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lovehotelreservation · 3 years

Text

Formulaic

Summary: There was a process to every solution.

And while Cid was aware of one particular solution he so dearly wished to attain, the process was simply too formidable to even attempt:

To confess his feelings to Maria, the Warrior of Light.

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: WoL!OC/Cid

EVERY TIME I SEE CID I GET WHIPLASH THAT HE’S ONLY 34 HEWWO ??? MANS LOOKS LIKE HE’S GOT WERTHER’S ORIGINAL KISSES NOT LA CROIX MAKEOUT SESSIONS!!!

ANYWAY HFLKAFHAKL THANK YOU TO MY DEAREST COMMISSIONER FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY--ESP SINCE I PROGRESSED FURTHER ON THE OMEGA SERIES BECAUSE OF THIS!!!

---------------- Cid regretted ever fixing that damn kettle.

While doing so finally got the whinging pursed lips of Nero to finally hush up so he could hone his focus upon Garlond Ironworks’ current endeavor of seeking out Omega, the repair of the Mark XIV Thermocoil Boilmaster only served to give his lifelong rival all the opportunity to cozy up to the very person that Cid wanted him to stay the furthest away from.

Or attempt to at least.

A personality utterly kind and demure, eyes grey like rain clouds on a cozy morning, soft and silken locks of gold that cascaded to the middle of her back, a mind so brilliant and witty.

Eorzea’s Warrior of Light, but his own precious weakness.

She was Maria and oh how his heart yearned for her.

All while his eyes bore holes into the ground beneath which Nero stood every time he approached her with a mischievous glint in his eyes and an arrogant smirk on his face.

While Cid was more than overjoyed to see Maria fix herself a cup of tea during the lulls between endeavors in the Datascape, whenever she went to pour herself a drink, Nero was sure to be trailing after her, going on about superior blends in Garlemald and how he was more than ready to show her the breadth of his refined palate.

His intentions were clear.

And though Cid was ever prepared to step in as need be to keep Nero from pestering her further, the crux of the underlying issue in face of all this remained present in place:

His own feelings for Maria.

If the situation called for it, he could easily give a fully articulated lecture on the Allagans while inebriated to the point he was face planted on the floor in a drunken and naked slump right in the middle of Sapphire Avenue during peak Starlight shopping season.

But to confess how he genuinely felt about the woman who captivated him so dearly, who inspired him to go beyond any boundary?

The thought of risking the friendship that he treasured with her like nothing else was enough to push him to drink.

After all, with how often that the world relied on her strength to help defend it, he was protective of her--even lamenting that time he jokingly declared his need for her mainly due to her usefulness while he was guiding her through the tumultuous depths of The Praetorium.

Yet with the aftermath of that infamous night in Ul’dah and her subsequent escape to Ishgard, it was then that he began to realize that his fondness for her went beyond mere allies, mere friends.

This was made apparent the moment they were properly reunited after her far too close encounter with the Vundu at the Sea of Clouds, having successfully escaped pursuit by the Bismarck.

What with the way he could not hold himself back from taking her into his arms, hugging her close as all tension within his body was swiftly relieved as he took her in.

Her presence, her scent, her adorably surprised stammers as he embraced her right in front of Hauchefant and Emmanellain.

Along with Wedge and Biggs, with the former letting out a startled “Chief--!” while the other released the hearty chuckle of “Aye boss, demonstration of affection’s handled a whole lot differently in Ishgard, you know!”

For all his intentions to never let her go from the moment he feared the worst upon her disappearance, he was ever quick to relinquish her, a faint dust of pink spreading across his cheeks.

Cid was thankful that she didn’t seem to catch onto Biggs’s cheeky remark, looking so gorgeously flustered more so from his sudden embrace, despite her attempts to look composed in light of their reunion.

And it was from then on that he happily took his place within her journey, whether physically together during their attempts to thwart the return of Alexander, or when they were apart and remained joined together by way of letter or linkpearl.

To hear her say or see his name in her handwriting was a joy that could not ever be replicated by anything else.

As a pursuer of knowledge, he had to abide by what was factual.

There was no denying of his longing for Maria.

Not while he had Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie chiming in to ask if he had been talking to her whenever they handed her letters to him with knowing smiles on their faces.

And now, with Maria dedicating her time and effort to assist him and the rest of Garlond Ironworks with Omega’s ongoing trials, he could feel his heart welling with his increasingly overwhelming desire to express how he felt.

It was just only more irritating that Nero had stoked the flames by his pompous ways, of which left plenty on Cid’s mind, especially with the completion of the first gambit of battles under Omega’s watch and the return to Rhalgr’s Reach for some needed rest and recuperation.

Though, relaxation was in the furthest corner of his mind, whether by the mystery of Omega’s intentions or his current predicament of his feelings towards Maria.

With the hour late, rather than try to force himself back to sleep within the sleeping quarters set aside for Garlond Ironworks, he thought a walk around the now quiet compound would serve him better instead.

A change between sleeping clothes to a light shirt and a pair of pants--more suitable for the arid Ala Mhigan weather.

There was a small grin on his face as he emerged from the sleeping area.

Already he could hear Maria’s voice of exasperated curiosity with the inquiry of “How are you not evaporating?” whenever she saw his usual day to day attire.

Yet the voice that was in his head was heard by his very ears as he entered the common area that led out to the rest of Western Rhalgr’s Reach.

“Cid?”

Seated at one of the communal tables was none other than Maria, her expression curious and mug in her hands steaming, all while the Mark XIV Thermocoil Boilmaster presided by her on the tabletop.

The gods may toy but sometimes their mischief was simply too much.

His heart aflutter and his grin widening, Cid approached where Maria was sitting. “Well now, someone’s up late.”

The corners of her mouth quirked into a small smile as she proceeded to take a sip. “I see it as being up early.”

But though her tone was jovial and her expression relaxed, there was a distant look in her eye that signified a preoccupation.

He knew that look.

“I see--though, a warrior like yourself ought to get her rest, no?” Pulling out the chair beside her, he proceeded to take a seat, all while his grey eyes gazed towards her with concern. “Tell me, what keeps you up on this good night, Maria?”

While it was often joked that Cid was married to the pursuit of knowledge, he liked to think that his devotion to his studies made him especially perceptive of properly assessing emotion.

For surely, who else happily devoted one’s efforts to knowing so much of Maria such as he?

It was then that she set her mug down on the table.

Just before she turned towards him, her lips forming into a pout.

A pout he so dearly wished to kiss.

Huffing, she remarked as her arms folded over her chest, “Are we speaking about the general burden of being the go-to person for everyone’s dilemma, or that Nero is getting under my skin again? Take your pick.”

No words in modern and/or Allagan vernacular could fully describe the relief that washed over Cid’s body.

Still, always wishing for her to be at peace, he responded in turn with a sympathetic grin as he chuckled, “Ahh, one of those pesky reasons to stay up. What has our comrade in reluctant arms done this time?”

Maria turned her attention towards her mug on the table.

Her favorite one of the Garlond Ironworks’s collection, which Cid always made sure to have on hand whenever she was working alongside them.

Though many thoughts were swirling in her mind at this very moment--especially with Cid sitting right beside at an otherwise romantic hour--she continued as disdain intertwined itself with each word she spoke, “Earlier, Nero insisted that I try his cup of tea, and right when I did, he started gloating about an indirect kiss.”

If the thought of Maria’s voice energized his soul to go on a walk at such a late time, the mere utterance of Nero thinking himself to be so charming he could think to flirt in such a way made the inklings of a migraine begin to form within Cid’s head.

