding the typical MMORPG quest type he referred.

“That I have. And I’ve returned with my selected rare items of choice.” Lena held up and wiggled a bag before Leviathan. “I, alas, am not the required class for this prize. However, I did know a party member that is.”

Lena handed him the bag. Leviathan was at first reluctant to take it; his eyes peeked through his bangs at her for a moment before looking inside at these ‘rare items’. He acknowledged her reference. She was no mere normie after all. And when he realize what she was giving him, his face lit up like the Beacons of Gondor!

“OOOOMMMMDDDDD!!!! LENA!” he shouted, quickly removing the gatcha figurines from the bag. “Are you seriously giving these to me?! No way! This must be a sick joke…” he was almost in tears.

They were the other two ultra rare gacha figurines that would now complete the rare collector’s set he had been trying to get for the last two months. Lena remembered how excited he was when she got one of them by pure luck the other night and wanted to try for him while she was out tonight.

Apparently she did good. Lilly and Asmo had picked their seat and placed the orders for the table while she try-hard-moded at the gacha machine until she got the prizes she wanted. She’d accumulated a small audience of young demon children, giving them the prizes she didn’t want. It was quite the scene.

“So, did I get the right ones?” she asked hesitantly. She’d not oblige him with the details of how much grimm she spent getting those for him. She just wanted to thank him for being a great tour guide and opening up to her a bit more at a time.

Leviathan nodded, holding them, and trying not to cry. “ARIGATO!” he yelled and began to carefully remove each figure from their boxes. He already had the others on display with two empty figure stands awaiting these last two models.

He stood back in admiration. “There’s nothing like completing a full set..” he said aloud. He was unaware that Lena stood close to him on his left. He was in complete otaku bliss.

“Right...the full set. I’m so happy I could help.” she replied, causing Levi to let out a small yelp and go completely red from head to toe. “Hey, come back!”

He’d took a large step away from her and she moved in his direction. “Why are you avoiding me now? Do I smell like paint that bad?” Lena sniffed at her shoulder.

“N-n-n-o! You smell like rose and peonies and human sunshine…” Levi blurted. It made Lena blink and then smile, covering her mouth. “I-I just have major personal space issues, ok. I don’t get close to anyone, especially 3D females..i'll stick with my 2D waifus...I-”

He stopped talking, getting more embarrassed at admitting that to the female nephilim slowly approaching him. He felt like he would be betraying ruri-chan if getting any closer to Lena that what he already was.

“Do you not like...3D females?” Lena asked, taking a step towards him. It was a legitimate question to her. She’d leave him alone if he answered that he didn’t. But there was no response.

The statement Lucifer made earlier came to mind, “...my silence over the matter is not a response in itself…” Lena’s brows raised and she got it.

“It’s not that you don’t like 3D females...it’s that you’ve never gotten to be near them, right?”

“I-I guess so. I mean, why would anyone want to get close to a shut-in otaku nerd like me?” He responded, squinting his eyes shut.

Lena, however, furrowed his eyebrows, “Oh I dunno. Could it be because that shut-in otaku is really attractive, smart, hilarious when commentating on his brother’s antics, and really passionate and enthusiastic about what he likes?” she did not like it when people talked bad about themselves. She was the type of person to say ‘no, you are amazing af and here’s why!’

Hearing those compliments, Leviathan was shocked. Daring to open his eyes, the demon was face to face with the nephilim. Or as face-to-face as one could be with such a height difference. His body remained red and he couldn’t take his eyes away from hers.

“Leviathan, you have made me feel more at ease than anyone else in the Devildom. And it’s been wonderful getting to share my nerdy side with someone without judgement. Even when it’s playful, it can take its toll. I know that all too well.” Her hand reached for his. He flinched, but allowed her to take it.

“But I am a no good, dirty otaku that blows all of money on-”

“No! I don’t want to hear it Mr. And look who you’re talking to! I have a room back home, larger than your foyer with my collection of stuff. And did you see how much my brother and I spent on clothes. Pl-lease! You’re not the only nerd or over-spender. And tonight, I spent all my grimm on that gacha game without batting an eyelash. I-”

Oops. she spilled the beans on that one. She felt him return a solid grip on her hand. “You spent all of your grimm on the gacha...and gave it to me?”

Lena found herself looking away for a moment, “I mean, yeah. You’ve tried for 2 months to get that collection, and I had a natural talent for it...so I thought what the hell! Let’s complete that set.” She chuckled for a moment, looking at the bewildered demon. Who knew they could make such an expression. Or have such self-doubt.

Finding herself staring at Leviathan, Lena’s eyes left his own and focused in on his lips. He bit on his bottom lip nervously. “You seemed to gloss over my compliment of how attractive you are as well…” At that he shrinked more.

“N-no I’m not. Look at my hair…” he argued.

“You’re hair color is literally my favorite color...you’ll see soon.” The comment puzzled him just enough to lift his guard in time for Lena to kiss him on the lips.

“Wwwmmmgh!” Levi wanted to do his typical scream, but found himself in almost a daze as the nephilim stole his breath. She. just. KISSED. Him. Leviathan.

There were a couple of small kisses that followed, all leaving Leviathan speechless. Lena let go of his hand, observing his response. She wasn’t sure if a demon could go catatonic or not, but Leviathan was proving it to be possible.

“L-Levi….?” she whispered gently.

“Mmmmh-hmmm….” he squeaked.

“Are you okay?”

“Mmmmh-hmmm….” he squeaked again.

“Did you...like it?” Lena asked, finding herself feeling a little less confident in the moment. She’d never had this sort of reaction before. Did demons like kissing? Asmo was the Avatar of Lust, so maybe he was an exception?

Finally there was another “Mmmmh-hmmm” response. Leviathan did like the series of small kisses. He REALLY liked them. He was just so shocked that a beautiful, 3D female actually did that.

This response made Lena smile with relief and excitement. Not thinking, she hugged him, placing her head in his chest. “Oh, I’m so glad. I thought you were appalled by that. I-”

She paused, hearing the sound of a freight train within the demon’s chest. That proved A. Demons in fact had hearts and B. They could beat insanely fast under the right circumstances. And those circumstances at the moment included kissing, hugging, pretty much any direct physical contact. Oh yeah, and her large chest pressing against him. Leviathan was probably about to die any moment now.

“Le-Lena…” he whispered awkwardly, “L-let go..please…”

“Uhm, sure. Sorry…” She pulled away. She didn’t realize she had him pressed against his closet door with no room to move.

Leviathan took a deep breath and went to sit in his computer chair. She watched him silently stare into nothingness for a moment and eventually went to take a seat on the side of his bathtub bed.

Before she made it over there, the demon reached and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. It was a firm grip at first but he instantly loosened it up. He was all sorts of nervous and she found it completely endearing.

“That was...amazing.’ He finally said, “I’ve never…...that was amazing…” He was trying to communicate his feelings despite all of his embarrassment.

“It was...your lips are incredibly soft…” Lena chuckled.

He peeked up at her, almost irritated like it was an insult instead of a compliment.

She sensed that and quickly continued, “It makes me want to do it again...and again…” She bit her own, looking down at him. She knew that he was clearly super sensitive, which she could work with. He was so cute and she met every compliment she gave him before.

“Do you want to kiss me….more? For real?” Leviathan hesitantly asked. He knew he wanted to kiss her. A lot. It was just so hard to imagine she would do such a thing with him. Maybe it was a spur of the moment and she wasn’t thinking when she did it. Was it an attempt to make him feel better. Surely she couldn’t have any feelings for him.

“Absolutely, Levi-kun…” she replied in a sweet, yet seductive tone. She realized during this silence he was overthinking things.She stepped closer, then sat down on the demon’s lap.

Instantly he squirmed, never imagining something like this would happen to him in a millenia. A beautiful 3D, real creature sat in his...LAP!

“I want to kiss you a lot...and maybe do...this and that…” She whispered into his ear, similarly to how Asmo did to her before. She knew he’d get that typical manga line.

“Th-th-th-th-this a-a-and THAT!!!?” he shouted.

Lena chuckled and placed a finger over his lip to quiet him down. “We can start with kissing for now Levi. I just want to make sure you’re consenting and really want to...I’m not pressuring you at all…”

“P-pressure? No pressure!” Levi responded, staring at her. He was distracted about, well, everything: The feeling of a person in his lap. He really had to keep calm about that. The feeling of her chest against his again. “I...just..this is..”

“...New?” she finished for him. He nodded rapidly. “Well then, if that’s the case, I’ll just help you get used to it.” Lena leaned against him and planted a kiss on his cheek and then on the mouth. The demon almost threw her onto the floor, surprised by the sudden kiss again. It was hard for her to keep from giggling at his reactions. She enjoyed them a little too much.

The two of them continued to practice getting used to the kissing and touching the rest of the night. She wasn’t sure if he was a complete virgin or just out of touch since they age so slowly. She would never dream of asking him directly and decided to take it slow on him.

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afriendlyblackhottie · 4 years

Text

Ransom Drysdale Must Die (Chapter 2)

Summary: Ransom Drysdale is a serial cheater. The only way to get him to pay for what he’s done is for him to die. Or at least be extremely humiliated. As long as you don’t fall for him.

Pairings: Eventual Ransom Drysdale x black!reader, Ransom Drysdale x Multiple OC’s

Warnings: Swearing. Eventual smut.

(Author’s Note: I was watching John Tucker must die and it made me think of my favorite sweater wearing murder daddy.)

Words: 3.4K

It was true that you didn’t really have much of a life in Boston. Having to move around a lot really affected your people skills. Not that you weren’t a nice person or at least you tried to be, but it became a little difficult to know how to talk to people when you grew up thinking that none of it would matter in a few months.

Your mom had called you asking for you to visit which you hadn’t done since college. You weren’t even sure what state she was in now. Hell for all you know she’d given up completely and moved to a different country. Besides you didn’t really have the space to host someone. Not that your apartment was too tiny for company, but your mom didn’t pack lightly despite being a nomad.

She’d talked to you as you drove to work. Telling you about another guy that she’d met that she was sure was the love of her life in whatever new place she was in. As much as you wished you could tell her to stop, all you could do was listen and mhm on occasion.

The Ransom Drysdales of her life were going to keep doing what they do to her and whatever woman they could get their hands on. You just wished she’d make better choices so she didn’t get hurt.

You felt a little bit of relief as soon as you’d arrived at work. Talking to her always made your stomach turn now which you hated, but there didn’t seem like there was much you could do. You kind of understood. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone. Except since she’d jumped around so much she’d kind of made you want to.

You went through the employees entrance stopping at the breakroom to put your stuff away. “Hey,” Andy the assistant golf director greeted you. You didn’t really see him much, but he was always friendly when your paths would cross. He was a really handsome guy, super nice.

You shoot him a small smile as you close your locker. “Hi,” you said.

“So, did you hear? Harrington’s on a good one,” he said. “Something about the yoga studio that most of these women go to had to shut down.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What? Damn.”

“I know. Today has been something else.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Gonna have a lot of pissed off fitness gurus all over the place.”

“Just what I needed in my life.” You sighed. “Well, I better get in there before Harrington rips my head off.”

“Good luck,” he said.

“You, too.”

Just like Andy had warned you Harrington was on a good one. You walked into the clubhouse dining to see him chewing one of the other waitresses out, causing her to burst out into tears. You gritted your teeth because it was hard to watch.

“Jesus Christ, what happened?” You whispered to Britt.

She shook her head. “Well, there was an emergency shut down at the Porter’s Studio which means they’re all coming here which would be fine, but Vida has to combine two classes into one each session.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What? What happened?”

“Apparently Ransom’s amazing good looks,” she started, exaggerating her tone, “made her swoon so hard that Lucy had a misstep on the stairs and she proceeded to totally eat shit.”

You gasped, covering your mouth. “No!”

“Oh, yes. I barely missed all the action.” She pouted in disappointment.

“Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine, but Harrington had to send her home for the day.”

“Miss L/N, Miss Lin will you mind being useful and getting to your jobs,” he was now turning his fury to them.

“Yes, Mr. Harrington,” the both of you said in unison, as you suppressed the urge to tell him to fuck off.

“Actually, Miss L/N, I’ve already assigned you to help out Vida in the yoga studio,” he told you. Of course you’d end up dealing with it. Maybe it was a good thing he trusted you enough to move you between sections.

“Will do, Mr. Harrington,” you said.

How Vida was still able to keep that zen exterior despite having to take on Lucy’s class and the women that normally went to the Porter’s studio. You weren’t sure if you believe the story about what happened to Lucy, but it was kind of funny to think about. At least she was okay.

You moved everything around on the refreshments table to make it look presentable. This was what he needed you to take care of. At least you’d get to sit all day.

Vida laid on her mat needing a break before the next class arrived. Dealing with that many of these women at one time was draining. Even if on the outside she hadn’t broken a sweat.

“Ugh, I’m so jealous!” The squeaky voice of a woman said as she walked into the room. “He’s so hot!”

“Shhh, not so loud,” Chloe shushed her as they stopped at the table. “We’re supposed to be keeping it on the low. He doesn’t want his grandfather to find out while he’s redoing his will.” She grabbed a water bottle and a complimentary towel.

“Yeah, but c’mon, Ransom of all people,” she whispered this. “He’s so dreamy.”

Chloe bit her lip. “I know right. And, it’s so different because Jeffrey could never do the stuff we do. It’s insane.” She sighed wistfully.

Your eyes widened as you listened in on their conversation. Was it bad that you were making mental notes to tell Britt after. It’s kind of sad. Closest you’ve gotten to making a friend and you’d managed to bond over the scandalous shit rich people do.

“You lucky ass bitch I swear.” Her friend laughed as they walked over towards the back of the class.

You weren’t going to lie. You were kind of curious as to what else they were saying as you tried to listen in. You were honestly so fascinated by this whole ordeal.

Your attention on Chloe and her friend was cut short when Marissa walked in. You didn’t know this many of these girls took their yoga classes here. You scrunched up your face as she went to the last spot in the front of the class to unroll her mat.

“I already told you, Baby. We can do it later tonight.” She twirled a piece of her hair around her finger as she stopped at your table, her Airpods in each ear. Chloe had come up beside her to grab another water bottle glaring at the other woman as did so. “I can wear one of those sets you like if you promise to do that thing I like.”

Your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest seeing them this close together. God you had so much to gossip about.

Just as the two of them had went to sit down, Amber walked in with her two friends on each side. Holy shit. There really was no way for you to expect this. You know maybe it was a good thing you were always the first one Harrington moved in between sections.

Finally the class had started. You were only half paying attention as Vida had doing warm-ups. “Alright, ladies, give me a nice deep breath and then....” she breathed out dramatically, “exhale.”

This went on for a minute and to be honest listening to her soft commands were making you sleepy. Everyone was following her directions as she broke her own pose to walk around to help help someone who wasn’t stretching deep enough.

As she had them grab the small yoga balls next. You loved yoga. Yoga was relaxing. You’d rather watch paint dry than watch other people do yoga and yet here you were.

“Ow! What the fuck, Amber!” Chloe shrieked knocking the room out of the peaceful atmosphere.