With her body visibly cringing at the recollection, the late hour had her lamenting out loud, “Is every brilliant mind from Galemand as big of a pompous know-it-all like him?”

“Well I like to think of myself as a humble servant to the majesty of study,” Cid teased with a shrug.

Setting her cheek against her palm while her elbow set upon the table, she remarked with a shake of her head, “You’re the exception.”

Cid had to wonder if he just gulped down a mug of tea himself with the rush of heat that suddenly surged through his chest. He let out another laugh, richer, deeper. “I take it that you’re not as keen to receive Nero’s odd attempts at courting?”

Maria’s eyes closed as she groaned at the thought, “I’d rather kiss the floor of the Gold Saucer during the summer season.”

“Then, would you prefer a kiss from elsewhere…?”

And then her eyelids fluttered open.

The lightheartedness in Cid’s tone had subsided into one of sincerity, as matched by the look in his eyes while he peered directly towards her.

Though unsure of how to feel or proceed, everything within her body encouraged her to step forward towards what she had yearned for so long.

And so, ever shyly but with her eyes gazing right into his, she murmured, “...If it must come from elsewhere, it can only come from one person.”

His breath caught in his throat. “‘One person…?’”

Her face grew warm from embarrassment. “I think you can figure it out, humble servant to the majesty of study.

Cid couldn’t resist from gasping with delight. “Gods Maria--”

His hands swiftly cupped her cheeks and their mouths met for a long awaited kiss, the warmth of the tea on her lips making them both melt further into their connection.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, bringing the two of them closer.

It was yearning now fulfilled, a flood of long withheld affection bursting forth, a craving for one another looking to be satisfied, to be changed from midnight fantasy to joyful fruition.

Kisses once shy and careful turned earnest and heated, tongues stumbling against one another as hands groped with need.

Were it not knowing her penchant for reservation, he would have ravaged her right then and there at the commons table.

Instead, he opted to lift her up into a carry, her arms and legs hugging around his shoulders and waist as he hurriedly brought her back to his quarters, his walk and her tea forgotten.

Surely, this had to be a dream in some way, no?

But as her back fell upon his mattress, as their hands continued to undress and feel each other as physical confirmation that what was occurring was very much real, the joys of the present couldn’t have been more sweet.

And how Cid savored her moans like that of an addictive confection.

Even without trying to be mindful of others at this late hour, Maria stifled her moans out of shyness, all while her back arched into warmth of Cid’s lips as they kissed over her dribbling core, the bristles of his facial hair scratching against her quivering as he eagerly lapped his tongue along her slit with long and indulgent strokes.

Though, she couldn’t quite be as quiet when she was eventually seated on his lap, her face buried into his shoulder as she rode his cock, all while one of his big sturdy hands held onto her hip while the other fondled her ass, guiding her up and down the length of his thick dick at a brisk pace.

This provided an ample opportunity to plant his lips along the crook of her neck, gentle suckles leaving red marks in their wake.

While he knew that Maria would do everything in her power to understandably cover up, the thought of Nero thinking twice to pursue her while seeing the marks on her neck was satisfying.

But nowhere near as satisfying as feeling the muffled whimpers of his name from her lips against his skin, the hot and slippery confines of her slick walls squeezing around his cock, up until they reached their orgasms with her core clamping onto his dick and his seed flooding inside her in a lascivious, scorching burst.

Much like as they began, they ended with their lips on one another’s yet again as they fell back onto his mattress, joined together now by their arms embracing one another, fingers intertwining, his lips against her temple, her head nestling upon the sturdiness of his chest.

Though they would have much to fully confide and earnestly convey once their bodies were properly rested, both Cid and Maria were relieved, their hearts feeling warm.

Far warmer than any brewed cup of tea.

#Cid Garlond #wol x cid #wol x npc #Final Fantasy XIV #FFXIV #Fic #super freaknasty writing

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jojomugi · 3 years

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A Shred of Altruism for a ‘friend’

Context

This piece was something I had written for myself as part of a fanfiction series with my OC. Since I don't particularly feel too sure about posting it given my OC isn't crazy popular or anything, I figured I could just edit pronouns, names, ect so that maybe someone other than just me and three of my closest friends can enjoy it This takes place way before the events of part three, and before Dio's encounter with Enya AND Pucci. Basically, Reader is the first one Dio has encountered and is learning vauge amount of info on stands from. Spoilers/Content warnings ♡ Minor Stardust Crusaders/Stone Ocean spoilers ♡ Over Heaven book spoilers (would recommend reading before hand) ♡ CW:Dio not being an asshole lmao

♡ Technically not a warning, but their may be misplacements with POV's and pronoun usage. Translating this into an xReader wa difficult. «

Reader is 18+, a stand user (S/N=Stand Name), very SFW, gender neautrual pronouns used

The battle between you and the other user finally came to an end when you used all of your remaining energy to defeat him. S/N ability managed to bring them into retirement. All the while this happened, Dio could see just what was happening, how the two stands fought one another. He could only really feel the energy. However he was all around useless in that particular situation, seeing was one thing, but Dio did not yet have the stand—At least not yet. Dio had two options now that his companion was left unconscious. Leave you and be done with having to keep extra weight, or bring you back to the small hotel you had the both of you staying at. Dio obviously chose the latter. It was not out of altruism, or at least not in his mind, it was all simply done out of respect for all your efforts, sacrificing your chance of a ‘normal’ future to run off with him. Besides, in his weaker state you were his best bet to survive and learn about this new world quickly. Dio reached for your exhausted form, there was still a pulse, good. However, you were still out cold from the overexertion. When he finally was able to sneak into the hotel, he gently placed your body onto the bed. Technically speaking, his work here was done but his subconscious—The few times what shred of humanity he had—decided to take over. You were more than just a mere fling, or some kind of phase, your soul was what drew him to you like a moth to the flames. You had become his over your guy’s short time together, whether Dio was self aware of that or not was a different question. Dio manipulated your form around until he was able to get you under the covers. Thankfully he didn’t manage to disturb your rest. The blonde hastily scanned around the room. Water! You would probably need water whenever you’d awaken. He yanked a small rinse cup from the bathroom and set in onto the night stand beside you. Food. What did you have for food? Apparently not much given all he could find was an apple and banana. Not even an assortment of fruit in a bedroom for an upscale hotel? What a mockery. The vampire bit the side of his lip back and let out an exasperated huff. It had been years since the last time he worried about human nourishment like this. For him nourishment was far more simpler. This mere mortal of a human. How dare y/n make an omnipotent being like him do such humbling things for you. Who were you? However, none of that truly mattered when it came to his inconspicuous admiration for you. Even if he didn’t quite understand what it was, your power drew him to you. Y/n was angelic, beautifully devine in his eyes. The grace that radiated from you when you used that strange, raw power. It was something beyond what he even imagined being in the realm of possibility. It was very close to what he dreamt about during his time in his century long torpor state. But even with all y/n’s physical features, you were still knowledgeable and fascinating nonetheless—y/n was not one to boast about their knowledge demeaningly—but like a friend. However, even if this ‘feeling’, this ‘attraction’ was something of love or romance, Dio surely never felt such a thing in his life, at least not in a long time. The audacity of this human—A being below him—Having such an impact to make him so emotionally vulnerable just made his stomach turn. What nerve you had. And yet...He strangely didn’t mind this, this exotic feeling and emotion for him was somewhat of an indulgence. It was more or less as if y/n was the worthiest of his affections in the few times he did allow himself these moments. Y/n was holy, and he was obligated to give you that kind of credit. Dio took in a deep breath and sighed, glancing back down at your tired form. He scanned around, thinking of what else may help. He spotted your messy hair draped over your face and leaned forward, trying his best to wipe them from your eyes without awakening your. Just because he occasionally enjoyed being sweetly intimate, doesn’t mean he was good at it. Typically he lured in his prey sensuality, but tenderness and endearment were not things he often brushed up his skills on. ༺༻ Even if it was only a couple of hours, the silence was tedious. He really was missing having another person to speak to. He’d just spent far too long in silence, the thought of it drove him mad. He didn’t even notice himself tapping his foot in the air as he flipped through the glossy magazine pages. He knew that this power of theirs often resulted in a physical consequence, and the severity of that physical result was dependent on how much power you exerted. Dio could feel this power, but alas he could not see it. Not yet. Even though this was a setback in their plans, it was minor really. The battle brought them one step closer towards Dio finding the one who held the ability to grant these powers to the ones who weren’t naturally gifted like y/n was. Fortunately, Dio was able to force information out of the opposing user before he met his demise. Y/n’s e/c eyes softly fluttered open with a tired groan to follow. You tiredly threw a hand over your eyes with a deep breath. Dio perked up before you even had a chance to collect where you were and set down the cup of wine. “Y/n.” He said, an ounce of enthusiasm lacing his tone. It was almost as if he had completely just set aside his inner turmoil about his feelings in favor of your company again. You paused and turned your head. All Dio was met with was a disgruntled expression, as if they had been woken up out of nowhere during a deep sleeping session. “Dio…? Are we back at the hotel?” The wild blonde nodded. “Despite your unfavorable condition, you were victorious. It was quite a thrill to watch really.” Quickly you sat up and rubbed one of your eyes, almost a bit surprised. Y/n never really went up against another user per-say. You were fortunate enough to have grown up sheltered enough to not have many encounters with another due to an altercation, even with how un-glamours your youth with your parents was. It was also a fascinating discovery for someone like you who was curious about the functionality of stands. They really were an enigma; a shame however that other users were more or less aggressive. Y/n’s smile lasted for a moment until the realization hit them that they may have missed out important information for Dio. A long groan escaped you. Y/n pinched the bridge of their nose. “My apologies Dio...I got ahead of myself...we could’ve tried getting a lead and instead I-“ The corner of his lip lifted, the vampire dismissively waved an arm. “Do not worry about that. I was able to pry details from him before the final blow.” Y/n blinked and let out a sigh of relief, throwing their legs to the edge of the bed. “I must’ve blacked out because I don’t even remember that. Hm, but that doesn’t matter really.” They shrugged. Dio assumed a spot beside them, crossing his arms and throwing a leg over the other. “You got what we needed to know, that's what’s important.” You knowingly smiled up at him. Dio nodded in agreement. “You’re correct.” Dio lifted a finger up. “Anyways, you’re going to need to make preparations for us to embark to egypt as soon as you’re back to complete health.” “Egypt?” You tilted your head. “Yes. That is apparently where I will find the one who can grant others these ‘stands’. He said that she is an old witch of some sorts named Enya.” Y/n raised their brows in surprise. How in the world was he able to get so much precise information without fighting. Then again, this man was supernatural, perhaps he had his own ways of making one talk. Then again, if he did what point was there in making you do all the dirty work. Unless perhaps he wanted to just seize the opportunity to see what he could do and use your opponent as fodder. “Huh...Well. I suppose I was starting to get tired of this country anyways.” Y/n yawned, stretching their shoulder up to their cheek. “Luckily you have me around. Stand users tend to attract other stand users from my knowledge, so finding this woman shouldn’t take too long once we arrive.” “Perhaps. In any case, it may be best to be negotiable once we find this woman.” “Certainly, of course. And if she is an old woman, surely her power may be weaker. Despite today, I don’t particularly care for using my strength against someone weaker. Unless of course they instigate it.” They nodded. “Hm.” Dio glanced down at you for a moment, thinking about what you just said. “Part of me hopes we run into other users. As you know I cannot exactly see what is happening, I am still fascinated by what you can do.” Subconsciously your smile grew a little. You were a sucker for any kind of praise, but they had to keep their contentment dampered. “Thank you...I’m glad I can share my gift with you. When you have a stand as well, I can’t wait for you to fully experience what S/N can do. To be able to see it like I can see it.” Dio re-adjusted himself to a more comfortable position, sitting sideways to put more attention towards their conversation, leg still crossed over the other. “Oh yes, of course. I would be honored to further understand this power of yours more. If it wasn’t for you, I certainly would not be used to this body enough to even function without continued rest.” You shuddered a little internally, it was still a little strange that body was someone else's, even though you were used to this fact, you certainly did not need to be reminded. Y/n forced a smile and chuckled. “Thank you. I’m glad we’re friends as well.” ༺༻ ‘Friends’ that phrase echoed in Dio’s mind. Maybe he was their friend, but Dio did not have friends. Dio always had subjects. Pawns. Harems. Followers. Not that he couldn’t make friends but such relationships were beyond him. And with a human? He could just scoff at the thought. Most humans really weren’t nothing more than pawns, food, or a source of pleasure. Your relationship was not sexual, nor would he use someone who was doing such a big favor for him as food. But if you weren’t either of those, then what were you exactly? A guard dog? No. That was just insulting. Your relationship felt deeper than simply a subject or a pawn. Whatever. ‘Friends’ would suffice for now. The vampire cleared his throat between the silence. “Ahem. Yes. Friends.” Dio glanced at the food he left for them on the nightstand. “You should eat, dear, as I said, I wish to start our journey to Egypt as soon as you are feeling better.” Y/n peered back and took the banana. they opened their mouth to offer him the apple but remember he did not need that. “Right.” They nodded, peeling the banana. “By the way, I’d like to thank you. You could’ve just left me, but instead you tended to me when I was vulnerable.” They paused and continued to quickly eat their banana. “This may be a bit strange, being you’re a vampire, and above me on the food chain but…” Y/n paused and collected their thoughts, thinking how to word this without completely disinteresting him with their sentimentality. “I feel safe when I’m around you. I’m the one who is helping you but honestly? I suppose emotionally I feel secure around you. You’re the only person who seems to understand me and appreciate me.” Dio thought for a moment and scoffed. Not at you, but the fact that someone as smart, clever, and beautiful as you could go unappreciated. His legs uncrossed quickly. “Those who don’t appreciate you are simply putz.” He huffed and shook his head. “Fools. Utter fools.” Y/n froze, watching him place his hand over her head and pat it. “You are possibly the most useful person I’ve come across since my time out. I am uh…” Dio admittedly had faltered. “Grateful...For you as well.” “Really?” They smiled a bit, their gaze drifting up to his hand. “Here I was worried I’d gross you with all this sentimentality.” “No. I suppose even the most superior of beings need to express a bit of tenderness.” He nodded, continuing to gently pat your hair;It was quite soft really. “And if I am to express these sorts of emotions, it should be to one who is worthy of it. Someone I can trust not to use this as a weapon against me.” “Certainly. I know I would expect the same from you as well, Dio.” Your smile became a bit softer. The pair of you fell silent for a moment. The male hadn’t realized it but his hand had drifted down to feel your smooth locks. Y/n blinked and their eyes averted to the side. “Dio? What are you doing?” He quickly caught just what he was doing and pulled away, trying to play it off. Dio cleared his throat and got up from bed,, completely ignoring the subject. “In any case. Go rest. I’ll find some way of entertaining myself, don’t worry.”

#jjba x reader #dio x reader #jjba AU writing #jjba fanfic #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Dio Brando

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sierraraeck · 3 years

Text

How to Lose Friends

BAU x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Summary: When Aundreya’s presence is requested at the BAU, she doesn’t know what to think, and is dreading the reactions of her previous teammates. Especially that of Doctor Spencer Reid. Story sixteen.