Your head snapped up to see what the hell had happened. Amber shrugged a smile plastered across her face. “Sorry! It slipped!” She replied in a sickly sweet tone.

Chloe rubbed her cheek as her friend came over to look at it. “Are you okay?” The other woman asked.

Right as Chloe was nodding, another ball flew hitting in her face. This time a lot more deliberate making her losing her footing. When she stood up there was this fire in her eyes. “What the hell is your problem!” She yelled at her.

“You’re my problem. Trying to push up on my boyfriend, Bitch!” Not to be outdone, Amber got into the other woman’s face.

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about!”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Oh whatever, everyone knows you’re a fucking gold digging whore.”

Chloe’s jaw dropped before slapping the other woman’s face. Your hand went to your mouth. Wow you really really did have a lot to tell Britt.

Amber not to be outdone, retaliated by doing the same. Everyone watched from the sidelines with shocked expressions as things progressed. Marissa was the only one to come over trying to break it up.

Oh god.

“C’mon, guys! Really?” She stood between them. “Fighting over a man. It’s not worth it.”

“There’s nothing to fight about! Ransom is mine!” Amber pointed at herself.

You were pretty sure your heart was going to beat out of your chest now.

It was Marissa’s turn to react now except she kind of looked like she was malfunctioning as she blinked way too many times in one second. “What?” For a minute she kept her cool, clenching her jaw.

Then she grabbed a ball throwing it at Amber’s stomach. “What the fuck!”

“I’m dating Ransom!”

Boom.

There it was.

Finally.

You stood up trying to get out of dodge as hell was unleashed. Chloe threw a water bottle hitting you in the back, making you fall as Vida also unsuccessfully tried to run.

The wind had been knocked out of you, but you could hear the three smacks that they’d given each other before getting up. They were fucking animals. How good is this guy’s dick for them to be acting like this.

Instead Vida tried to break it up like Marissa had done, but it didn’t really work as Marissa pushed the refreshments table into the four of you before tripping over one of the towels that had fallen and landed on your stomach.

The three of them tried fighting on top of the two of you when you grabbed the whistle around Vida’s neck to blow into it. The harsh shriek penetrated the air, making them cover their ears. “He’s cheating on you and instead of taking it out on him, you’re beating the shit out of each other!” You yelled.

“Miss L/N!” Harrington walked in red in the face.

Oh shit.

You were going to have a giant water bottle shaped bruise tomorrow. Maybe you could write a thank you note to Chloe for that one. Or for all of the various bruises that were given to you by Marissa. At least, Amber hadn’t done any damage to anyone, but them.

You’d been told to clean up this mess as Vida was able to go nurse her wounds. Could you sue? Was that possible? Sue this club and the three of them. Cuz fuck this hurt.

Harrington had chewed you out pretty hard. Of course he’d come in at the right time which must have made him think you had something to do with it even if you’d just been caught in the crossfire. Maybe your mom had a point. It wasn’t all that bad to pack up and move from place to place. Except instead of doing it over men, you could have like a jobs theme or something.

You’d just lifted up the table that had flipped over during the scuffle when Andy came in with a whistle. “Damn. I heard it was bad, but nothing could have prepared me for this.” He looked around with his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, it was pretty great.” You sighed puffing out your cheeks.

“What the hell even happened?” He asked, cringing as he saw the cracked mirror that looked a moments away from shattering.

“Chloe, Amber, and Marissa happened,” you replied, getting down to start gathering the bottles.

“Harrington must have been pissed.”

You laughed. “He was. His face was so red.”

“Did that little vein in his forehead pop out?” He asked with a smirk, raising his eyebrow.

You nodded. “Oh yeah. Looked like his head was going to explode.”

Andy laughed. “Damn. I would have paid to see that.”

“Yeah,” you shrugged, “well I would have paid to not get hit with a full water bottle.”

“No! They did that?”

You nodded. “Yup. I’m going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow.”

He shook his head, but before he could say anything the three women were escorted into the room with a security guard. There arms crossed and somehow perfect. How the hell did they manage to fix themselves first.

“I better get back.” He half-smiled. “Try not to get caught up in any trouble.”

“I’ll try.”

Security had left for some fucking reason which caused the three to do the expected as they took a seat on their mats which had remained on the floor. You were pretty sure you were about to witness round two, planning an escape plan out of the room this time.

“So,” Amber broke the silence, “I talked to Ransom.” She smirked. “He said he felt bad for you because you’re clearly jealous that we have something special.” She put her hand over her heart. “Something that doesn’t need a label because it’s-”

“Our own unspoken bond,” Chloe cut her off with her eyes narrowed as she rattled off that part of Amber’s speech.

“And,” Marissa took over, “I just love how secure you are and it hurts to hear you question it.”

“Because you’re the only girl for me!” The three of them finished in unison.

The three different expressions on their face was interesting. Amber looked like she was ready to fight someone all over again, while Marissa looked like she was one wrong move from crying, and Chloe looked like she was ready to murder.

Amber clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “He really said the same shit to all of us.” She looked like she was in disbelief. Like she’d been punched in the gut. Or possibly hit in the back with a water bottle. Or maybe smacked in the stomach with a yoga ball.

Chloe huffed. “Okay, so what? He gives me the same lines he gives you guys and then hooks up with m-” she started in on a rant until Marissa cut her off.

She shook her head waving her hands to stop her from talking. “Wait, what? You hooked up with him in between that time?” Marissa asked with an eyebrow raised.

“It was in his car!”

Amber guffawed. “Like a fucking high schooler during homecoming?”

“As if that makes it better?” Marissa laughed sarcastically.

Chloe glared at the other women with her lips puckered. “We share an unspoken bond,” she retorted. “Besides weren’t you all oh yeah baby I’ll wear that set you like, like two hours ago?”

“Oh, I’m sorry that I have sex in a bed like a normal adult,” she argued back.

Amber coughed. “Boring.”

You didn’t mean for that snort to come out, but it did. Then their attention snapped to you. Three very intense eyes were on you. “Excuse you?” Amber challenged you, her head tilted to the side.

You cleared your throat as you picked up the balls. “Sorry.”

“If you have something to say, say it,” she pressed. God she looked angry. Not that you could really blame her. If you were in her position you’d probably be ready to go off at any little thing. Of course you didn’t want her going off on you again.

You opened your mouth to say something before closing your mouth again and second guessing it. “You know what. No it’s none of my business,” you replied. You didn’t need to get mixed up in their drama again.

“Just say it,” this time it was Marissa who was trying to get it out of you. Chloe wasn’t saying anything, but you could tell she was daring for you to say something.

You licked your lips before groaning. “Okay, ummm,” you took a deep breath, “does he always call you pet names? You know. Baby, sweetheart, honey.” You rattled off. “Yeah it’s not out of affection.It’s so he doesn’t mix up your names. And, he’s all about that unspoken bond or something special, but never ever about a relationship. And, then he'll make this whole arrangement feel like it's your idea so feel guilty that he cheated because this is something he really wanted.”

Amber scoffed throwing her head back. “Oh my god! You’re dating Ransom, too.”

“No. He doesn’t mess around with the help,” Chloe said.

You raised your eyebrows. “Okay that was rude, but no. I’m not. I’ve just dealt with someone like him.”

Marissa pursed her lips, looking down at the ground now. “He does always make me feel guilty,” she reflected.

“I guess I feel like if a guy was making me feel like that, I’d-”

Amber cut you off, rolling her eyes. “Yeah you’d break up with him blah, blah, blah.”

Chloe scoffed. “As if he wouldn’t get a new girlfriend in like five seconds.”

“Which is why I wasn’t going to say that. If it were me dealing with a man like him, I’d get even.” You shrugged, finally picking up the last bottle of Evian which had rolled over to the other side of the room.

“Wait, who are you?” Chloe asked.

Before you could answer, Harrington had stomped back in right as the mirror shattered. The three women stood up screaming from the noise as you covered your mouth. Yeah wonderful timing.

“Y/N!” He yelled. “Get your shit and get out. You’re fired.”

You weren’t really shocked. At least your last day was memorable. Normally you would have went in there to clean things up. Except it didn’t feel worth it. You’d been caught up in enough fights for the day and al you wanted was to pop open a bottle of wine and drink until you puked.

The three of them only watched as you walked out. As if this wasn’t their fault. You could always get another job, but it still felt shitty. Unlike Amber and Marissa you didn’t have rich parents to fall back on. While Chloe also had her deceased husband’s fortune to get her through. Why were they even doing all of this over a man like Ransom. They could have anyone they wanted.

You hated job hunting. It was so stressful and annoying. You were surprised you’d even landed this gig. Maybe it wasn’t so bad, though. At least you wouldn’t have to deal with Harrington.

“I can’t believe he’s letting you go.” Britt shook her head.

“I know.” You sighed. “It wasn’t even my fault.”

She shrugged. “It’s not like you told Ransom to be a serial cheater.”

“Is it bad that I almost feel bad for them?” You didn’t want to. All of them could have left him today and find new boyfriends in an hour and yet no one deserved what Ransom was doing.

“Don’t forget to text me, okay? If you need anything I’m so there.”

You smiled softly. “Thank you.”

One of the security guards walked in ready to escort you out. The two of you rolled your eyes. “Alright, we’ll talk later. I need you to tell me everything.”

“I will.”

As you were walking out Ransom was talking to some girl at the front desk. You glared at him, not that he noticed. Not like he was paying attention anyway because apparently Ransom didn’t care about the help.

Fuck that guy.

When you’d finally gotten to your apartment, you showered and changed just wanting to wash the day away. The soreness had started to settle into your muscles.

You tried watching TV with your glass of wine in hand, but all that did was make you think about the impending doom of not having a job. So you found yourself doing what you normally did when things were shitty.

You’d gotten lost in the soft blues so easily as your brush sweeped against the canvas. You weren’t really sure what you were going for, but at least you felt a little better.

As you took a step back to see what was missing there as a knock on the door. You groaned going to look through the peephole and your jaw dropped seeing Amber on the other side.

#ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale #ransom thrombey x you #ransom x reader #ransom x y/n #ransom x black!reader #ransom x oc #ransom x poc!reader #Chris Evans #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x black!reader #chris evans x poc!reader #chris evans x you

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spidernerdsblog · 4 years

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Love Is The Biggest Spell

A/N : Chapter three is here. Lingering feelings are getting too strong to handle as the dynamic of some relationships starts changing. Hope you like this chapter. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

Pairing : Warlock Tom Holland x half mortal reader

Summary : Witches are forbidden to fall in love with mortals. But what if your long lost love returns to you as a mortal, can you defy your heart? Any spell any magic seems useless in front of the magic of love. Let's join our lovers in their magical conquest beyond life and death as they fight for their love unraveling dark mysteries of the past along their way.

Warnings : 18+,mention of sex, light smut, mature content, language

Mini Playlist : Tick tock by Mabel.

Next day at your college you and Jane were standing in front of your lockers talking about some stuff whilst Tony dropped in.

"Hey girls what's the tea?"

"Jane over here was hit by a truck named Harrison yesterday and since then she has been gushing about his icy blue eyes, golden hair, perfect jawline and most probably on point dick game." You explained with a dramatic voice.

"How can you not? Have you ever looked into his eyes? I just felt like I could drown in those ocean blue eyes." Jane gushed with dreamy eyes.

"See?" you said proving your point.

"I really wish I could meet him again." And as soon as those words rolled out of Jane's tongue your eyes were met with those familiar blue orbs with spects across the hall and right back at him you caught a glimpse of that luscious mop of brown hair and honey brown eyes walking right at your direction. Jane followed your gaze and turned around to look at the guy she was fantasizing about a few seconds ago. She thought she might faint, her legs felt wobbly.

They walked making heads turn. It looked like one of those slow motion college movie scenes where the hero makes an entry and everyone is gaping at the hot and dashing newcomers, boys getting envious and girls going crazy.

"Is today make a wish day? Then I would really like to be a billionaire." You joked.

"Hi Jane nice to see you again." Harrison came up to her. Jane was dumbfounded.

"Jane, honey will you speak up?" you teased.

"Please don't mind, she is a little out of order today." You joked.

"Y/NN!!"

"What?! you were the one being numb."

"Sorry I was lost in my thoughts."

"Of yours." You chuckled. Jane elbowed you hard. ''Ow!"

"Hi Y/N nice to see you again too." Tom greeted you with that ever adorable smile. Now it was your turn to get the jitters.

"Yeah Hi" you said timidly. If you weren't to lie you yourself felt your heart flutter seeing Tom. You know it was wrong, so wrong you have a boyfriend who you love dearly but that smile that damned smile did things to you.

They walked away to the principal’s office.You all went for your history class. After sometime Tom and Harrison walked in your class escorted by Professor Brown.

"Students I would like to introduce you to our new transfer students. Tom Holland and Harrison Osterfield." your jaws dropped seeing your new classmates. Tom and Harrison walked past you and took a seat at the back. The class started as Professor Brown made some announcements.

"So class as per your assignments are concerned you are going to work in pairs. And I'll be making the pairs."

"Boris and Lucy.." Mr Brown continued announcing the pairs.

"Jane and Harrison." You and Jane exchanged glances amused.

"Damn, you lucky bitch!!" You punched her arm lightly. Jane giggled, turning her head around shyly to glance at Harrison. He raised his eyes from his book and gave her a subtle wink, her face turning red.

"Next is Y/N.." Cole turned back towards you smiling.

"And Tom." Mr Brown announced shocking you both. You looked at each other puzzled.

"What?! but Sir we used to do projects together every time." Cole protested.

"Cole this time you do with Tony. Tom and Harrison have joined in the middle of the semester. It will be better if my best students help them through the assignment. Is it okay with you Y/N?"

"Yes sir it's absolutely fine with me." The class ended after sometime.

"Can't believe professor Brown would do that." Cole muttered.

"It's just an assignment, you will be fine. Tony isn't that bad a partner." You rubbed his shoulder comfortingly and then walked to the back where Tom was sitting.

"So hello new partner! Let's get to work shall we?" Tom shut his notebook turning his attention to you.

"Yeah sure." You took a seat in front of him.

''We need to decide on the topic we will be doing our assignment, any suggestions?"

"How about the witch trials?"

"You want to do the assignment on witch trials?" You were a little taken aback.

"No, I was just suggesting we can do whatever you want to do." He said nervously.

"No it's fine I had always wanted to do an assignment on that but unfortunately Cole never agreed upon doing that. Why do you want to do that?"

"Umm I just feel that those witch trials were barbaric and many innocent women and men were killed."

"You think that too?! That’s awesome! So what are we waiting for? C'mon let's get started” You pulled him by his hand and dragged him to the library. The mere touch of your hand on his sent electric impulses through his body he just followed you as if he were in a trance. You went to the history section of the library and pulled out the books you needed to take home for research.

"Okay then we can go to my house. Oh sorry or you want to go to your house?"

"Your house is fine."

"Here give me some, they seem heavy." Tom extended his hands to take a few books from you.

"Yeah thanks." While you were walking to your home you tried have a conversation with him because you knew very little about him.