Category: Some angst.

Warnings: Cussing. Normal CM talk. Mentions of prison.

Word Count: 5.0k

A/N: I hit 100k words of fanfic I’ve written for this series in this part.

The buzz of the bell signaling a door opening jolted me awake.

What the fuck? Why is my door being opened?

The light streaming in from the hallway, invading my dark little space, was blinding. The only solace was the dark figure shielding most of the light from my eyes.

“What?” I rasped.

“Aundreya Chambers, lovely to see you again,” the voice was coated with sarcasm. While still somewhat unfamiliar to me, I knew who’s face belonged to that type of bitchy sarcasm.

“Majesty Strauss, welcome to my humble home. Would you like a tour before we begin?” I still barely had my eyes open, denying the fact that my minimal sleep was being desturbed. She moved further into the cell in order to stand right in front of me.

“Get up. Your presence has been requested at the BAU.”

“What? Why do they want me?” I finally opened my eyes enough to stare up at her stone cold bitchface. That was the last thing I was expecting this morning. “Is it so they each take their turn reminding me how much they hate me?”

“Stop whining and get up. They need your help,” she all but rolled her eyes, the sound of her heels clicking back over to my cell door.

“With what?” I insisted.

“I’ll brief you on the drive.” Strauss completely exited my box while I laid my head back against the thin as paper pillow, letting out an irritated sigh. “Are you coming?”

“Do I have a choice?” She gave the tightest lipped, most forced smile I’d seen a human give as one of the officers came to clasp the handcuffs around my wrists.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The first half of the drive was dull. Strauss wasn’t much for small talk, especially with someone like me, and she refused to let me in on what was happening until we were only a few minutes out from headquarters.

It was Maeve. She’d had a stalker for a while, and now there was reason to believe she’s in immediate danger. That’s all she told me.

We finally arrived at Quantico, and I almost wanted to laugh. It’d been… what? Fifteen months since the last time I’d been there? The feeling of walking back in felt oddly familiar, like the first time I entered the building as a convicted criminal who was meeting the team. Despite the three years I’d spent with them, I was standing there as if nothing had changed. Actually, that’s not true. Things had changed. They’d gotten worse. Now, instead of wondering how they’d react to a somewhat normal looking girl who’d had a rough past, I knew exactly how they’d react to a psycho looking, handcuffed, last-time-I-saw-you-I-confessed-to-murder, criminal. And I didn’t want any part of it.

But if that’s how they were gonna see me, I might as well have worn it with pride. I had a reputation to uphold.

I was pushed through the glass doors into the bullpen, and everyone’s eyes snapped to me. I must’ve been quite the sight: disheveled, frizzy braids, cuts and bruises on every visible part of my body (and most non visible parts, too), my orange jumpsuit peeking through the stained, weak excuse they called sweats, not to mention the chains connecting my handcuffs to the links around my ankles. Upon entering, they removed my cuffs, but kept a watchful eye on me as I approached the door to the briefing room. The people behind there were the ones I really cared about. Or, at least, cared even a shard about in comparison to the utter indifference I felt toward everyone else.

I closed my eyes, and took a long, deep breath before forcing the door open. I had barely entered the room, barely made eye contact with Hotch standing opposite me, before both my shoulder blades were shoved against the wall behind me, long fingers wrapping around my throat.

“What is she doing here?” the hiss in Reid’s voice sounded exactly how I’d imagined it in my head, preparing myself for this encounter. He looked almost as bad as me. His curls were going in a million directions, and I could only imagine the amount of times he’d run his hands through them. His eyes were blood-shot and slightly puffy, and the dark bags underneath seemed more defined. The only thing that contrasted all of that, and let me know his head was still in it, was the darkness in them. There was nothing lighthearted or soft about them anymore, at least, not for the moment and not for me. Not to mention the rage I could see boiling at the surface. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror.

Morgan and Hotch made a move to pull him off of me, but I waved them away. I knew this was coming, and the sooner we got it over with, the sooner we could go back to our new normal. “I was invited.”

“By who?” I could hear the betrayal coating his voice before he even knew who it was.

“You didn’t tell him?” It was Rossi that spoke up.

“I was about to,” Hotch stated, “She showed up a bit earlier than I anticipated.”

Reid just stood there, orbs of fire replacing his eyes. “Let go of me,” I forced out through clenched teeth. He did as I asked, taking a staggering step back and just bore holes into me. I replied with a smirk. “So what do you need me for?”

“As Strauss should have already told you, Maeve is missing and there is reason to believe she’s in danger,” Hotch recited.

“Great. So what do you need me for?” I repeated. They were great profiles, I couldn’t see anything I’d add to the group.

“As you know, there have been people in the past that threatened her safety, and they have been people you’ve had a connection with.”

I arched an eyebrow. “So you think that the person responsible for Maeve’s disappearance is some street rat I’d know?”

“If you want to put it that way, sure,” Hotch confirmed.

“Okay, then you guys have seriously lost brain cells since I left,” I let out a bitter laugh, “There’s no way some rando on the street would care about some lame doctor.” I saw Reid’s posture tighten up, and I didn’t really fancy the idea of being slammed into the wall again, so I shot him a quick, “No offense.”

“What makes you so sure?” Morgan asked.

“Look, all I’m saying, is that I don’t see how she’d hold any value to anyone on the streets. Unless she’s all the sudden a drug lord, running a gang, or saw too much, they wouldn’t care about her. And let’s say for fun she is one of those things, and someone on the streets did take her, she’s already dead,” I pointed out. Reid flinched. “People on the streets don’t play with their food.”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Reid hissed.

I shrugged. “I’m just saying. But either way, case closed or start over. Neither of which require me.”

“They might, actually,” Hotch said.

“What now?” I grumbled.

“We might still want to utilize your other skills.”

“And what are those, exactly? You can all profile just fine without me,” I scoffed. “Clearly, you’ve been doing just fine these past 15 months. Speaking of, where is my replacement?”

Looking around the room, I didn’t see Doctor Lewis.

“She’s gone for this one, so we could use another person,” Hotch acknowledged.

“Cool. So find another person.”

“Aundreya, we could use your ability to track down people. We can profile all we want, and have Garcia send us all the information she can dig up, but we need someone who can actually locate them. Someone who knows how to find people without a record or paper trail, who don’t want to be found. And based on the other working profile we have, that’s exactly the type of person we’d be tracking down.”

I let out an annoyed sigh and rolled my eyes. There was no way I was getting out of this, so I forced out, “Fine. Let’s find Reid’s girlfriend.”

The whole room of people, myself included, starting moving with a purpose toward something to do. Everyone except for Doctor Reid. He was just standing there, hands shoved in his pockets, staring at me.

I tried so hard to ignore him, and I was about to say something when Morgan beat me to it, placing a hand on his shoulder and murmuring, “Kid, what’s going on?”

His answer was not directed at Morgan. “Nothing else? That’s it, that’s all you have to say?”

I looked up at him and even I could feel the boredom in my eyes. “What else is there to say?”

After a few deafening moments, he sternly whispered, “Was any of it real?”

I could tell by his face the deeper questions behind it. Did you ever actually care about me? Were you just manipulating and using me the whole time? Was the possibility of ‘us’ just an illusion?

“I could ask you the same question,” I snapped. It suddenly felt like he and I were the only ones in the room, like we were moving across a silver screen while the rest of the team watched from their theatre seats.

“I still wanna know why.”

“Why what? There’s a lot I’ve done, you’re gonna have to be more specific,” I deadpanned.