"As far as I remember you said you were done with your studies then what brings you in our history class?"

"I said I was done studying in London, not completed, my family needed me back here for our business so I had to return."

"Okay."

"So you guys are brothers or something?"

"Oh no Harrison is my best friend, our fathers are business partners you see."

"Who are there in your family?"

"Mum,dad, three younger brothers and my lovely dog Tessa."

"You have a dog?! Great! I have a cat!" You chirped.

"Not to be rude but not a fan of cats."

"That's fine nobody's judging you."

"So what about your family?" he asked.

"Mom and dad. I'm their only daughter. My cousin sister and aunt live with us after their husbands passed away. We were the only ones they had as family."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's okay we are past it.''

Reaching your house you rang the doorbell. Your sister opened the door.

"You are early today." She remarked as she let you in.

"Yeah have some research to do for an assignment."

"Oi why are you standing out there? come in!" You called out to Tom. Erica turned to see whom you have brought in with you and as she saw Tom a smirk formed on her face.

"You finally dumped that dumbass?" She teased. You rolled your eyes.

"Unfortunately no, Cole is still my boyfriend. This is Tom, he is a transfer student and my project partner."

"And this is my very nosy cousin Erica." You introduced her to Tom.

"If being concerned about your well being is nosy I have nothing to say. Nice to meet you by the way." She turned to Tom.

"The pleasure is all mine."

"Boy you don't know what you have signed up for she is a bit of a crackhead sometimes."

"Erica!!"

"I think I can handle a little bit of crazy." he looked at you smiling.

"That's enough for today, if you would excuse us we need to start working on our assignment." You slipped your hand in Tom's arm dragging him up the stairs.

"Yeah sure unless the topic of the assignment is jumping on his bones."

"You're seriously unbelievable!" you glared at her ushering Tom to your room.

"Sorry for my sister, she's a bit outspoken." You apologized.

"It's okay she seems to be a fun person. And she should be in a happy mood at this time. How far is she by the way?"

"Five months can't wait to be an aunt you know."

"Though I really feel bad for them. That poor baby will never get to see his dad."

"What happened if I may ask."

"Car accident he was returning from work on a rainy night. The car skidded and toppled on the road near the mystic forests; he was severely injured but couldn't make it to the hospital." there was a moment of silence in between you two.

Your cat meowed at the doorway startling you both.

"Madeleine, come here baby!" You cooed as she slowly walked to you and started growling as soon as she looked at Tom

"No bad kitty." You scolded her but she continued to pur at Tom.

"Strange she never does that to anyone." You frowned picking her in your arms.

"I think she doesn't like me"

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok the feeling is mutual dear." He brushes her fur and Madeleine jumps off your hands.

"Where did you buy this cat? Black cats with red eyes are really rare to find."

"Oh no I didn't buy her. I found her toiling alone near the forest on my 21st birthday. She seemed a bit weak and hungry, I really felt bad and brought her home with me. And since then she's part of our family."

"That was very generous of you. 'As always' he said that in his mind.

"Thank you"

"Okay I'll just go and quickly freshen up you sit here for a while."

"Yeah sure."

It was the perfect chance he thought to carry out his plan. The whole assignment thing was an excuse. The sole reason he came to your house was something else. He got up and went near your dressing table and stood in front of the mirror. He sucked in his index finger and then traced it on the edges of the mirror. Then he went downstairs and did the same in all the mirrors of your house casting a scrying spell on them. So that he can watch over you anytime.

Madeleine was hovering in between his legs. He lifted her and she was still hissing at him.

"I thought you were dead because familiars cannot stay alive without their masters." Madeleine purred again. Tom arched his brows amused.

"Why am I here? You know it very well why am I here Madeleine." She purred.

"You also know she doesn't belong here and I'm going to take her back to where she actually belongs, to her home."

He heard the unlocking of the bathroom door as Madeleine jumped from his arms and ran away.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting"

"It's okay." You both worked together doing a case study on various journals, articles and books you brought from the library. Tom left in the evening though he didn’t want to leave you but he had no other choice.

.......................................

"The power of persuasion always works doesn't it? Was quite easy to get into that Principal and that dumbass Professor's heads." Harrison remarked cockily.

"Yeah at least now we can be near them and get our work done." Tom agreed.

"So how was your day?"

"Quite insightful to be honest. Tom exhaled.

"She has her familiar."

"What! Madeleine is alive?"

"Yup, she had been around her all these years protecting her against all possible threats. And keeping her existence hidden from us."

"That sly cat!"

"How was your day?"

"It was quite adventurous for me."

"Don't tell me you did…"

"No not yet but Jane is totally smitten by me." Harrison stated proudly.

"See Haz we just need Jane to get close to Y/N that's it. Nothing more than that."

"Yeah, yeah I know and that is what I'm doing, apparently your lady love is having visions from her past life."

"What?! really??"

"Yes that is what Jane told me" he shrugged.

"Now that's a good head start, now she just needs a little push and our work will be done."

"But Harrison please don't get involved with Jane in such a way that she or you have to regret later." he warned.

"I know but if she keeps throwing herself at me how do you expect me to control myself?" he said cockily.

"Then try to control, you were the one giving me the lecture on that we shouldn't mingle with the mortals then what is this?"

"Yeah what's the big deal anyways. I don't love her." he replied nonchalantly.

"But what if she does Haz?"

"Once Jane finds out the truth she will hate me anyways. Let me have some fun dude."

Tom's phone dinged and his eyes lit up seeing the text.

Y: Hey it's Y/N.. you reached home?

He replied instantly.

T: Just did.

You didn't know what to say next , should you say goodnight? bye? Or just a smiling emoji with heart? no, no, no not heart. You wrote the text and everytime pressed backspace.

T: You needed something? You were relieved that he texted something back.

Y: Yeah actually just thinking of if we got something more than the library books I feel they are quite one sided we need to know both sides' stories to come to a conclusion.

T: I got some books in my house which might be useful. I'll bring them tomorrow at your house.

Y: Great! See you tomorrow then. Goodnight.

T: Goodnight love.

You blushed a little at the last text.

Your life went through a smooth transition. You got to see more of Tom and Harrison as they became your regular customers at your cafe. You were spending more time with Tom than Cole. Though you both had your reasons Cole was busy training for the upcoming intercollege basketball tournament and you were busy with the project you took up. But you were happy with Tom. How much ever you wanted to go away something pulled you back towards him. He seemed a mystery to you, a mystery you were dying to solve. He intrigued you in many different ways that you couldn't describe.

"Where did you even get these books? These are just so full of valuable information.'' you turned the pages.

"My mom is an antique curator she bought these from a woman back then."

"Thanks to your mom we are gonna nail this assignment!" You sat next to him at the table.

''By the way our varsity basketball tryouts are going to happen tomorrow you and Harrison can totally give it a shot.''

"I don't think I can. Plus your boyfriend seems to have a special dislike for me."

"Cole is just a little bit reserved around new people he will be fine and anyways our team sucks could use some new talents like you"

"Will you come to cheer for us?"

"Why?"

"Then I may give it a thought."

"Maybe who knows?" you said cockily. Your faces were so close, his breath fanning your face. You zoned out looking into his eyes as your gaze dropped to his lips, it looked so tempting, you wondered how they would taste, feel in your mouth. Tom cleared his throat and you were snapped out of the daze moving away from him averting your gaze. Your cheeks heating up at the inappropriate thoughts you were having. The tension in the room was so thick that it could be cut through a knife.

"Uhh I must get going, it's already quite late." he said awkwardly breaking the silence.

"Yeah right." you agreed. Tom got up and you followed him to see him off. As you were passing by the fireplace something dropped from Tom's hand making a metal clinking sound and jumped right into the fire.

"Oh shit! My ring!" Tom exclaimed.

"Let me bring water to put out the fire." You offered.

"No the ring is antique it will rust with slightest contact with water." That was the lamest reason you have ever heard.

"then how do you wash your hands?"

"I take it off." You still weren't satisfied with the answer but decided not to argue. Taking a deep breath you looked at him furrowing your eyebrows.

"Is it really that important to you?"

"Yeah it's a family heirloom."

"Okay I'll get that for you. But whatever you are about to see just don't freak out ok?" You bent down near the fireplace and were about to put your hand in the raging fire.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

"Getting your ring dumbo! As we can't use water." you sassed.

"But that's fire you'll get burned."

"Trust me I'll be fine." You assured him and put your hand in the burning wood and retrieved his ring easily without a single burn on your hand. A wide smile spread across Tom's face, you passed the test unharmed. What more does he want? He is ready to look like an idiot in front of you to make you realize your true identity. When you turned around he quickly changed his facial expression, his mouth forming an 'o' pretending to be shocked at what you just did.

"I know just don't tell anyone ok you will be the first one to know except my family."

"I have a condition" you shrugged

"I have no sense towards anything hot that means fire. But actually I don't get burned either, which nobody is aware of, not even my mother because she is already so worried about me and I don't want her to get stressed out more. You'll be the first one to know. So your silence will be appreciated."

"My lips are sealed." Tom assured you, he was about to take the ring from you but you moved it away.

"I wouldn't touch it if I were you. It's still hot I guess" You were inspecting the ring and frowned.

"Hey it's quite similar to the one I have."

"You also have one?"

"Yeah, see?" you extended your hand showing him your ring. He held your hand.

"Where did you get this?!" he exclaimed, clutching on to your hand.

"Uh my mother gave it to me." You looked at him awkwardly. He let go of your hand.

"Oh sorry!"

"She brought it from the church, said that it's blessed and I should not take it off. Will kind of protect me from what I don't know." You rolled your eyes.

"Your mother loves you."

"Yeah I know that is why I'm wearing this or else I wouldn't if anyone else asked me to."

"I think you are being late, you should get going now."

''Yeah bye see you tomorrow during class." Tom left saying that.

…………………

''I told you Amber would never do anything without any reason and that enchanted ring on Y/N's hand is the proof."

"Amber was really way ahead of us. But if Y/N's mother gave her that do you think she knows about who Y/N really is?"

"I believe Y/N's mother knows something that none of us know, she might also know what exactly happened that night before Amber disappeared."

Tom waved his hand across the mirror in his room and your room became clearly visible on it. He smiled like a child glancing at his ring.

"Can't believe she's actually wearing our engagement ring."

Suddenly you and Cole stumbled into your room. His hands roaming around your body as you kissed frantically, teeth clashing, sloppy and messy kisses. You fumbled with the buttons of his shirt pushing him onto the bed and got up to straddle him around his hips. He sat up propping on his arms, your lips meeting again for a hot kiss, you kept grinding yourself on his crotch. He moaned in the kiss his hands went under your sweatshirt drawing lazy circles on your skin. You took the hint and pulled off your sweatshirt.

"Oh missed this view so much." Cole gasped.

"Me too." You said biting your lips breathing heavily.

"Thank god your family is out of town."

"Yeah you should actually thank my uncle who got a heart attack so that is why they went to see him." You both giggled sealing your lips together, you couldn't get enough of each other as you grabbed on to each other.

Tom clenched his jaws while Harrison had a grin plastered on his face as they saw you through the mirror.

"Damn she really has a crazy sex drive. I don't remember Amber to be so aggressive." Harrison joked. Tom couldn't take it anymore, fuming from inside.

"A little impotence will not harm I guess.'' Tom mumbled something under his breath gazing at the mirror.

"Mmmph" Cole pulled away from the kiss

"What happened?" You asked with concern.

"I don't know but I can't get it up."

"What??" You had a puzzled look in your eyes.

"I can't get hard"

"Oh" you got down his lap sitting beside him.

"Sorry babe."

"Hey it's okay, it happens sometimes in old age you know, performance issues. It's gonna be fine don't worry." You burst out laughing putting back your sweatshirt on.

"Seriously Y/N it's not funny." He grimaced.

"Okay I'm sorry, let's cuddle?" You extended your arms pouting . He took them welcomingly. You both laid down.

"You may be just tired with all the practise. You need rest."You both snuggled close to each other, he ran his fingers through your hair playing with them.

"Are you coming tomorrow?"

"How can I not? Who else will cheer for my boyfriend huh?"

"No you are just so busy these days with your project with Tom. I thought.. " You cradled his face in your hands.

"Hey nothing is more important than you to me, do you understand?"

"Yes mam." he placed a soft kiss on your forehead.

You rested your head over his chest, listening to his strong and steady heart beat lulling you to sleep.

"Man that was savage! Where did your morales go suddenly? " Harrison chuckled.

"We need to severe her bonds with the mortal world." Tom said coldly gritting his teeth

…………………………..

You had come to cheer for your boyfriend but your eyes were practically glued to that curly haired brunette the whole time. You were shamelessly staring at his chiseled body, rippling with muscles as sweat dripped off them. Never in your life have you had this strong urge to run your hand through someone's body. As for Harrison he looked no less than a Greek God. His tousled golden hair and perfectly sculpted body can take anyone's breath away. Both of them probably gave a hormonal outburst to each and every ovary present in the room watching the game.

"You're staring." Jane smirked.

"So are you." You quipped.

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"It's-- it's a healthy kind of staring you know just appreciating the piece of art his body is nothing sexual." You clarified.

They gave a tough competition to the college team scoring goals after goals surprising each one of you with their skills. After the game got over you went to Cole who was a little upset and rubbed his shoulder comforting him, occasionally stealing glances of Tom who was surrounded by a swarm of girls which made you feel jealous for no reason.

Harrison headed for the shower room to freshen up.

"I'll be back." Jane said and went away.

Harrison was still in shower, when Jane came into the room. She walked into the shower. Her lips parted as she inhaled deeply, the site was a turn on for her. The water dripped down his hair softly. And the drops slowly made their way to his body and the perfect abs he had. The water defined his well, organized and obviously worked out body.

"Darling don't you think you are at the wrong place?" He turned grinning.

"I'm one hundred percent sure that I'm at the right place." Jane said with a sultry voice. His eyes darkened with lust as he pushed her inside the shower. Her back hitting the cold wall. His lips brush her. Not innocently, like a tease but hot, fiery, passionate and demanding. In this minty moment, her senses have been seduced and she could no longer think straight. “Jane” he whispers slowly, prolonging each letter as if to savor them. She smiles, her heart fluttering at his voice as she clasps her hands on either side of his face. Never before has her name ever felt so wonderful, she thinks, as she leans in for another… In an instant she pulled away and arched up into his broad chest, moaning in the contact of body heat against my own, before she drew back into his lips.

"Are you sure about this?" Harrison asked rather breathlessly. Jane hummed in response.

"Words darling."

"Yes Haz I need you."

The next thing she knew, he had slammed his lips to hers and nearly knocked all wind from her lungs.

Jane hardly had a moment to react before he pressed his tongue to the seam of her lips and, at her grant of access, delved inside her mouth. It was a very sloppy kiss, her arms reached up and tangled around his thick, strong neck. As water trickled down their bodies the dress Jane was wearing sticking to her body Harrison bunched up her dress his fingers went down to rubbing her clothed core eliciting a moan out of her, his other hand gently massaging her boobs. Harrison was already naked and Jane could feel his hard on brushing against her thigh. Harrison lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands grasping onto his shoulders.

Something raw, primal was in that moment as their senses were clouded with lust and desire. Their bodies craving for each other everything just felt so good. For a brief moment of time Tom's words buzzed in his mind but he couldn't care less. He knew it was wrong he had hated mortals all his life but when it comes to your carnal desires you can't think straight and being a satanic witch amplifies these feelings to another level. Her heart was pure filled with love for him but his was sinful full of darkness. He knows he is eventually going to break Jane's heart once Tom gets you back, he doesn't have to though but some things are better to be forbidden. It makes it more thrilling when you can't have something for a lifetime.

"I love you." Jane said panting whilst Harrison put her down slowly.

"Me too." he gave a tight lipped smile and then kissed her softly for one last time.

.........................................

You were discussing something with Tony and Cole as Jane dropped in after sometime.

"Hey guys what's up?"

"Nothing, we are just planning to go clubbing tonight. It has been a long time since we went, need to loosen up a bit."

"Great! Can Haz join us?"

"Haz?" You quirked your eyebrow and suddenly frowned, examining her up and down.

''Why is your hair wet? And what happened to the dress you were wear…'' Jane gulped, your eyes shifted to Harrison, his hair was wet as well and a cocky grin on his face, you connected the dots immediately as you coughed, clearing your throat awkwardly.

"Yeah Haz can totally join us, the more the merrier."

“And you too Tom, will be really happy if you come with us.

"Who am I to say no to you, love." Tom quipped.

'Love' never have you ever thought in your life that a single word can be such a turn on for you. Everytime a pet name rolled out of his tongue for you in that ridiculously seductive British accent it sent shivers down your spine. You just wished he keeps on calling you that again and again. Your eyes were fixated at him. You were feeling guilty and annoyed at the current predicament you have got yourself into. One side is your longtime boyfriend whom you were falling out of love slowly on the other side is a man whom you barely know but he has started to live in your mind rent free, he makes your mind go haywire. You felt a certain connection with him. You were startled out of your thoughts when Cole pulled you aside.

"Why did you invite Tom?" he seethed.

"What is with you and Tom? He's a really good guy Cole, just relax."

"Seriously Y/N how can you be so naive? Don't you see? he's trying to woo you."

"Am I sensing some male rivalry." You narrowed your eyes mischievously. Cole scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"You know what life's gotten really boring for me with just one man in my life for the past 15 years. It will be fun to watch two men fighting for me. So best of luck" you joked.

Later in the evening you all met at the local club of the town. As you entered the club Jane pointed out.

"Seriously you have to wear that necklace with everything? It just kills the look girl." Jane remarked pointing to the antique necklace with an amber colored stone pendant on your neck.

"What choice do I have?" You scoff. "My mom will kill me if I take this off and I've been wearing this since I was 5." You tucked the necklace inside the seam of your dress.

Harrison and Tom joined in after sometime.

“Hi darling” Harrison pecked Jane’s cheek.

“Hi babe.” The boys went away to order their drinks.

"Two bourbon neat." You ordered the bartender taking a seat at the bar.

"So you guys are a thing now?" you quirked your eyebrow.

"Mind telling me what were two upto today?''

"A lady never kisses and tells Y/N."

"Oh I see now things are like that huh?" you smirked.

“Hey no! It’s nothing like that. I’ll tell you everything later.”

"No need I'm not interested in your little sexcapade in the shower rooms anyways" you shrugged having a little sip of your drink.

“So how’s it been with you and Cole lately?”

“We are good, just a little caught with personal stuff.” your eyes wandered off to Tom checking him out through the rim of the glass.

'' I know you and Cole have been together for all these years but are you really together?"

“What- what makes you say that?!”

“Honey you and Cole claim to be together but you both are so far from each other with no emotional attachment. You really don’t have any problem when he is flirting with other girls.” Jane pointed at his direction.

“Because I’m not a clingy or an over possessive girlfriend we are not engaged or married so let him live his life.” you reasoned.

"Then why aren’t you living yours? You know it's okay if you have started to have feelings for someone else. Y/N the more you try to resist it the more you'll get pulled towards it." you understood whom Jane was referring to and you were baffled at the confrontation. You can’t admit it, not yet because you yourself were confused with your lingering feelings towards Tom.

"You know what you're totally drunk, that is why you are blabbering all this bluff. I'm very happy with Cole and I'm gonna go and dance with my boyfriend." you finished your drink before making your way to the dancefloor. Jane tsked, shaking her head seeing your denial towards your true feelings. You danced to the song playing and smirked when you felt a familiar pair of hands around your waist. Cole turned you around, your hands went on to hold on to his shoulders. You were looking around the club when your eyes went to Tom staring at you. Tom was quite amused at your free spirited nature. You were a totally different person to him right now. A contrasting image of yourself with less inhibitions and raw emotions. Who didn't care much of the world.

You winked at him, smiling mischievously. He averted his gaze from you flustered. You laughed internally.

Tick Tock starts playing…

I don't need no other, I'm satisfied

Doing it on my own

Only takes one lover to change your vibe

Ain't that the way it go

"Hey Cole!" Some of his friends called out.

"Come here man!"

"Yeah coming! Gotta go babe." He pecked your cheeks and left. You huffed on the way he ditched you.

I don't need nobody, but you on replay

Caught in the memory

When you touch my body and you say my name

Giving me what I need (tick tock, tick tock, tick tock)

You felt a light tap on your shoulder.

"You know if you want I can fill in for your boyfriend. I'm not that bad a dancer."

"Wouldn’t be that bad I guess.” you looked at him with flirty eyes.

Every minute, so lost in it

Like you're in my bed

Every hour, give you power

I'm losing mine instead (tick tock, tick tock)

"You sure your boyfriend will not mind?" you looked at him occupied with some other girls annoying you.

"Screw him." You said and pulled Tom dangerously close taking his hands and placing them on your waist. You rested your palms on his chest lightly holding on to his jacket.

24/7 got you on my mind

Think about you all the time

My body wants you night and day

But my head is screaming, "go away" (tick tock, tick tock, tick tock)

You gazed in his hazel brown eyes the purple lights dancing on his face highlighting his features,the alcohol kicking in as you swayed to the beat. Your hands creeping up to his broad shoulders as you nuzzled your head in the crook of his neck inhaling the intoxicating smell of his cologne. Your head was reeling as you felt so good a warmth creeping inside your heart. You didn't want to let go of him caring less of the fact that Cole is right there in the club with his friends. You felt like you were under some kind of spell. Tom held you close to him placing his hands on your back. Both of you lovedrunk.

24/7 got you on my mind

Darling, I don't have the time

My body wants you night and day

I'm losing all control of me

Song continues……….

…………………………

"Good for nothing you all are!" Agatha Layman yelled. Zendaya, Laura and Angourie flinched in fear.

"The only job you had was to keep an eye on Thomas that too you couldn't do!"

"But mother I did everything you asked me to do." Zendaya stated.

"If you did what I had asked you to do then why am I getting to know now that Amber is alive!"

"What!? That's not possible." Zendaya frowned in disbelief.

"Yes my dear. She has returned in the form of a human though she has no recollection of her past life nor she has her powers."

"If she has returned and if Tom knows about her then he will do anything to bring her back here." Laura remarked.

"No, no, no this can't happen. All these years of planning, plotting can't go to waste!'' Agatha paced across the room panicking.

"The only dream I had was to see you as the high priestess of the coven. And take over this coven and lead the way according to the Dark lord's wishes." She cupped Zendaya's face.

"Amber has to die and if you girls can't do that then I'll do it myself!"

"Mother, give us one last chance we will not disappoint you this time."

"Go then I want that half breed dead." Agatha ordered with a deep menacing voice.

.............................................................................

@sleepybesson @sophs-library @spideyparkerstark @itstaskeen @milli86 @biebsmylife95 @quaksonhehe @hannahholland1811 @awhollandx @joyleenl @greatpizzascissorstaco @tomhollandsotherpinkytoe @jjandreidsgirl @brighterthanthesunx @adevilallthetime @panicattheeverywherekid @onewithnomightypowers @itsnotmeh24 @bitchinwpei @astridcommings @hollandprkr @hollandsobrien @timotayswriter @kiki-hines @casualprincess77 @spideyth @perspectiveparker @thevelvetseries @tempo-rary-fix @onebigolemess @itsbqueenthings @chingonaconcha @yoongi-holland @l0lmk @itsemohours @fanficscuziranout @allthisfortommy

Taglist:To be added send me an ask or message I’ll be happy to add you in the following chapters.

#tom holland #tom holland imagines #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland series #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you #haz osterfield #Warlock! Tom holland

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a-hundred-jewels · 3 years

Text

what, you egg? - chapter 1

Ao3

Fandom: The Penderwicks Series - Jeanne Birdsall

Words: 1408

Tags: Transgender, Coming of Age, (i guess??), Vingettes, Series of Moments, kind of in a similar vein to "Sparkle and Fade", which is that really good penderwicks fic about skye by spark writer on ff.net, the title is a multilayered joke that im very proud of, i see all you trans shakespeare enthusiasts and i love you

Summary:

Rosalind Penderwick has known that she is a girl for as long as she can remember. It's just the rest of the world that needs to catch up.

Or: The childhood of Rosalind Penderwick told in a series of vingettes and short stories as she navigates choosing her name, dealing with her mother's death, and being true to herself.

Fic under the cut (or on Ao3)

chapter 1: names and pizza

The notes were scratchy, drifting through the walkman on the grass. Pressing the headphones closer to her small ears, Leonarda--

“Nope.” She sat up abruptly, and the headphones fell onto the grass. “Nope, nope, nope.”

“Which one was that?” Her sister, Skye, with blond hair and long, lanky limbs, sat up next to her, grass stains smudged on her cheek like face paint.

“Leonarda.”

“Oh. That’s one of the ones Jane picked, right?”

“Yeah.” She flopped back down to the grass and sighed.

“I can tell her.” Skye hugged her knees to her chest. She was six, but tall for her age, almost as tall as her older sister.

“Thanks.” It wasn’t that Leonarda wasn’t a good name. It just wasn’t right. Jane would understand.

Headphones in again, Fleetwood Mac drifted into the girl’s ears and she shut her eyes.

___

“Jane?” On hurried footsteps, the girl ran down the stairs. “Jane, what’s that smell?” No answer. She sped down the hall to the kitchen.

Jane was sitting cross legged on the kitchen table with her nose buried in a book, apparently oblivious to the awful smell surrounding her. She looked up at the sound of feet. “What about Lucy Pevensie?” she said, her eyes shiny like they were still seeing the sparkling snow of Narnia, instead of her older sister standing at the kitchen door.

“What? No, I don’t think I can name myself Lucy Pevensie. Jane, what happened to the pizza? And where’s Skye?”

“What about Susan Pevensie?”

“Jane!” Jane sighed and closed her book with small hands. Patiently, as though she was being asked a very silly question, she said, “Daddy is on the phone because Mommy called from the hospital.”

“Yes, I know that part. You and Skye were supposed to finish making the pizza and wait for Daddy to put it in the oven. Where’s Skye?”

“She’s washing the cheese off her soccer keets.” Jane smoothed her purple skirt over her lap and reached for her book again, but her sister stopped her.

“Jane, why is the oven on at four-hundred degrees--oh my god!” She turned the oven off and yanked its door open. Smoke poured out, and the smoke alarm shrieked in protest. Behind her, Jane started to cry, partly out of her fear of the smoke alarm and partly, the girl suspected, from the shame of being caught doing something you weren’t supposed to. Before anything else could be done, Skye ran in from the bathroom.

“I’m coming Jane! Oh god, please don’t cry! Uh, I can turn the thingy off! Whatever you do, just don’t get--oh.” Skye stopped in her tracks at the sight of her oldest sister. In her arms, Skye was carrying sopping wet soccer cleats and there was guilt written all over her face.

“Girls? What’s going on?” Their father entered the kitchen.

It was one of their father’s greatest features, the sisters thought, that upon entering a putrid-smelling kitchen with the smoke alarm blaring, Jane crying on the table, Skye hugging mysteriously wet soccer cleats to her chest, and the oldest sister standing at a smoking oven, that he knew exactly what to do. In the next couple of minutes, Skye’s cleats were laid across a towel on a radiator and Jane brought to the living room and given some cheese sticks. The father pulled the burning mess out of the oven, with his eldest two daughters watching intently.

“We thought it would just cook, Daddy,” Skye said, biting her fingernails. “We figured that we’ve seen you and Mommy do it so many times that we’d know what to do.”

“I know, honey. Just don’t use the oven again without me around.”

“Or Mommy, right?” Skye looked up at her father.

“Of course,” their father said, his face unreadable. “I know my girls are all very smart, but the oven gets so hot and I don’t want any of you to get burned, or for, uh, this to happen.”

“Okay,” Skye nodded. Her older sister was still looking at the charred pizza on the stove, though.

“I don’t understand why it smelled so bad,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“The smell. We’ve burnt pizza before, when we’re cooking with Mommy, and I don’t think it’s ever smelled that bad.”

Their father frowned. “Good observation, my dear. Skye, what cheese did you use?”

Skye’s small fae scrunched up as she thought. “I don’t know,” she said. “Jane did the cheese.”

Her sister sighed and went through to the living room, where Jane was peeling her string cheese and draping it across her book. She didn’t look up when her sister walked in but said, in a sing-songy voice, “Hello, Susan Pevensie!”

“Not Susan Pevensie, and are you actually going to eat any of that?”

“Maybe,” Jane said. She dropped a strand in her mouth.

Her sister sighed. “Jane, Skye says you put the cheese on the pizza.”

“Uh huh. I did the cheese and Skye did the sauce.” Jane began dropping the rest of her cheese strings into her mouth.

“What kind of cheese did you use?”

“The tiny cheese.”

“The grated cheese in the blue bag that Daddy left on the table for you?”

Jane shook her head. “I don’t like the tiny cheese in the blue bag. I got the red bag out of the fridge.”

Her sister frowned. “We don’t have any more of the red bag. Daddy and I finished it yesterday when we made macaroni.”

“It was really far back.”

The girl bit the inside of her cheek. “Um, Jane, what did the cheese look like?”

Jane thought hard, then swallowed her cheese strips and proceeded to peel more. “Tiny,” she said.

“Was it a funny color?” The girl tried to keep the desperation out of her voice.

“It was speckly.”

The girl sighed. “Jane, why did you use speckly cheese?”

Jane’s lower lip began to wobble. “I thought it would be like how big cheese with holes in it is better than big cheese without holes in it. Tiny cheese in the red bag is the best kind, but speckled tiny cheese in the red bag is even better!” Little tears were rolling down Jane’s cheeks and she started to chew on her hair.

Her sister took her hand and led her into the kitchen to see their father peeling an apple into a long spiral.

“Daddy I put the speckled cheese in the red bag onto the pizza and now everything smells icky!” Jane wailed, running for the comfort of her father. He picked her up and held her close to his chest, her small arms wrapped tight around his neck as she cried into his shoulder.