“All of it. Prison, letting me take the fall, Darrell-”

I stopped him right there. “Inmates kill each other all the time. It was a means of survival. I had to, I couldn’t let you die, and I couldn’t let you be the killer either, now could I? You’re not the damaged one-”

It was his turn to cut me off, and I was surprised by his words, “You're not damaged.”

“What makes you so sure?” I was quick to refute, “Only one of us should have to carry that burden around. And like you said, what’s another name to add to my list?”

“Is that what you were carrying around with you all the time?” Prentiss’s question seemed so genuine, I just answered.

“Yes, that and…” then I realized what she’d just admitted to.

“And what?” she probed.

“Wait, were you guys watching me?” I accused. The silence that followed, along with ‘oh shit’ glances were all I needed. “You were, weren't you! That whole time you just watched? And did nothing to help me!”

“What were we supposed to do?” Morgan joined in.

“Something, anything!” I looked back over to Reid, his hands in his pockets and his eyes still burning up. “Do you even want me on this case?” I was looking for any and every excuse to get out of this room, and away from these people.

“You are a big help,” Hotch intervened.

“I didn’t ask you,” I shot Hotch a glance out of the corner of my eye, then directed my attention back at Reid, enunciating each word carefully, “Do you want me on this case?”

“Why would you ask that?” he dodged.

“Because last time I checked, I was supposed to be staying out of Maeve’s life,” I raised my eyebrows at him.

“You are, but these are extenuating circumstances,” he returned my look.

“So you do want my help,” I clarified.

“I want your skills.”

I let out a disgusted chuckle, venom dripping from my words. “Oh I get it. You only want me around when it's convenient for you. Otherwise you just wanna give up on me and let me rot in there.”

Reid broke eye contact with me. “All the evidence pointed to you.”

His words sent a shiver up my spine, as the neurons in my brain started firing at rapid speed. I’d heard those words before; rather, I’d seen those words before, and I couldn’t resist reciting what followed. “But the one thing you can’t stop thinking about is what Hotch said the night we got caught?”

His eyes immediately snapped back to mine, looking astonished. “What?”

I set my jaw, and continued, “That you were manipulating me the whole time and I’d fallen into the trap of a professional criminal, even as a profiler. I don’t want to believe that, but maybe it’s true.”

Derek jumped in, “What are you talking about?”

I ignored him. “Maybe you’re the one who’s been using me this whole time. I don’t have the answers, and I don’t think I ever will. Don’t keep tabs on me. I know you have the means to, in whatever capacity, but I don’t want you tracking my life.”

“Stop, Aundreya, please,” he pleaded. If you didn’t want those words getting out, didn’t want your team to realize how vile you could be, you should have thought about that before sending me that letter.

I wasn’t gonna stop. Instead, I started pulling the paper out of my pocket. “I no longer want you to be a part of it. And stay out of Maeve’s, in case you think that’s some twisted loophole you can use. This is no longer your family.” By the end, I felt just a little moisture coming to the surface, but I choked my tears back down.

“What is she talking about?” Morgan insisted.

Reid’s mouth was slightly open, struggling to find the right words to explain this. I wasn’t going to give him the chance. I tossed his letter, folded up to fit in my pocket, on the table. It slid across and stopped right in the middle. “His letter. The piece of paper you saw me walking around with, this is it. My list on one side, his letter on the other.”

“Aundreya-” Reid attempted.

“You didn’t even sign your name,” I shook my head, “You couldn’t even sign your fucking name. It’s pathetic. And just so you know, the evidence pointed toward me because I helped it to.”

“So you did or didn’t want to go to prison?” he asked me.

“Of course I didn’t want to go, Reid,” I answered like it was the dumbest question I’d ever heard.

“Then why'd you take the fall for me?”

“Because you didn’t do it.”

“But neither did you, right?”

It sounded like more of a mockery than a question, but I answered, “Right.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“Jesus Spence! I did it because I-” Oh shit.

All eyes were on me as he slowly asked, “You what?”

“Nothing. Forget it.” With that, I stormed out of the room using the back door, and made my way up to the rooftop.

The cool breeze hit me in an instant, and I relished in the fresh air. It’s crazy how easily I took that for granted the three years I was out. I leaned up against the railing as I soaked in this feeling. I wouldn’t get to keep it for long.

I heard the door creak open, and knew who it was before she could even say anything.

“You know, I understand why he’s mad. He thinks I let him sit in prison for something I did, you all do,” I quickly tacked on.

“That’s not true,” Emily’s voice could be so soft sometimes.

“It’s okay, I get why you all believe it. I would have too if I were you. I mean, my whole life has consisted of lying, manipulating, and cheating.” I looked over at her once she’d joined me at the railing. Her face was kind, as if she was inviting me to continue. “I hate everything about it.”

“Is that why your name is on the bottom of that list?”

I hadn’t even thought about them seeing that. Fuck me. “Did you know that Aundreya isn’t even my real name?” I offered instead.

“Alionth?” she guessed.

I gave a single laugh. “No. I was born Clara Spade. I was her all the way up until the Slaughterer saw me. When we went into WITSEC, my name was changed to Cassy Sae. I lived as her until our house burnt down, and I begged Gideon to help me disappear. Cassy Sae died that day with her mom and sister, and I changed my name again to Aundreya Chambers. It was Aundreya who hit the streets and joined a gang. It was Aundreya who was The Figure and moved up the ranks until she ran the joint. When the gang collapsed and I started the ring, I don’t know, I guess I just wanted a new name. A new name had marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life up until that point, why not keep the tradition, you know?” Emily nodded along to my words. “I chose Alionth because I’d already been using that as my stage name at clubs, and a lot of the people I recruited I met at clubs. I actually ran my whole operation out of one, so the name just naturally fell into place. Then I made just about the biggest mistake of my life, which landed me in prison. In prison, most people were street rats, so those who did know me, knew me as Aundreya, so I went back to being her.”

“And who are you now?” she asked me.

I sighed. “I… I have no idea. I’ve been Aundreya for the majority of my life, but I just don’t know if she’s good enough anymore.”

“It’s not about the name. I know you think it does, but the name has nothing to do with who you are.”

“I don’t know, it sure feels like that.”

“It’s not true. Falling into that trap is unwise, it’ll hurt you more than it already has,” her eyes were wide, and I could tell she was trying to read me.

“So you think I’m stupid?” I asked.

“No, the exact opposite actually. I think you are so smart and are looking so many steps ahead, that you can no longer see what’s right in front of you.”

“And what’s that?”

“That you’re afraid.” I scoffed at her, but she was completely serious.

“I am not,” I insisted.

“You are. You’ve been hurt so many times, betrayed even, and now you won’t allow anyone in.” She sounded like she was speaking from experience. The silence hung between us before she said what I’d been waiting on the whole time. “Just tell him.”

“What?” I tried to play it off.

“You know what I’m talking about,” Emily said, in that stern but caring tone she’d mastered. We both knew I knew what she was talking about, and I’d been too hopeful she’d ignore my near-confession only minutes earlier.

“I can’t,” I said, my voice dropping.

“Why not? I think he deserves to know that you lov-”

“Don’t say that,” I cut her off like my life depended on it, “Emily, I’m telling you, I can’t. I can’t do that to him,” my eyes were wide with pleading, and I’m sure I looked like a wild animal in headlights.

“Give me a good reason why.”

You say that as if I haven’t already compiled a list in my head of all the reasons we wouldn’t work over the past three years.

But I opted only for the biggest reason, the one at the very top of my list. “Because I’m terrified that it will kill us both.”

“Huh?”