“Daughter of mine, could you open the windows?” Mr. Penderwick laid his hand on the girls head, her messy curls poking up between his fingers. That’s what he’d taken to calling her -- “daughter of mine.” He’d smiled when she told him that she didn’t have a name yet, but she didn’t want to use her old one, and said that he was sure whatever she thought of would be perfect. He’d also lent her the book of baby names that he and her mother had used to name her and her sisters, years and years ago. The girl treasured it -- but only the first half, which she looked through whenever she felt brave enough. She never looked at the boy’s names, though, not wanting to see her old name -- her first name -- circled in black pen by her mother from all those years ago. And anyway, there were plenty of beautiful names in the girls section. The boy’s section didn’t need to matter.

She opened the kitchen window and leaned as far out as she could, enjoying the cool breeze on her face, and a smell other than burnt, moldy cheese.

In the end, the Penderwicks did have pizza that night. Soon after disposing of the mess Skye and Jane had tried to make, Mr. Penderwick ordered from Antonio’s pizza, letting Skye do the talking the way she liked to.

By the time the order came (one large cheese pizza and one medium pepper and mushroom pizza), the nights events were almost forgotten. The girl sat down at the kitchen table next to Jane and took the blue plate her father passed her with two pieces of cheese pizza on it.

Despite everything, it was a happy evening on Gardam street.

#cameron writes #the penderwicks #penderwicks #rosalind penderwick

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rookie-ramsey · 4 years

Text

Thinking Out Loud, Chapter 9 (Ethan X MC AU)

Description: Ethan and MC are two single parents coping with loss. Their daughters see their chemistry.

Preview: Ethan shook his head in wonder. “I’ve never seen anyone this enthusiastic about going costume shopping.”

“Are you trying to say that taking three kids under the age of six Halloween shopping isn’t how you want to spend your Saturday?”

Ethan grinned. “I might be able to survive it, given the company I’m in.

https://rookie-ramsey.tumblr.com/post/630062667441258496/thinking-out-loud-chapter-8-ethan-x-mc-au (previous chapter)

The following day, Olivia found herself in her apartment, explaining the events of the previous night to the police.

“My ex-husband used a lockpick to break into my apartment. He got my address by calling my cell phone provider.”

The officer nodded, writing something in his notebook. “Did he steal anything?”

Olivia shook her head. “No. He wasn’t here to rob us. He was here to try to convince me to come back to him.”

“Was he violent?”

“Somewhat. He grabbed my arm and pinned it to the table.” Olivia rolled up her sleeve, exposing the bruise that had formed.

“Did you retaliate?”

She nodded. “Well, yeah. I had to get him off of me. I did slap him, and he let go of me. He was getting angrier and probably would have become more aggressive if our daughter hadn’t walked into the room.”

“Did your daughter witness anything in particular?”

“She only saw us arguing. We stopped when she walked in. The point should be that Ryan knew that children… his children… were in the apartment and he chose to behave the way he did.”

The officer made another note. “What did you do when he left?”

“We went to my boyfriend’s apartment. Ryan had broken the lock, and I didn’t trust him not to come back. I felt that the safest option was to leave for the night.”

She watched as the office finished taking notes, then pocketed his notebook. “We’ll see what we can do. I’d apply for a restraining order. If we can track him down, we can book him for breaking and entering.”

Olivia frowned. “That’s it? What about physical assault? Child endangerment? Surely there’s something else he can be charged with. This isn’t new behavior for him.”

“Well, the fact that you physically retaliated makes it harder to justify an assault charge, especially since all he did was grab your arm instead of hitting you. Did he threaten your kids?”

Her frown deepened. “No. But he’s the one who started the altercation. I had every right to defend myself. Was I supposed to let him cause real harm to me?”

“That’s not what-”

“Then what is it? Am I supposed to let the situation get to the point that my safety, my kids’ safety… is at risk? What happens when he shows up again, more hostile than last night? Should I let him hit me, since ‘all he did was grab my arm’ last night, as you put it? And then make it known that when I reported the first incident, it was brushed off as nothing?”

“No!”

“Well, then I suggest you don’t try to tell me I was in the wrong. My kids and I will be staying with my boyfriend until Ryan is in custody.”

She finished giving her statement, then sighed when the officer left. She couldn’t help but feel as if she had just wasted an hour of her time, taking the morning off work for nothing. Grabbing her car keys, she left the house, double-checking the newly-installed lock.

After making a food run, she drove to Edenbrook, where she found Ethan on his lunch break. “I brought something edible,” she announced, setting a takeout container on his desk.

“How did it go this morning?”

She sighed, opening her takeout container. “It felt like a waste of time. The cop said they’d try to track Ryan down and arrest him, but the charges against him aren’t going to keep him in jail. The only way he’s likely to face any real charges is if he violates the restraining order once it’s in place.”

Ethan frowned. “When is the order effective?”

“The temporary one will be in effect within 24 hours. They’ll set a court date to try to establish a real one.” Olivia huffed and ran her fingers through her hair. “But there’s nothing I can do right now. I’m ready to focus on something else.”

“Like what?”

“Work… or the fact that Halloween is next week. Both things are extremely important.”

“I always take Leah trick or treating around my neighborhood. Jacey and Liam would probably enjoy it, too.”

Olivia smiled, relieved to have something else to discuss. “They would. I humbly accept your invitation.”

XXXXXX

Halloween gave Olivia the distraction she needed. For now, the restraining order was in place, and she had yet to hear from or see anything of Ryan. She planned on keeping it that way.

Halloween easily ranked as her favorite holiday, and having kids only made it more exciting when she got to help them pick out costumes, buy entirely too much candy, and take them trick or treating.

Ethan shook his head in wonder. “I’ve never seen anyone this enthusiastic about going costume shopping.”

“Are you trying to say that taking three kids under the age of six Halloween shopping isn’t how you want to spend your Saturday?”

Ethan grinned. “I might be able to survive it, given the company I’m in.”

“How sweet.” Olivia picked up Liam as they waited for the girls to emerge from Jacey’s room. “Halloween is fun when you have kids to parade around in cute costumes.”

When the girls joined them in the living room, they walked outside to Ethan’s car. A fifteen minute drive found them in Target, where they set course for the Halloween aisle. In the baby seat of the shopping cart, Liam entertained himself with a plastic pumpkin while the girls began browsing the costumes.

“I was thinking that after this, we could get some lunch. Shopping always seems to work up an appetite.”

Ethan nodded, watching as the girls gathered armloads of costumes. Leah held up a disturbingly gory clown one that Ethan felt did not belong in existence, let alone the children’s section. “Daddy, look!”

“Absolutely not.”

Giggling, Leah returned it to the rack.

Jacey grabbed a tiny costume and held it up. “Look, Mommy! It’s Baby Yoda! Liam can wear it!”

“I think that’s perfect for Liam.” Olivia took it from her and added it to the cart.

After several rounds of debating between costumes, the girls finally selected theirs, choosing pirate costumes. Despite having entered the store with the intention of only buying costumes, they managed to fill the cart with candy and decorations as well.

A week later, Olivia settled Liam in his stroller, gently stopping him from chewing on the ear of his costume. “Ready to trick or treat so Mommy can eat the candy you’re too little to eat?”

Liam blew a raspberry. “Candy!”

“That’s right. Mommy’s gonna ‘inspect’ the candy and make sure everything that doesn’t pass inspection goes in the ‘trash’ right away.”

A few moments later, the girls bounded into the room, dressed in their pirate costumes. Olivia grinned.

“How cute.”

“Nuh uh!” Jacey shook her head and brandished her plastic sword. “We’re the scariest pirates in the world!”

“Yeah!” Leah held out her sword as well. “You’re gonna walk the plank, Daddy!”

“Why me?”

“Cause I said so!”

“How can I argue with that level of authority?”

“You can’t!” Leah grabbed his hand as they left his apartment. It was an unusually warm night for a Boston October, making the girls even more excited as they led the way down the sidewalk, walking a few feet ahead of their parents.

Olivia lowered her voice. “The court date is next week. They’ll be finalizing the restraining order, assuming Ryan doesn’t win his attempt to repeal it, and possibly pressing charges. It may not happen, but for some reason, I don’t feel too worried about it.”

Ethan slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Are you sure? It’s during work hours.”

“I’m sure.” Ethan nodded.

“In that case, I’d appreciate that.”

“Then I’ll be there.”

Next Chapter

Tags (part 1): @princess-geek / @buzz-bee-buzz / / @lapisreviewsstuff / @polishchoicesfan / @msjpuddleduck / @silverlitskies / @paulfwesley / @dr-brianna-casey-valentine / @timmagicktoad / @choicesstanblog / @lucy-268 / @trappedinfandoms / @alexis0280 / @junehiratas / @ramseyandrys / @cecilecontrera / @justanotherrookie / @imescullen / @bellcat2010 / @desmaranj / @lion-ess24 / @mkamra2355 / @openheart12 / @mvalentine / @choicesfanaf / @whatchique / @smilex1104 / @elephant9998 / @nooruleman / @caseyvalentineramsey / @kaavyaethanramsey / @xee-na-art-blog / @edith-eggs1 / @oofchoices / @noboundariesplease / @schnitzelbutterfingers / @tefigranger / @laceandlula / @paisleylovergirl / @simsvetements / @crazy-loca-blog / @somegdchoices / @jlynn12273 / @ramseysno1rookie / @sanchita012 / @forthebrokenheartedthings / @lilyvalentine / @parkerattano / / @loveellamae / @drramseysownsme / @misswhit12 / @drethanfreakingramsey / @juneiswriting / @macy-ray85 / @swimmingauthordreamerbonk / @myusualnerdyself / @siaramsey / @takemyopenheart / @queencarb / @drakewalker04 /

#open heart #choices #choices: open heart #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan x mc

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lifewouldbebetteronmars · 3 years

Text

Castle Towers Fall

Chapter 5 *Slight Angst Warning* *Charles Fairchild Warning*

November 1901; Paris, France

Alastair had been in Paris for about two months now and he absolutely loved it. The first time he had been in Paris, he was ten and didn’t get to enjoy it because of his father and his “illness”. But now, he got to see the museums and the Eiffel Tower, without his father to ruin in it by passing out in a bar somewhere.

No, his family was far away in Bombay at the moment, the newest place they had moved to, right before Alastair left for his travel year. While he loved and missed his mother and sister, he couldn’t help but feel relieved to be free of his father’s burden and the stress of keeping it a secret from Cordelia. Speaking of Layla, her birthday was coming up next month and he needed to send her something. Maybe a new mythology book, he thought as he saw a mundane book shop in front of him.

He walked in and sent a small, cordial smile towards the cashier at the front as he went searching for a section on mythology. Alastair browsed for a few minutes before finding a book on Persian mythology, which happened to be his sister’s favorite. He was reading the back of the book, heading to the cashier’s desk, when he accidentally bumped into someone walking passed him.

“Oh I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Alastair apologized, turning around to look at the person he had bumped into. He had bumped into a girl with long curly hair, who looked to be a few years older than him, but there was something odd about her expression when she saw his face. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Miss, are you alright? You look a little pale.” he asked, equal parts concerned and creeped out.

The girl’s eyes refocused and widened at the realization that she’d been staring, and started to apologized profusely for doing so. “I’m so sorry. You just look a lot like someone I used to know. You don’t by any chance happen to have the last name Verlac, do you?” she asked and now it was Alastair’s turn for his eyes to widen. Verlac. That was the name of his mother’s first husband, the one that died within the first year of their marriage.

“No, I’m afraid not. But my mother was married to a Verlac before she was married to my father. Theodor Verlac, I believe that was his name.” Alastair replied, straightening up.

“That’s who I’m talking about. Theodor Verlac was a cousin of mine, you just look a lot like him. It’s quite odd really. Anyways, I’m Filomena Di Angelo, from the Rome Institute. And you are?” Filomena said, holding out her hand for Alastair to shake.

“Alastair Carstairs, I’m currently at the Paris Institute. It’s my travel year.” he replied, shaking her hand. “I would love to stay and talk more, but I must be getting back to the Institute. I have early patrols in the morning.” Alastair quickly bid Filomena goodbye and hurried over to the cashier’s desk to pay for the book.

Once he got back to his room at the Paris Institute, Alastair sighed and began to write a letter home to Cordelia, even though his mind was running a mile a minute. He gave up on writing the letter after three failed attempts at trying to get his hand to stop jostling the pen, creating ink splatters on his stationary. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, it was getting longer and needed a trim soon before it got too long.

All Alastair could think about Filomena’s words and how she said he had reminded her of his mother’s first husband, who was long dead by the time he had been born, nearly a year before. It wasn’t too bizarre was it? That he had been conceived within the first month of his parents’ marriage and only two months after the death of Theodor Verlac. Maybe...no, Alastair don’t be silly, he thought to himself in an attempt to make his mind stop. He knew his mother would never lie about his parentage, right? It just had to be a coincidence that he looked a bit like his dead husband.

He sighed and held his head in his hands, trying to calm himself down. He only looked up when he heard his door opening and closing. Charles Fairchild was standing there, staring at him.

“Are you alright, Alastair darling?” he whispered, coming around to wrap his arms around Alastair’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to his temple. Ah yes, that. That was new. Him and Charles.

It started two weeks after he had come to Paris, he’d been apprehensive at first, to a relationship, but it worked out well in his opinion. They would meet up in Alastair’s room whenever Charles didn’t have anything to do at night, mostly ignoring each other during the daytime. The secrecy of it all felt...thrilling. And Alastair loved that thrill, it made him feel more alive than he had in years.

“I’m just fine Charles, I have a lot on my mind.” he excused, hoping Charles would drop it and they would continue on.

Charles rose an eyebrow. “Penny for your thoughts?” Damnit, he really hoped Charles would drop it. Guess not.

“I don’t feel like talking it about it. It’s silly anyway.” It’s definitely silly.

“Are you sure?” Charles asked.

“Definitely. I think I just need a distraction.” Alastair hoped Charles knew what that meant.

“I think I can help with that.”

Note:

I’m sorry this took so long to post but I ended up being really busy this weekend and have been writing when I can. Can anyone guess what part I cringed writing? I think it’s blatantly obvious

Tags:

@lovefairchild

@alastaircarstairsourboi

@styxdrawings

@this-person-is-a-hoe

@imchaotic-dontmindme

@devikaontheoffbeat

@banescrown

@lucie-herondale-blackthorn

#yes i really added a warning for charles #he needs one #castle towers fall #ceo of the first alastair verlac fic #alastair carstairs fic #alastair verlac fic #the last hours fic #alastair carstairs #alastair verlac

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anghraine · 3 years

Text

@laufire tagged me in a fic meme!

The Game: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag some authors!

1. Even in Gondor, Éowyn was cold.

Tolkien, WIP: an AU take on the Éowyn/Faramir hair mingling scene with f!Faramir/Fíriel. I’ll probably fold it into daughters of the great at some point, but haven’t yet.

2. Elrond did not call the Council.

Tolkien, WIP: a (new) AU where Faramir is the one sent to Rivendell. I’m not writing it in a long fic sense, but I do have some snippets.

3. Gwen did not often dwell on life before the Searing.

Guild Wars, WIP: a canon-compliant one-shot focused on Gwen Thackeray’s last day before the Searing, ft. the GW: Prophecies PC (here, Irene Fairchild).

4. At least, Lady Georgiana thought, Darcy had the mettle to write to her of his engagement himself.

Austen, WIP: a canon-compliant fic dealing with the responses of Darcy’s canon and headcanon relatives to his engagement/marriage. This first bit is posted here.

5. The Steward was fortunate in his children.

Tolkien, WIP: an AU take on Denethor and Faramir’s relationship, with f!Faramir. Another piece of the Fírielverse.

6. Faramir was born under the Shadow, son of a weary father and wearier mother.

Tolkien, WIP: a canon-compliant take on Faramir’s childhood and his first dream of Númenor.

7. My dear Edith,

I hope you and your brother are well.

Guild Wars, complete: a canon-compliant epistolary take on the GW: Prophecies’s PC’s last day before the Searing. Here.

8. Eldarion had no queen.

Tolkien, complete: a canon-compliant fic where Eldarion has an arranged but happy marriage to Faramir and Éowyn’s younger daughter + lifespan angst. Here.

9. “Is there no deed to do?”

Tolkien, WIP: the opening to we also are daughters of the great, a Fírielverse fic with Éowyn and Fíriel first getting to know each other. I wrote and posted the first part a longggg time ago; the newest section begins with:

Fíriel was easy to talk to, Merry found.

10. “But Lizzy, you can tell us whether it is like or not.”

Austen, WIP: the opening to tolerably well acquainted, a fic that was originally tracking the development of Elizabeth’s feelings for Darcy at Pemberley, and then kept going. The current chapter’s draft begins:

By the time that Elizabeth reached the signature, she could nearly have crumpled the letter in her hand.

11. I always thought of myself as Ascalonian first, and Krytan second.

Guild Wars, WIP: a slight AU of GW2 from the POV of the human noble origin PC w/ missing sister storyline, where making the PC/her sister proud Ascalonians has a significant impact on them and their choices. I’ve been poking at the fic, pro patria, for years, but the current section begins:

I’d opened my mouth to ask something else, but Frazarblade suddenly interrupted me, slightly raising her voice.

12. If Darth Vader did not avoid the sight of his daughter in carbonite, he certainly did not seek it out.

Star Wars, WIP: the third part in an AU-of-the-OT f!Luke series. This part, The Jedi and the Sith Lord, follows Lucy and Vader after she’s captured by the latter in Cloud City (for AU reasons I won’t get into here). Like the last few, I started this a long time ago, so the beginning of the new section is:

Anakin didn’t hesitate.

13. In the first few years after his escape from Yakone, Noatak drifted: from place to place, from name to name.

Avatar, WIP: from One More Tomorrow, an Amon-centric f!Tarrlok fic (...I do understand that this is a) very predictable for me to write and b) of very limited interest to other people). It’s actually part of a longer series, though not nearly as lengthy or the f!Luke one or as involved as the f!Faramir one. The new section begins:

Amon had already stopped walking.

14. Boromir and Fíriel could both command man and beast alike.

Tolkien, complete: a short Fírielverse fic about Fíriel grieving Boromir/meeting Pippin. Here.

15. In her heart, perhaps, Fíriel knew what must happen.

Tolkien, WIP: a Fírielverse fic about Fíriel after the destruction of the Ring and Denethor’s death in battle, deciding what to do about Aragorn’s claim in the midst of grief for her father and uncertainty about her future. Here.

16. When Leia told them the truth, Jyn and Cassian said nothing.

Star Wars, complete: a Leia/Jyn/Cassian fic set after Leia finds out that Vader is her natural father. Here.

17. They escaped the way they arrived.

Star Wars, complete: AU Jyn/Cassian fic where the main cast of Rogue One makes it out of Scarif alive, and it turns out everyone has assumed Jyn and Cassian were in a relationship. Bonus grey-ace!Cassian and autistic!Jyn. Here.

18. Jyn never forgot the moment when her mother’s body slumped to the ground.

Star Wars, WIP: AU Jyn/Cassian fic where Jyn, Cassian, and Bodhi make it off Scarif together, only to get sucked into the Death Star and forced to pass themselves off as Imperials without getting caught. Another one that I started a pretty long while ago; the most recent part of it begins:

As Jyn made her way back to the hold, she caught the murmur of voices.

19. Augustus Jones was a gentleman.

Austen, WIP: an AU where Wickham gets murdered after the Netherfield Ball and the cast of P&P are suspects. Darcy/Elizabeth, of course.

20. Jyn imagined herself with Princess Leia, sometimes.

Star Wars, WIP: a Leia/Jyn/Cassian Everyone Lives AU where Jyn struggles with being into Leia and Cassian at the same time.

I think that’s about the right fics, anyway! Basically: now and then I jump straight into the story, but most often, I begin with a statement that’s kind of ??? in terms of where the story is going, but then ‘zooms in’ to provide some context/background/revelation of what’s going on before we head into the story proper. I think of it as orienting the reader, basically, and I’m usually a bit ????? unless I can think of a way to do it. I didn’t include my original stuff on this list, but I generally do the same thing there.

My fave of these is probably:

In the first few years after his escape from Yakone, Noatak drifted: from place to place, from name to name.

It does the thing where it starts from this kind of distant perspective in order to narrow in later, but I think it does a much better job than usual of giving an idea of the story’s focus, and I like the phrasing.

tagging, if you want to do it ... umm, I’m not sure who has this quantity of fic, but: @ncfan-1, @ladytharen, @kazaera, @brynnmclean, @irresistible-revolution, @steinbecks

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starlit-scarlet · 3 years

Text

Chapter 9

The Trio-Part 5

Word Count: ~8.7k

CW: This chapter contains a scene of sexual assault.

Please see my note regarding this fic here.

Starved Menu

She was a young girl of about seven. The morose expression etched into her innocent features was a complete contradiction to the normally cheerful girl. The scene before her was imprinted in her mind forever.

The muted click of the front door had drawn her out of her slumber. Then came the voices. The pleas. Confused, she had peeked out from around the curtain that sectioned off her makeshift bedroom. The blood in her veins had froze when she saw the scene in front of her.

Blinking, a cold settled over her as her child’s mind struggled to comprehend.

Blink.

Her parents were on their knees.

Blink.

A pair of pliers in the man’s hand.

Blink.

A pile of fingernails growing on the floor beside him.

Blink.

His questions that didn’t register in her mind.

Blink.

Finally, the man realized that they were not going to give him the answers he needed. He pulled a knife from his pocket, the giant blade glinting in the moonlight. She stood frozen, as he drew the blade across her dad’s neck, blood gushing out from the wound as he collapsed. Dead.

Her mom glanced her way, eyes widening as she saw her there in her doorway and screamed, “RUN! Baby, get out, g-.” The sound of a knife tearing through flesh filled the air, cutting her mom off mid-sentence. The girl stood rooted in place, unable to move, the cold engulfing her.

The man turned and looked at her. The grim look gave way to a malicious grin reaching his cold, gray eyes. “Well hello there. Yes, you’ll do just fine. I’m sure to get a pretty penny for you in Mitras. Lots of couples there lookin’ to buy a child cause they can’t have one.” The malevolent tone of voice had her stomach lurching. “Looks like this whole excursion won’t be a complete waste after all."

Tears staining the girl’s face went unnoticed as she took in the lifeless bodies of her parents. Their blood that was running warm in their veins only minutes prior, now lay in a cooling puddle, pooling around them. Before the girl could even register what was happening, he’d grabbed her.

She was now in that small room, in the house in Mitras, surrounded by darkness, its cold tentacles enveloping her, suffocating her, as she cried out, “Mama, Papa, help me! Help me!” Not fully understanding that her parents were gone. No one could help her now.

“Help you? Why would anyone help you when you can’t even help your best friend.” Sherri’s sneering face broke through, reminding her of her failure. “Look at Lucy, look at her!”

The darkness released her as she turned to look, now outside the walls, and saw Lucy screaming as the titan tried to shove her down its throat. Isa did what she’d done the first time. She went as fast as she could, trying to reach the titan in time, but it was as if the distance kept growing instead of shrinking. When she managed to reach it and slice the nape, like the first time, she was too late.

The titan lay in a heap on the ground, with Lucy trapped in its mouth. Except, now, instead of soothing words, her last words were harsh and bitter, cutting through Isa.

“You’re a failure Isa. This is your fault. I hate you. You killed me. You did this.”

She was surrounded now, by all the people she called a friend. Isabel. Sherri. Furlan. Hange. Ethel. Even Levi was there. All of them were sneering at her, their voices echoing.

Failure.

Pathetic.

Useless.

Waste of space.

“It should have been you and not Lucy.” Sherri’s voice sliced through her.

“It should have been you and not Lucy.” All their voices melded together on those words, as they kept chanting.

“It should have been you and not Lucy.” They stepped closer to her, suffocating her.

‘No!’ She screamed, dropping to her knees. She rocked back and forth, sobbing, head held in her hands.

“It should have been you and not Lucy.”

‘N-no! I-It wasn’t my fault. Please believe me.’ Her voice trembled. Her breaths came in pants as they came closer, practically on top of her now. She shrank into herself, trying to get away.

“It should have been you and not Lucy.”

Now Lucy joined them.

“It should have been you instead of me."

Isa woke up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding in her ears, tears staining her cheeks. The moonlight pouring through the window told her she hadn’t been asleep for long. Wiping the sweat and tears off her face, she rose and dressed. She knew there would be no going back to sleep.

She found herself walking towards the entrance to the roof of the base. She’d been there only hours ago with the trio, and now she was back, only this time she was alone.

She stood at the edge of the roof, staring out into the endless night. Another sleepless night. She let out a restless sigh.

A forlorn look etched into her features, she sat on the edge of the roof, trying to rein in the barrage of worries. She wanted to scream. Throw something. Instead, she drew her legs in, and buried her face in her knees, taking a deep breath, willing away the grotesque images from the nightmare.

As she sat, she felt a presence behind her. Twisting around where she sat, she saw Levi approaching behind her, footsteps as quiet as ever. Ignoring him, she let her head fall back onto her knees.

“I’m surprised someone from Mitras even has trouble sleeping.”

Her head shot up at that to glare at him. “You seem to be under the impression that because I lived in Mitras, my life had no problems. I can assure you that it did.”

When he only looked at her with that same bored expression, something snapped inside her, the effects of the nightmare she’d awoken from still ever present.

“I’m sorry I saw that damn memory Levi.” She growled. “If I could take it back I would. I don’t know how I saw it or what that was, and I don’t know how to get you to believe me. But, if it’ll make us even, I’ll give you a memory of mine. It’s not going to be a happy one, because you didn’t like that I saw a happy memory of yours, and I won’t like you knowing a shit memory of mine.”

She paused, gathering herself.

“The people in Mitras who raised me, they tried to mold me into something I wasn’t. And when I failed, they would throw me into this dark room in their cellar. I told this to Isabel a while back, but what I didn’t tell her was that one time…” She took in a deep breath before continuing. “One time the woman of the house got so fed up with me, she tried to kill me.” She stopped, needing a moment after the admission, never having told anyone this.

“She’d had some nobleman and his son over, and they’d had plans to arrange a marriage for us. That morning she told me to behave in front of my potential future husband. I spent that entire day doing everything I could to keep the nobleman from agreeing to me marrying his son. I succeeded.” She gave a mirthless smile as she remembered how she’d gone out of her way to act as unladylike as possible.

“When they left, the woman was furious. I’d thought all she’d do was throw me into the cellar like she usually did. At that point I could handle it. I’d been there enough. Except this time, I’d gone too far.” Isa’s breath hitched at what she knew was coming.

Her voice had turned hollow, devoid of emotion as she continued. “She had me shoved up against a wall, her hands wrapped around my throat, as she tried to squeeze the life out of me.” Sometimes Isa could still feel the bony fingers around her neck as the grip grew tighter and tighter. “She finally came to her senses and released me, though I know it was only because it wouldn’t look well on her status should others find out she’d killed her adopted daughter.”

When she stopped, she had to wipe the tears from her eyes that she hadn’t noticed before.

“How old?”

She looked at him, a morose expression on her face. “I was fifteen.”

When he said nothing else, she stood.

Before she left, she gave him some final words. “I know my past may not have been as difficult as yours, but it was nowhere near perfect. Remember that next time you question my motivations."

With that, she walked away, leaving Levi behind with his thoughts.

~ - ~

The weeks passed, full of endless training as the scouts relentlessly worked in preparation of the upcoming expedition. The intensity of training had picked up as the leaders worked to make sure that their teams and squads would have a higher chance of well…not dying.

Their training was focused on speed and endurance. They ran the titan course, constantly working towards shaving off seconds and minutes each time, as their leaders demanded more. They did long distance running with their gear and packs on their backs. Drills working on maneuvering on and off the horses.

She’d noticed as time moved forward that some of her stuff had gone missing. First it was a hairbrush. Then some underwear. A bra. She thought perhaps her stuff had gotten mixed up with some of the other girls’ things in the barracks, though she thought it was strange for that to happen.

She didn’t know what to make of it, so she just wrote it off and hoped nothing else would disappear.

As Isa sat in the courtyard writing in her journal after another hard day of training, she couldn’t help but feel impressed by how far her squad had come. The addition of Levi, Isabel, and Furlan, had immensely improved the overall strength of the squad. The squad was now a force to be reckoned with.

Their squad wasn’t without flaws of course. She herself had a tendency to focus too much on the well-being of her comrades, which could be fatal outside the walls. Levi tended to avoid working as a team, preferring to attack the dummies solo. Isabel was easily distracted and Furlan sometimes took too long to decide on a course of action. Sairam spent more time trying to outperform Levi, and more often than not, he failed. Isa personally thought that he did best when he focused on his strengths.

She’d tried to tell him once, and he’d told her to mind her own damn business, and that he didn’t need some ‘princess’ rookie telling him how to train. Needless to say, she hadn’t bothered telling him again.

Derek…Isa just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was constantly watching her. And if he was too busy watching her, then that meant he wasn’t focused on training. She’d prefer it if he would focus on training versus leering at her. Anything would be better than the constant feel of him looking at her.

Even with their weaknesses, she still felt that their squad was one of the stronger squads.

Isa personally thought that if they removed Sairam and Derek from the squad, they’d be damn near perfect.

She appreciated that Flagon was pushing them harder than before in training, despite the fact that she found him on the same level as Sairam personality wise. At least he wasn’t hostile towards her, but he was still as abrasive as ever towards Levi, Isabel, and Furlan.

The amount of laps she’d had to run for calling him out on his treatment of those three…she’d lost count.

Her mind strayed back to Levi, as it often had since she’d met him.

Over the past few weeks, Isa felt that Levi had become…somewhat less suspicious of her. She wondered if sharing that memory from her past with him had helped, but she couldn’t be sure. She still had doubts that she’d ever be able to get him to trust her, but progress was progress.