“Look at us. We’re a disaster! I mean, hell knows, we’ve both already almost died for the other. I don’t want to take the chance that next time we won’t be so lucky,” I explained. And if we aren’t, at least one of us should be able to get out and that person is not me. I could tell there was something else lingering on Emily’s face, but I filled the airspace before she could. “No, I need him to hate me. It’ll be easier this way, because when this goes south, and it will go south, it makes it that much easier for him to just forget about me and move on, move on with Maeve, his great girlfriend who can actually be there for him in a way I haven’t been able to, in a way I don’t even think I’m capable of.”

“I would call going to prison for him ‘being there’ for him, even to an extreme, and I think you should let him make his own choice about how he feels about you,” she gave me a pointed look, “knowing all the facts.”

I shook my head. She just wasn’t getting this. “It’s better this way, trust me, I’ve seen it before, been there before, too many times. It’s better if he already hates me going into this. It would be unfair of me to lay that on him, knowing what I’m going to have to do.”

“And what is that?” I stared at her, open-mouthed, and once she realized I wasn’t going to answer her, she asked, “This is about more than just Maeve, isn’t it?”

Yes. There are people who are hunting me down, and I’m scared shitless that you, and Spencer, and the rest of the team will get caught in the crossfire, and yet again, it will be my fault that practically the only people on this planet I care about, who’ve actually cared about me at some point, will be dead. I wanted so badly to tell her, to get everything off my chest, but I just couldn’t. The less she, and the team, knew, the better.

“Is this about those other two names on the list?”

“You saw that, huh?”

“Yeah. Is that what this is also about? The whole ‘end of the world, protecting Reid’ vibe you have going on?”

I didn’t know how to answer, so again, I just stood there silently.

“It sounds to me like you’re giving up, expecting to die,” Emily filled in the silence.

“I am definitely expecting to die, and I’m expecting it to be nasty, and hateful, and to completely ruin me, yes. But like hell I’m giving up.” I wanted to make that perfectly clear.

“Good. So while I don’t know what else is going on, and you clearly aren’t open to telling me, I do know that Maeve needs our help. Yours specifically. And I can’t imagine how much this sucks for you, but-”

“I know,” I said, nodding, “We have a case.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

While Emily and I were out, the rest of the team had gone back to trying to put pieces together. The moment I walked in the door was the same moment Reid left. JJ walked out after him, but not before giving Emily a knowing look. It’s like they were tag teaming us or something. I tried to blow it off.

“Get anything?” I huffed.

“Maybe…” Derek trailed off.

“What does that mean?”

“We have a list of people we want you to look over,” Rossi said, handing over his tablet.

“Damn, already?” I questioned.

“Have you already forgotten how quickly I work?” Penelope looked over at me with an amused face.

“Well, time hasn’t exactly been my friend as of late so I might be a little rusty, but no, my liege, you just never cease to amaze me.” And with that, I felt some of the tension release from the room. Not much, but I’d take it. I think everyone would take it.

We worked well into the night, looking over people and sending pairs of agents out to question the promising ones, and as I expected, every single one was a dead end.

Until one of them wasn’t.

The boys had just got back from interviewing Robert Putnam’s, Maeve’s fiance, parents.

“He look good for this?” I asked as soon as Hotch stormed into the room, Rossi and Morgan right on his heels. Reid hung back, like we were repelling ends of a magnet.

“I want you on him.” Hotch had barely gotten the command out before I reached for the door handle.

“I don’t.” The words were hot and dry and coming from none other than Doctor Reid.

I stopped to face him. “Why not?”

“I don’t trust you. Who’s to say you won’t just run off? Then we’d let a high-profile criminal walk free and let Maeve…” he cut himself off, and I saw him swallow, probably choking down the tears with it.

“Reid,” Hotch barely drew his attention away from me.

“It’s okay,” I assured Hotch, “I get that you don’t trust me. None of you do. But I need you to make up your mind. Either you want me helping or you don’t.” When I got no more than a few blinks, I continued, “Look, you don’t have to trust me, okay? All you have to trust is my skills. Like you said, I’m a professional at things like this, so I can handle tracking one simple weasel. Not to mention, that if I didn’t want to be here, or I wanted to’ve escaped, I would have done it already. And if you’re worrying about my capacity to actually treat this case with some care, don’t. I already blindly tried to get myself shot for her before I even knew who she was, remember? So if you don’t wanna trust me, great. Don’t. I’m fine with that. But trust my abilities and what I know, what you know, I can do.”

I stared at him so long, that I wondered if small roots started pushing their way into the ground below me.

“Okay. Go,” was all I got, but it was all I needed.

I gave him a single nod, and headed for the door.

I got just a few feet out when Hotch’s voice caught me, “Chambers.”

I spun around to face him. Once he pulled the door shut, I asked, “What’s up?”

“He’ll come around.”

I snorted, “You’re funny, Aaron,” I spoke through laughs, “Got any other good jokes before I head out?”

“I’m serious.” I don’t know what it was in his tone, but it snapped me completely out of it.

“He won’t. I fucked up, real bad, and I broke a promise to him,” I lowered my voice so I was whisper-yelling the next part, “Hell! I killed a man in front of him!”

“We all have,” he nonchalantly stated. The disconnect I was feeling had to have been obvious, and he proceeded, “We shoot people in front of him all the time. We do it to save other people, we’ve even done it to save him a few times. How is it any different?”

My eyes went wide, and I couldn’t believe it was Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner who was saying these things to me right now. “No you don’t understand. I promised people, I promised myself, that that wasn’t who I was anymore. But that's exactly who I am. I said that I wouldn’t do things like that again, and then I did, breaking my promise and proving that I’m exactly the same as I was all those years ago. Someone you, and he, can’t trust.”

“We both know that’s not true.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he just kept going without me, “The way he reacted to you getting arrested that night is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget. He looked disgusted with me, after I aided you in your plan to get him out. He said to me, ‘You can’t do this, Hotch, you can’t let this happen!’ He was so hostile that he cussed at me and tried to hit me,” I audibly gasped at this information. I could never see Reid acting like that, but I would know just how much prison changes a person. “Morgan had to restrain him before all the work you’d just done to get him out of prison went to waste on something as stupid as him acting out.”

I didn’t know what to say, “Hotch, I…”

“I knew what you were doing, so while Morgan tried to get him to calm down, I told him that you were giving him an out. We knew that there was a very high likelihood that he was going to die in there, but we knew that you wouldn’t.” He offered a small chuckle then, which totally threw me for a loop.

“What is it, what’s funny?”

“Spencer said that we couldn’t know that, and it was Morgan who said, and I believe he used these exact words, ‘She’s strong. Plus, they’ll want her in solitary, worried that she’ll do much more damage to others than they’ll do to her.’”

Even I had to crack a smile at that. “He’s not wrong.”

“He definitely was not. I think he was still recovering from that nasty black eye you gave him.”

I offered a not-so-regretful grimace.

“One more thing,” I looked up at him as he spoke, his tone returning to that of seriousness. “It doesn’t have to be right now, or within the next couple of months even, but he deserves to know the truth.”

I don’t even know why I tried, but it was my natural reaction to deflect. “What are you talking about?”

“It doesn’t take a profiler to know that memorizing and reciting the only piece of contact you’ve had with him verbatim shows how much you care about him and what he thinks of you. And based on the sole fact that you don’t really seem to care at all what anyone thinks of you, that speaks volumes.”

I stood there blinking at him for a moment or two before having my wits come back to me. I started to shake my head, but he continued to speak.

“Do you really want to prove that you’re not like that anymore, that you’ve changed?”