It didn’t help that her daydream from weeks prior kept playing back in her mind. She struggled to understand the unknown rush that always flowed through her if she was near Levi.

Is this what desire feels like? I’ve read about it in romance books, and it feels similar to what was described. But it’s one thing to read it, another thing to experience it.

Ethel and Isabel are under the impression that I’m interested in Levi in a way that’s not just about getting him to trust me.

It would just be my luck that I would be attracted to someone who can barely stand the sight of me. But it’s not possible. Surely that can’t be what this feeling is.

Then what is this?

“Isa!”

Hange’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see her friend running across the courtyard. She smiled at Hange as she plopped down beside of Isa.

Hange was practically vibrating with excitement. “Isa you’ll never guess what I heard!”

“What?”

“There’s an end of season festival happening the day before we leave for the expedition.”

“A what?”

“A festival. There’s music, dancing, plays, food, all kinds of stuff. They’re celebrating the end of the summer. I think it’d be fun if we went.”

Isa couldn’t help but get excited at the thought. These sorts of things never happened in Mitras, or if they had, she’d been unaware of them. She didn’t even have to think twice about her answer.

“Absolutely, it sounds amazing.”

Hange squealed and shook Isa. “This is gonna be so much fun. I'm going to invite Shorty and his friends too. They could use a break from this. "

“Shorty? You’re really going to call him that?”

“Yea. I'm gonna invite the short, angry guy from the Underground you’re clearly interested in, as well as his two friends.”

“Wh-what? I’m not interested in him!”

What is it with everyone thinking that I'm interested? I'm not...

“Isa, don’t try to deny it to me. I have eyes. I can tell you’re attracted to him.”

“N-no I’m not. I think your glasses are making you see things that aren’t there. Besides, we have an expedition coming up that I need to stay focused on. I don't have time for that sort of thing.”

Hange gave Isa a look that said she wasn’t buying it, but that she’d let it go for now. Instead, she seated herself more comfortably beside Isa, content in sitting and enjoying the late afternoon breeze with her best friend.

~ - ~

That night, Isa went for a walk around the base, needing to clear her mind for the expedition next week. Her nightmares had gotten worse as this expedition neared, and she hoped the fresh night air would calm her mind enough to let her rest. The nightmares had calmed down somewhat months ago after she’d seen her mother in her dreams. But as the dreaded day neared, they were coming back tenfold, an amalgamation of her parents’ murder, her childhood, and Lucy’s death.

She was near the stables when a voice had her blood chilling.

“Hello Isa darling.”

Isa froze mid-step at the voice. Like prey caught in the aim of a hunter’s crossbow, her head shot up, eyes wide, and the shadow she saw in front of her had her stomach lurching as her body filled with dread.

Something told her she needed to get away. Now.

Swallowing, she willed her feet to keep moving, she was so close to the safety of the buildings. “Derek, leave me alone.”

She tried to walk past him, but like that night so many months ago, he grabbed her wrist in an iron tight hold.

“Come now Isa, why do you keep resisting me?” He probably thought his voice was soft and soothing, but it just made her skin crawl. His eyes held that same glint she’d seen all too many times before when she caught him watching her.

“I’m not resisting anything. I already told you I’m not interested.” She tried to keep her voice firm, but she couldn’t stop the tremor. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. She wasn’t resisting anything. She’d never given him any indication that she was interested. She’d even told him that night months ago that she didn’t want him. Yet here she was, yet again, caught in his hold because he had some delusion that she did.

“I’ve seen the looks you send me when you’re with those two criminals. You use them to try to make me jealous.” His voice lost its false sweetness, turning abrasive, clearly irked that she spent time with Levi and Furlan.

Instead of answering, she started walking, desperate to get away. When she tried to yank her arm from his grasp, he only yanked back, dragging her and slamming her up against the wall of the stable. She grunted when her head smacked into the wall, which effectively disoriented her.

He drew her wrists up above her head, pinning them with one hand, and leaned in closer to her, forcing her gaze to meet his. “Are you trying to play hard to get? Are you trying to make me want you more?”

Shaking away the dizziness, she dug deep for anger, used it to push out her words, trying to make her voice as forceful as possible. “I’m not trying to do anything. You’re just not getting it. I. Don’t. Want. You.”

The look that flashed into Derek’s eyes had her shrinking back as he towered over her, her anger completely overtaken by the fear pulsing through her veins. His free hand wrapped around her throat, a warning.

The hairs on her neck stood on end when she felt his mouth on her ear, and her stomach threatened to hurl.

His whispered words horrified her. “You’re just making me want you more.”

She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t fight him…she was nowhere near strong enough, her skills in close combat were awful, and he was almost twice her size. Before she’d been able to shove him off her, catching him off guard, but now it was as though he was expecting it. With her hands pinned and him pressed up against her, she was defenseless. Nothing was getting through to this guy. She’d said no, multiple times.

Tears started to trickle down her cheeks as she felt his mouth on her jaw, working its way towards her mouth, the urge to vomit growing with each press of his unwanted lips on her skin. She tried to turn her head to avoid him, but he took it as invitation to plant his lips on her neck. She struggled against his hold on her wrists, but his grasp was unbreakable.

She cried out for help as she sobbed, but she didn’t know if anyone was near enough to hear her. He was quick to move his hand from her throat to cover her mouth to keep her from shouting.

“Come on Isa, I know you want me. I can make you feel good if you let me.” His voice was pleading, and borderline maniacal. His hand moved from her mouth down to grope at her breast.

“Please, just stop. I don’t want this.” She hated how small her voice sounded, hated the feel of his hand on her, and now she was terrified. She didn’t know how to make him stop. Her tears were now running down her face as she realized that there was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes, succumbing to her fate.

Suddenly, he was ripped off of her. Blinking, she looked through blurred eyes and saw her two friends, out of breath and outraged.

Furlan’s face had morphed from its usual kindness to a hot fury, the kind that could burn if you got too close. She could practically feel its heat from where she stood, singeing her hair.

Levi’s face was set in a cold anger, the kind that could send an icy chill all the way down to your bones as you begged him for mercy. The negative aura emanated from him in waves, and she cowered in its presence, grateful that it wasn’t directed towards her, and hoped that it never would be. Even when he’d interrogated her, he hadn’t looked at her with this iciness.

Furlan was quick to grab Isa and draw her behind them, and she was surprised at how gentle his touch was despite his fury. She’d half expected his touch to burn her arm.

He gave her a soft look that contradicted the rage simmering in his eyes. “Are you alright?” His voice full of concern.

She could only nod as she wiped away the tears in her eyes.

Levi’s face relaxed ever so slightly when he looked at Isa to make sure she was safe. Once he was certain she was out of harm’s way, he turned back to the scum in front of him, face hardening to its steely mask once again. He had other matters at hand to take care of.

His voice was a deep, menacing, monotonous growl as he said, “Leave now, and never go near her again. This is your only warning.”

Derek ignored Levi, and sent Isa a glare, which was nothing compared to Levi’s, but still had her shrinking in place. “I see how it is you little slut. You tease me, but then you’ll sleep with these lowlife thugs. One day they won’t be around to protect you. You will be mine.”

Her face paled and she cowered behind Furlan at his words, her knees trembling as she grasped at his shirt, desperate for a lifeline. She couldn’t even imagine what he would do to her, and she sucked at defending herself against people. Her friends couldn’t protect her every hour of every day, they had their own duties. She would never ask that of them, couldn’t burden them that way. She knew that the next time he confronted her, it would be worse.

The sound of a fist cracking across flesh and a bone snapping filled the air. Isa’s eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her. Derek’s nose was now gushing blood and Levi was wiping off his hand with his handkerchief.

“You bastard!” He held his nose in a futile attempt to stop the blood. The tender flesh around it was already turning purple.

He made to attack Levi, but one dark glare from the man had Derek rethinking his actions.

Furlan spoke this time, keeping his body between Derek and Isa at all times. “I believe he told you that was your only warning.” His voice was calm, though it held undercurrents of the rage that was prominent in his eyes. “I think you should heed his words now. Don’t come near her again.”

Derek spat at their feet and walked off as he said, “Disgusting, Underground scum.”

The adrenaline was now wearing off, and Isa was beginning to shake, knees threatening to buckle on her.

Her two friends turned to face her just as her knees collapsed. Furlan grabbed her before she could hit the ground, pulling her gently onto her feet, keeping his arm around her shoulders.

The warmth from her friend comforted her, and she sent him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Furlan.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I do though. I…I don’t know what would have happened if you guys hadn’t shown up. He wouldn’t listen to me, nothing I’ve said gets through to him.” Her eyes started tearing up again, and her voice shook.

Without saying anything, Levi handed her his handkerchief. She gaped at it for a second, before taking it, and used it to wipe off the tears from her face.

“Hey,” a gentle, shaking hand brushed the hair from her face, “it’s okay now, we won’t let him hurt you.”

She looked up at Furlan, her watery eyes meeting the sure gray of his. “But you heard what he said. You guys won’t always be around to help me.”

“We’re going to do our best to not let anything happen to you. And if we tell Isabel and Hange, that’s two more people that can help you.” His voice was firm as he promised her this.

“I don’t know if I can tell them. I don’t know what to say.”

“We’ll help you.”

“Why are you both helping me?”

That seemed to take him aback as he blinked at her, as if surprised that she felt the need to ask. “We’re your friends, and even if we weren’t, no one deserves to be treated that way, and no means no. If he has trouble understanding that, then we’re happy to step in and make it clear.”

Levi looked at her, his eyes thoughtful as he took in her words. “You said ‘nothing I’ve said gets through to him.’ Has he done something like this before?”

Isa looked down in shame. “Y-yes…the night before my first expedition. H-he…” Her voice trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Furlan’s hand stroked her shoulder, his voice hushed as he murmured into her ear. “It’s okay. We’re here for you, all three of us, and Hange too. Whatever happened, it’s okay, we just want to know so we can help you.”

She looked up at her friend, his eyes calming her. “He didn’t really do much that night. He…he came up onto the roof, and said some weird things, and when I tried to leave, he shoved me against the wall and kissed me.” She sniffled at the reminder of that night. “I…I pushed him off and told him I wasn’t interested, and he left. I thought that was the end of it.”

At Isa’s words, Levi’s blunt, matter-of-fact tone cut through. “We’re telling Flagon.”

“No!” Levi gave her a sharp look. “I-I mean…I just don’t think he’s going to really be able to do anything.”

“He can pull that piece of shit off the squad and put him somewhere else.”

“I just…I don’t know if I can tell him. Please…don’t make me.”

He took in the desperation on her face and sighed. “Fine.” His tone was curt with the word. “It might make it easier to keep an eye out for him when we know where he is, but if he tries anything like this again either I kill him, or we go to Flagon.”

The lump in her throat made it difficult to speak as she said, “Thanks Levi."

His next move surprised her in a way she hadn’t thought possible.

Her eyes widened when he simply lifted a hand and plopped it on her head, gently ruffling her hair, completely contradicting his gruff exterior. The act both shocked her and made her want to purr. She’d only ever seen him do this once before, with Isabel.

In an attempt to hide her reaction, she cleared her throat.

Furlan was next to speak. “We should go tell Isabel and Hange. The sooner they know, the sooner they can help us help you.”

Isa nodded, yet her knees buckled again when she tried to take a step. Her legs were shaky and weak now that the rush that had come with her fear had left.

Without hesitation, Furlan scooped her into his arms, carrying her gently, his face flushing ever so slightly as he cradled the girl against his chest. Isa’s eyes boggled at the act, which only deepened the flush in his face.

“You can’t walk yet, so one of us is going to have to carry you.” He grumbled, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Isa shook off her initial shock, and assumed his reaction was just due to the fact that he was like Levi and wasn’t big on physical contact.

They made their way to the women’s barracks where they grabbed Hange and Isabel. Furlan only set Isa down when he was certain that she wouldn’t fall.

Isa did her best to explain what happened, with Furlan and Levi filling in the blanks when she had trouble speaking.

As she’d expected, her two friends were equally furious at what had happened. They both also suggested going to Flagon, but Isa truly felt that nothing would come from doing that. Sure he would get moved to another squad, but what good what that do outside of training. She also feared angering Derek to the point where he escalated further than he already had.

No, going to Flagon would only worsen the situation.

When her friends promised her they would help protect her, she struggled to keep from breaking down. The fact that even Levi was willing to help her…she wasn’t sure how to feel.

She was just grateful for all of them.

~ - ~

The rest of the week passed without issue. Derek left her alone, though, Isa felt that had nothing to do with Levi and Furlan's warning, and more to do with the fact that she was never alone. She was forever grateful that her friends had held firm in their promise, making sure someone was always by her side. Easy enough during training and in the barracks, which didn't leave much free time since the Scouts were in full blown preparation for the expedition. She only hoped that it would be enough.

The day before the expedition, Isa awoke early with excitement fluttering in her stomach. She knew the trio had yet to go anywhere since their arrival, and she was elated that they were finally going to be able to see more of what life above ground had to offer.

She’d never been to a festival like this, so she was looking forward for what was to come. From what Hange had told her, there was music, food, all kinds of entertainment. Plays. Dancing. Art.

She quickly jumped out of bed, and grabbed clothes from the shared closet in the barracks. Since she was going to Trost, she decided to wear civilian clothing today. She opted for a simple brown skirt, that hit just past her knees, paired with a yellow blouse which she tucked into the skirt. A pair of simple brown shoes completed the outfit.

It felt odd to her to be wearing something other than her uniform. She rarely had the need to wear civilian clothing now, and hadn’t worn any since joining the scouts. She took a glance in the mirror and thought ‘good enough.’

She grabbed Levi’s handkerchief off her nightstand. She’d kept forgetting to give it back to him after that night the week before. She’d washed it for him, not wanting to give him a dirty cloth back considering how much the man prioritized cleanliness.

She raced out the door, twisting her hair into a braid as she went, too impatient to pause long enough to do so. She skidded to a halt in front of the mess hall, where she found her friends already waiting for her. The five of them walked into the mess hall, planning to eat breakfast before they left for the day.

Before they got too far inside, a harsh voice came from behind them. “Unless you want to end up dead, I recommend you three stay far away from Isa. Hange is already a lost cause. She’ll only end up getting the three of you killed.”

Isa flinched at the iciness of Sherri’s voice. She hadn’t even been aware that Sherri was nearby. Her shoulders slumped as guilt overtook her. They hadn’t spoken since Sherri had told her that she wished Isa had died instead of Lucy.

The trio took in Isa’s appearance, and then looked at Sherri behind her. Before an enraged Hange could leap to Isa's defense, Furlan spoke up. “I think that’s unnecessary. Besides, we are more than capable of taking care of ourselves. Even still, we wouldn’t blame a suffering comrade for our deaths.”

Sherri shrugged. “Just wanted to give you a heads up. I would hate for you guys to die because of her.”

This time Levi spoke up. “Oi, you heard him. Leave.” His voice was as monotonous as ever, yet, there was a warning edge to it that said he wasn’t going to tell her again. Either she left now, or he’d make her.

Sherri glared at him, pale blue eyes meeting firm gray ones. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And walked off.