He always seemed to know the right questions. I nodded my head, “Yes.”

The great Aaron Hotchner looked me straight in the eyes, “Then go catch this killer.”

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devnicolee · 4 years

Text

The Chosen Ones (7)

A/N: Enjoy! There is one chapter left, which I am really excited about :)

Warnings: Slow burn, verbal abuse (and one mention of physical abuse), angst

Word Count: 6,000 words

Pairings: M’Baku x OC

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Asha groaned as she felt something nudging her shoulder, assuming it was M'Baku's feeble attempts to wake her up. "Five more minutes," she mumbled, her voice groggy and tired. She shifted on her side, burying her face deeper into his chest, her hand sliding across his midsection to hold onto him tighter. There was no response to her exhausted pleas for more sleep. In fact, she quickly realized that all she could hear were his loud, deep snores. Yet she still felt another more forceful nudge hit her back, forcing her eyes to pop open.

Her eyes trailed up his torso and landed on M’Baku’s face, eyes closed as he continued to sleep. Her lips curved into a content smile as she just stared at him… her boyfriend. It amazed her how far the pair had come in mere weeks… from only existing in quiet, hidden moments to being able to love each other loudly and freely. She decided to lean on his advice, not to dwell on those broader implications, the details they would have to sort out back home. She knew he already gained her sister and brother’s approval, which was all she truly cared about. But the jury was still out on the Council and her mother. Asha already had two strikes against her where the majority of them were concerned.

It does not matter, she decided. She seceded 25 years to the will and opinion of the Council and her parents, she refused to cower or give them a day more. She worried about the other things and how to be in a successful relationship when she had no experience. But she and M'Baku loved each other and they both had the will and desire to be together. That meant they would climb any walls, weather whatever storm, and extinguish any fires this world threw at them. She finally had the person and love she prayed for every night; she would not let him go without a fight. Her thoughts were interrupted by something hitting her yet again. She frustratingly turned around to come face to face with the same black panther as last night. Inches away from her face, the panther used its nose to nudge her shoulder, a silent demand to start the day.

"Fuck!" she yelped, sitting up abruptly. She, of course, knew it meant her no harm but was also not expecting such a jarring wake up call. Her traveling companion, however, did not have this luxury. Her loud outburst immediately pushed M'Baku out of his restful sleep. Forever the warrior, he leaped out of the sleeping bag, robbing Asha of his warm body heat, and immediately raised his knobkerrie, ready to strike. He examined the cave terrain wildly, searching for an unknown threat.

"Stand down soldier," Asha chuckled as she ran her hands through the soft, thick black fur of the now resting panther, laying down relaxed after doing their job to wake the couple up. Her heart still thumped loudly against her chest as it tried to return to its resting rate. "It woke me up and I was n-not expecting a Bast wake-up call. Sorry for screaming," she offered before standing up herself.

"Damn panthers," M'Baku mumbled angrily under his breath. But he shook off his annoyance rather quickly as Asha cleared up their makeshift camp. "What time is it?"

Asha fiddled with her beads, immediately distracted by two texts from her brother and sister. "U-u-uh just after 7. But we better get going. Brother called an emergency council meeting 2 hours before the King's Exhibition. We need to find the herbs and get back to the palace before then." The balls of light keeping them warm the night prior bounced around as the two moved about, getting ready to finish the last leg of their journey. Asha raised her hands, each instinctively moving back toward their owner as her skin absorbed them.

"Why a council meeting?" M'Baku asked as he pulled bags of fruit out of his bag for both to munch on for breakfast and swung it back on his shoulders.

"Well, we do not need to convince the whole country... just the Mining and Border Tribes. No need to wait for the King's Exhibition if we can avoid it. It is supposed to be a fun and joyous event, believe it or not."

The two emerged from the cave, the Panther waiting for them on the small cliff. They fell in step behind it as it led them back to their original trail. The morning air was crisp and cold, the sun peeked through the swaying tree tops giving them a sliver of light. It still didn’t look like morning on their path though, the thick forest blocked out most of the sun. The mountain had a new layer of fresh, undisturbed snow, which did not remain long as their footprints smashed through it.

"What is the King's Exhibition anyway?" Despite not following the Panther Goddess, all of Wakanda was invited to partake in the celebrations of the week-long Festival of Bast. This was to be the Jabari's first year and he planned on participating to show solidarity. However, M’Baku quickly realized he had no idea what was involved.

"Oh, it is just a show of our King's strength and prowess in battle. Really just a chance for my oh-so-humble brother to show off. He basically fights the Dora, members of the King's Guard and then any challenger from across Wakanda. But unlike Challenge Day, no one is fighting to the death. It is more of a public training session. Everyone loses to him, of course," she added.

"What is the point of it?" he inquired, knocking some branches out of their path.

"It shows the strength Bast gives her protector. Her power and by extension, his power to protect all of us. It is quite fun to watch, or so I have heard," she added as a caveat. Snow drifted down lightly around them from the branches and leaves above them, immediately melting to water as it connected with her clothes.

"You have never been?"

She chuckled, managing to keep at least some of the bitterness out of her voice. "You would be surprised at the amount of things I have never seen or done. I have not celebrated a Festival of Bast in 15 years. Though, I didn't much care to celebrate her in those later years to be honest." M'Baku glanced over at her and noticed a flicker of shame and regret passing behind her dark brown eyes.

"Hey," he said gently, pulling on her arm to stop her. "You don't need to feel ashamed about that. You did the best you could. Bast forgives, clearly," he said, gesturing toward the panther that stopped a few feet ahead of them to wait.

Asha nodded softly, looking up at him to find concern in his big brown eyes… concern and intense love and adoration for her. Love and adoration that made her legs grow weak and the butterflies in her stomach flutter. She couldn’t explain it but it felt like the farther they went on this journey, the easier it became to open her heart and share her soul with this gentle giant beside her. She immediately thought back to what Bast told her, how the journey of loving and accepting herself would make loving others that much easier. Bast is rarely wrong.

"Thank you. I needed to hear that... be reminded of that. T-there is just so much I would have done differently had I known what I know now… you know?" she responded as they broke their eye contact and continued uphill. Asha, being someone who did not train incredibly often, was beginning to feel the strain of this journey as the air grew thinner and the path steeper. M'Baku seemed perfectly capable and fine with the hike but she was starting to grow that uncomfortable stitch in her side that she usually got when she trained with T'Challa.

"Yes, regrets are the price we pay for living. We all struggle with that… trust me. But it is not about how you lived before, but how you choose to live now. All those things you would do differently, you can do going forward. You have a bright future ahead, Asha. You have to just decide what you want to do with it."

Silence fell over the two; the only sounds were the soft crunch of snow beneath their boots, the random babble of animals moving through the trees around them as she contemplated his words. Asha went from having no real future at all to the one she always dreamed of. However, she now had to apply those dreams to her real life. She was no longer limited, chained in darkness with small fleeting glimpses of the sun. She was fully stepping in the light and she could finally bask in its warmth, serenity, and peace. Now that she was standing in the sun, she was not sure exactly what path she should forge. But she knew, a path without M'Baku was not a viable one. Where the light took her, she was determined to have him by her side loving and affirming her.

The inner light now flooding Asha's life was only eclipsed by the darkness the forest plunged them in as they trekked farther up the mountainside. It was as ominous as the night before, possibly even more so since they both knew the sun was shining above the thick treetops. The rustles and chatter of the forest seemed to get louder as they went, M'Baku constantly raising his weapon and shielding Asha as if a monster was seconds away from emerging from the trees. Each step seemed to dial up the creepy meter of the whole journey, putting the two on edge. They were not deterred; at the top of this summit laid their destiny, their reason for being. They had no choice but to press forward, stomping out any anxiety or fear that tried to poke through their armor of confidence.