Isa could feel the four of them looking at her, waiting for her to say something, but she couldn’t look up.

When she thought her voice would be steady, she spoke. “I…I should go.” Before she could walk away, Isabel had grabbed her arm.

“Isa, stay.” Her voice was firm, but there was an underlying softness to it, that threatened to make the tears in Isa’s eyes fall. “Furlan meant what he said. We can take care of ourselves. I highly doubt you’d be the reason for our deaths if we died."

Isa didn’t want to meet their gazes, didn’t want them to see her eyes welling up. She struggled to keep her voice steady. “I…I need to go check on Luna anyways, make sure she’s ready before we leave for the festival. I’ll see you guys in a little bit.” She gently pulled her arm out of Isabel’s grasp and made her way to the stables.

Inside Luna’s stall, she collapsed on the floor, needing to gather herself, to try to rid herself of the guilt that had been brought back to the surface at Sherri’s words.

She hadn’t been sitting for long, when a piece of bread landed on her lap, jolting her out of her melancholy. When she looked up, she saw Levi standing outside Luna’s stall.

"Eat."

Slightly stunned, she picked at the bread, unsure of why he'd gone through the trouble of bringing her food.

“Your friend seems like she’s got a stick up her ass.”

Isa gave a small mirthless laugh, as she focused her gaze on the floor, picking at the hay underneath her. “She’s…she’s been through a lot. She lost her best friend.” Because of me. “She probably has a point about you guys staying away from me. I wasn’t strong enough to save Lucy.”

“Quit moping, I can take care of myself. I don’t need some runt’s help."

She blinked, taken aback at the name. “Did you just call me ‘runt’?”

“Would you prefer shorty?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’d prefer you call me by my name. You only called me that because you finally found someone shorter than you.”

He didn't answer.

Isa sighed. “She blames me for the death of her friend.” Her voice had lost the haughtiness that had been present seconds ago, and was now quiet, full of grief.

“Did you kill her?”

His blunt question drew a small smile from her as it reminded her of the question Isabel had asked her before. She gave the same answer she’d given her red-headed friend. “It feels like it.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Her eyes snapped up to his.

“I didn’t ask if it felt like you killed her. I asked if you did.” His gray eyes held steady on hers, calm as ever as he instructed her to answer his question.

“But I didn’t get there in time.”

He doesn’t seem to understand that I wasn’t fast enough to save her. If I’d been faster, stronger, she’d still be alive.

“Still not what I asked.”

“What am I supposed to say to that?”

“Simple yes or no.”

Exasperated, she cried out, “No! Is that what you want to hear! No, I didn’t kill her!” She gasped when she said that, something inside her clicking.

I…I didn’t kill her. The titan killed her. I tried to save her. I may not have been fast enough to save her, but it wasn't me that killed her.

Even though it still hurt that she hadn’t been able to save her friend, the pain had dulled, as a third part of her was stitched at her admission that she hadn’t killed her friend.

Simply saying the words out loud had brought a small dose of clarity that she’d needed. And it had come, somehow, with the help of the gruff man beside her.

She looked up at Levi with wide eyes, unsure of what to say.

How is it that he was able to cut straight to the point and get me to say what I've known for months now, but was never able to admit to myself? Hange has spent the last few months trying to do just that, and he was able to do it within minutes?

Before he could say anything else, the rest of their group made their way into the stables, clearly worried about their friend.

Hange was the first to get to her, wrapping her up in a tight hug. “Isa are you alright? I’m so sorry, Sherri…she’s being so cruel to you right now.”

“It’s fine Hange. I…I didn’t kill Lucy.” Saying the words again only made it seem clearer. "It...It wasn't my fault."

Hange froze at her friend finally uttering the words she’d been trying to get through her thick skull all these months. She pulled her friend in tighter, grateful that she’d somehow managed to come to the realization that Lucy’s death wasn’t her fault.

Isa pulled back. “I think we’ve wasted enough of this day. Let’s go enjoy this festival.”

~ - ~

As they walked through Trost, Isa couldn’t help but be more amazed than ever. It looked so different than the previous times she’d been there.

Along the streets, tables had been set up, with people selling various food and goods. The shop owners had closed their shops for the day so that they could enjoy the festival with everyone else.

The heat of summer had given way to the cool warmth that comes with fall. Some trees had already begun to lose that lush green, giving way to bold reds and oranges.

They stopped at a booth selling various scarves and hats. When Isabel threw on a feathered bonnet Isa couldn’t hold back her laugh as the young girl mocked the uppity noblewomen of Mitras.

Hange had put on an elaborate hat that had flowers sitting on the top, and a long veil trailing down the back. She curtsied and bowed at the passersby, drawing odd looks from them.

The woman did look rather strange dressed in her trousers and a simple long-sleeved shirt with an elegant hat on her head. But at the same time, it was Hange, and she pulled it off.

Giggling, Isa couldn’t resist throwing a giant top hat on Furlan’s head. He glared at her, though it held no malice, only humor. And when she stepped close to wrap a scarf around his neck, she failed to notice the flush creeping up his neck and cheeks, or the way his eyes darkened ever so slightly, as he watched her concentrate as she perfected the scarf’s loop.

Isa grabbed another top hat from the stack and snuck over to where Levi stood facing the street, setting it on his head when he wasn’t looking. She innocently looked away and avoided eye contact when he turned to glare at her. Though, she couldn’t hide the cheeky grin on her face when she saw Levi’s peeved expression from the corner of her eyes.

She only laughed when he grumbled about how filthy the hats were and ‘how dare’ she put something so disgusting on his head.

When he pulled the hat off and his hair clung to it because of the static Isa couldn’t hold back anymore. Every bit of happiness she’d ever felt came crashing onto her in a giant wave that took over her entire being. The horror of last week...the sadness of earlier this morning, forgotten for the moment. She dissolved into laughter, unable to control herself or the flood of the pure joy that coursed through her. The rolling giggles that fell from her filled the air at the sight of something as simple as Levi’s hair sticking to his hat.

Too busy laughing she failed to notice that he’d paused in the removal of the hat, completely taken aback by the joyful sounds coming from her.

Four pairs of eyes turned in awe as Isa laughed. Never had her friends heard such a lighthearted, musical sound come from her.

Soon, her laughter spread, and Isabel and Hange were now chortling with her, ecstatic to see Isa so overjoyed. Furlan couldn’t resist the urge to chuckle, and even Levi’s face had gained a peaceful expression at the sight of his friends so happy and free.

When the merchant at the table shooed them away for being too loud, they moved on, the five of them simply relishing in the feel of being alive and completely free from responsibility, even if for only a day.

The happy mood followed Isa, and she held on tight to it, not ready to let it go. She took in the sights surrounding her. Everywhere she looked there were people.

Parents trying to keep up with their children as they dashed around in excitement.

Teenagers walking around with their friends, joking and laughing as they shamelessly tried to catch the eye of their crushes.

Couples both young and old, walking hand in hand as they simply enjoyed each other’s company strolling around the streets.

Isa felt a pang of loneliness hit her as she watched the enamored couples.

Will I ever have that?

Shoving that thought aside, not wishing to bring down her mood, she kept moving forward. She was so lost in her observation of everything around her, she failed to notice that Isabel, Furlan, and Hange had disappeared at some point, leaving her alone with Levi who walked beside her.

It wasn’t until she felt a sharp pull on her arm yanking her to the side of the street, that the festival’s spell on her was broken.

Blinking, she looked down at her arm to see Levi’s hand wrapped tight around it, a warm weight that sent tingles shooting through her from where their skin touched. When she looked up at the man attached to the hand, she saw that his face held the slightest hint of irritation. She looked behind her, where she’d been walking, she saw that she’d almost been trampled by a horse and carriage, that enraptured by the sights she’d been.

“Oi, do you make it a habit of walking with your head stuck in the clouds?”

His gruff voice drew her attention back to him, and her breath hitched at how close she was to him. Close enough to see those blue flecks again, mesmerizing and hypnotizing as ever. When she blinked, the people, the smells, the sounds, everything around her faded away, and all she could see were those beautiful gray orbs speckled with blue which had her blood flowing languidly throughout her veins. All she could smell was that faint hint of tea, and that intoxicating, masculine scent she couldn’t place. All she could hear was the buzzing roar of her blood rushing through her head. She blinked again and swallowed thickly, as her senses overwhelmed her.

Her eyes dropped of their own accord to his lips, and she wondered again what they would feel like. Even set in their usual frown, up close, they looked soft…warm…inviting. Enticing.

Snap out of it, Isa!

She jolted when she realized she’d been standing there staring at him, and he was watching her with that same calculating gaze, brows knit ever so slightly, waiting for an answer. Flushing she pulled back, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her reaction.

“Oh...I...sorry. I mean...thank you. I...I got a bit caught up in everything and didn’t watch where I was going. I apparently do that sometimes without realizing it.” She scratched awkwardly at her head, desperate to rid herself of the rush flowing through her. “I should probably do better with paying attention.” She chuckled nervously, face flushing further when her mouth refused to stop babbling.

Needing distance, needing to clear her head, she took another step back. It wasn’t until then that she realized he still held her arm, those same tingles still running through her from where their skin touched.

When he dropped his hand, the tingles stopped, but her arm was left cold in the absence of its heat.

She needed to find a distraction, anything to distract her from the residual sensations still coursing through her.

Looking around she saw some people gathering around a stage that had been set up in the center of Trost.

Without thinking, she grabbed Levi’s arm. “Come on, let’s go see what’s over there.”

When she pulled him along with her, she was surprised that he came willingly. She smiled at the irony of her pulling him the way he’d dragged her around before.

When they got to the stage, she was intrigued to see that there was a play of some sort going on.

Curious, she moved closer, completely forgetting that she held Levi’s arm captive.

On the stage, the actors were acting out a scene from a play she remembered reading when she was younger. They were at the part where the young heroine was standing on the balcony of her room, pondering her love for the hero.

She swore her love to him, regardless of if he could ignore his family’s wishes. The young maiden was desperate to be with her love, no matter the cost. She was willing to give everything she had away, if it meant she could be with him forever.

As the play went on, the star-crossed lovers were sent through a series of events that kept them apart and brought them together. A dance of love that kept the audience enraptured and wondering if there could be a happy ending. Isa looked around her to see that the people were fixated on the scene in front of them.

And when both lovers took their lives, many in the audience had watery eyes at the sight of unfulfilled love.

When Isa chanced a glance at him, she wasn’t surprised at all to see that Levi looked as bored as ever. And only then did she realize she still had his arm in her grasp.

Face flaming, she yanked her hand away and gave a nervous chuckle. “Sorry about that.”

It didn’t even occur to her to wonder why he hadn’t said anything.

“We should uh...probably go find the others. We should head back soon, it’s getting late, and you guys don’t want to be tired tomorrow.”

He simply gave her a nod in agreement.

As they walked in search of their friends, she thought back to what happened last week, and her inability to defend herself. An idea occurred to her.

“Levi?” Her voice was a touch timid, unsure of what his answer would be.

“What?” His gruff tone only made her more nervous.

She chewed at her lip. “Do you…do you think you could help me with something?”

“Depends on what it is.”

She turned her head to watch him as they walked. “Would you be willing to help me with fighting? I…I want to be able to defend myself in case…” She trailed off, afraid to keep going.

Levi stopped walking and turned to face her, thinking over her request. “Alright.”

She blinked at him. “I…didn’t expect you to agree that easily.”

He shrugged. “Makes sense that you want to be able to defend yourself, which you’re shit at.”

She beamed at him, not even caring that he’d just insulted her, just grateful that he’d agreed. “Thanks, Levi.”

She remembered she still had his handkerchief. “Oh, here. I’ve been meaning to give this back to you. Thank you, for letting me use it that night. Don’t worry, I washed it for you. I know how you feel about keeping things clean.” Awkward as ever, she held his handkerchief out to him.

He took it handkerchief from her hand, and his fingers accidentally brushed against hers, sending more of those same tingles up her spine, only fainter this time.

What is that?

She didn’t have time to ponder too long, as her friends showed up, cutting off any wondering thoughts.

Apparently, Isabel and Hange had gotten distracted by some of the tables littered with food, and Furlan had stayed behind, trying to get them to keep moving and not devour everything in sight.

Agreeing that they should leave, they started walking back to where they’d left the horses.

As they walked, the same man that had stopped Isa months ago blocked their path.

“You…you people shouldn’t be here.” He pointed at Isabel, Levi, and Furlan. “You three are those thugs from the Underground. It’s bad enough that our taxes pay for the ridiculous branch that is the Scouts, now they’re paying for criminals. Enough is enough.”

“What the hell is your problem? We weren’t doing anything to you.” Isabel glared up at the older man.

He sneered down on her. “Listen here, missy, my problem is that my hard-earned money is now paying for bed and board for some lowlifes who don’t belong here.” He made to poke at Isabel’s shoulder, but before he could, Isa grabbed his arm.

She was beyond sick and tired, beyond frustrated, of people judging these three just because they were from the Underground. This man was trying to ruin their day, when they were just out trying to enjoy themselves before they left the walls tomorrow. She squeezed his arm, hard, yanking him down to her level so she could glare into his eyes. The pressure on his arm drew a gasp from the man.

“Don’t. Fucking touch her.” She spat out. “I thought I told you before that you should be grateful that the Scouts willingly leave these walls to try to learn more. I suggest you walk away. Now. Or these ‘lowlifes’ will be the least of your problems.” Her glare was fierce, cutting through the man, who now quivered in fear despite the fact that he was taller.

When she released him, he left without another word.

She felt four pairs of eyes staring at her, and she turned to sheepishly face her friends, slightly embarrassed after that display of anger.

She gave a nervous chuckle. “Some people just don’t know when enough is enough. I had to deal with him a while back, and…well hopefully this time he’s learned his lesson.”

Out of all of her friends, it was Levi’s reaction that surprised her the most. Instead of his usual questions at her motivation or his claims that they don’t need help defending themselves, this time, he gave a simple nod, the only indication of gratitude at how she’d had helped Isabel.

Unsure of what else to say, Isa started walking, continuing their trek back to their horses, and the rest of her friends followed.

As they walked, Levi’s words from weeks ago echoed in Isa’s mind, brought back to the forefront when he hadn’t even said anything after she defended them against that man.

‘No one does things for others without wanting something in return.’

This time she’d gotten no harsh words, no questions, just a simple nod. For once, it seemed that he’d accepted that she was simply trying to help them.

It seemed as if Levi was finally beginning to understand that she had no malintent towards them.

And with that, Isa knew that at some point, she’d somehow taken a big step towards earning Levi’s trust, and the thought thrilled her.

She didn’t know how, and she didn’t know when, but something had done to make the man’s opinion of her shift.

Ethel’s words came to mind.

‘You’ll have to find your own path.’

Isa smiled to herself.

Maybe the woman knows what she’s talking about.

<- Chapter 8

Starved Menu

Chapter 10 ->

#levi x oc #Levi x isa #levi ackerman #enemies to lovers #enemies to friends to lovers #friends to lovers #eventual romance #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #oc x canon #eventual smut

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