"Do you like Jabariland?" M'Baku asked out of the blue.

Asha gave him a confused look from the corner of her eye, noting the way his hands fidgeted. Was he nervous? "It is gorgeous... the people were amazing. I felt more at home there... more at peace than I ever had in the Golden City. What is not to like?"

"Yes, but could you see you-" he started to say before he cut himself off, raising his hand to stop her. The panther leading their way had stopped, halting in front of a break in the trees. Asha walked to stand behind it and saw them.

"Glory to Hanuman," M'Baku whispered, amazed that a childish dream and a hunch led them to this. The only two people in the world who could make it to this promised land. The herbs sat in the middle of the clearing, covered in thick clear ice. But nothing could diminish the distinct and almost magical purple glow of the heart-shaped herb. The purple glow reflected across the white snow as the bright sun shined down on the field, filled with more herbs than either could have dreamed of.

"Bast... M'Baku, this is it. You were right!" Asha exclaimed, clutching his thick bicep. "W-we can save T’Challa, w-w-we can save the Black Panther." She hadn’t let herself get too attached to the idea that they were right, after all, it was a longshot. But here they were, staring their and Bast’s dreams in the face and it was glorious.

The moment her foot connected with the hard Earth in the clearing, it started. It was soft initially, like faint distant whispers as several quiet voices invaded her ears. She pushed forward, ignoring them. Nothing would stop her now. With each inch forward, the voices grew louder and more unruly. Asha had no idea what they were saying, what they wanted. She knew it was all in her head but she understood why such a phenomenon would drive people away from this place. It was almost impossible to ignore and it was terrifying. A piercing pain started to spread through her skull as she tried to continue. Soon the pain, the symphony became too loud to ignore.

"Ah!" she cried out as she fell to her knees, so close that a herb was within arm’s reach.

"Asha!” He had been watching from the tree with the panther and rushed forward when she hit the ground. He was at her side in record speed. He clutched her face, rotating her head in his hands as tears streamed from her eyes. He examined her head and body finding no obvious injury, realizing that the voices they were warned found their next victim.

She whimpered slightly from the pain, unable to speak as it became too much to handle. He felt his world crumbling at her pain and distress. He wondered if his hypothesis was wrong. Had he brought her all the way here, pumping her soul with false hope with every mile only to push her into a world of pain?

"Asha... It's gonna be ok... Go back and I will get the herb. It is ok, you have done more than enough," he whispered, offering more encouraging words as he helped her to her feet. The pain had yet to subside, she was not sure if she had experienced agony such as this before. But as she started to walk back toward safety, the black panther, a casual and quiet guide up until this point, brandished its teeth at her and growled deeply. Its body blocked the way back toward the trees, forcing her to stay there. As if a cue, more panthers emerged from the trees surrounding them, pacing so neither could retreat. M'Baku, deciding that the sooner they had an herb in hand, the sooner they would be allowed to leave, reached to pull one out of the Earth. However, he pulled and pulled but its roots were unmovable. The ice casing around the herb was too thick to break and remove the herb from its flower and the ground was too hard to rip the flower from the soil. He tried everything he had in his arsenal while whatever magical properties inhabiting this mountain brought his all-powerful partner to her knees.

Asha pushed through her pain and watched him struggle with the plant, a realization dawning on her. There was a reason it was the two of them and no one else. Further proof that their survival depended on each other, that their destinies were intertwined long before they knew of each other's existence. He got them here and now, she had to do her part.

"I-I h-have to melt th-th-the ice, M'Baku. W-we can’t t-take them frozen l-like… this. I c-can do it," she pushed out, her breathing labored as she tried to overcome the pain and channel her powers.

M'Baku immediately shook his head, "Asha... you were on death's door not even a full 48 hours ago, you are not strong enough to use your powers like this yet."

Asha shook her head, "I made it up this m-mountain. This is my purpose, I c-cannot.... I w-will not fail.” She crawled closer to the herb and sunk her warm hands into the thick snow around the herb closest to her.

“Bast, give me strength," she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and channeled all the fire, the heat in her being down into her palms and fingers. She imagined the field in her mind and pictured projecting that heat outward like a blanket. Her labored breathing grew as she fueled all the power in her body into the ground beneath her. the heat from her internal flame slowly melting the clear ice protecting each herb.

Asha grew concerned, as she tried to melt all the herbs that she did not have enough energy for this task. She could feel her steam running out. Thankfully, the ice transitioned to water on the last herb just as her body grew cold, void of any flames. As soon as the last herb thawed, Asha's eyes fell closed slowly, her body slumping into the snow as her mind succumbed to the voices and tumbled into her past.

T'Challa and Asha circled each other on a deep blue training map, the 10-year-old pushing her exhaustion aside to train with her older brother. She and T'Challa went blow for blow for a few minutes, trading hits as they danced across the training floor. She had gotten surprisingly better since they started training together, improving far more in their secret limited sessions than her actual training. She was small and quick, which helped her keep up with him even though he was clearly more skilled and stronger.

A few minutes of skillful fighting and she found herself on her brother's back, arm around his neck holding him in a chokehold. "Yield!" she demanded playfully.

"Never," he retorted as he flipped her over his head and forced her to the ground. He did it as slow as possible, as to not actually hurt her. She rolled on her back for a few minutes, catching her breath before standing again and starting the process over.

Their second fight went similarly. However, Asha suddenly felt different. She felt like another energy source coursing through her veins. She figured it was merely a second wind to help her fight. It propelled her to fight harder than she usually did, forcing T'Challa to up his game. She and T'Challa circled each other before he lunged toward her again. She raised her hand to block his first attempt when he jumped back unexpectedly, dodging with grace toward the side. Bewilderment filled her eyes until she saw a line of fire separating the two siblings.

"A- Asha... what is going on?" he asked tentatively as he pushed himself to stand.

Asha looked down at her hands to find them covered in flames. "Oh my bast!" She dropped to the ground and tried to stomp them out by banging her hands on the floor, but they wouldn't die. Her hand felt fine, she did not feel the agony of being on fire and yet she was. "T'Challa... what is happening to me??" she cried, panic setting in as she stared at this peculiarity.

"I do not know. But stay calm, I will get baba. It will be alright Asha."

Asha sunk to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she watched her hands and, unbeknownst to her at the time, her future burn right before her eyes.

The training room dissolved, her father's office replacing it as Asha sat, hands back to normal, next to T'Challa as he tried to calm her down. He rubbed comforting circles into his young and extremely distraught sister's back as they waited for their father to speak. Her father paced by his desk, throwing agitated looks at his daughter every few minutes, making her feel as though she had done something wrong.

"She is one of them. A mutant," he spat out with disgust.

"So what do we do?" their mother asked quietly from the other side of the office, keeping a healthy distance from her now dangerous daughter. "You have campaigned against mutants in our borders for years. This will look like hypocrisy."

"We do nothing," T'Chaka hissed. "We do nothing, we say nothing. No one can know about this."

T'Challa stood, a look of disbelief painted on his face, "How do you expect to keep this a secret? She is a princess? It is not like you can just hide her away."

"No, that is exactly what we are going to do. She almost killed you, T'Challa! Her powers are uncontrollable. We will find a way to suppress them until she is old enough to control them. Until then, she will not leave the palace," her father decided resolutely. It was not lost on Asha how they all spoke about her as if she were a mere object and not a person sitting right in front of them.

She shared a scared look with her brother before the scene changed again. She was now sitting on her brother's bed as he prepared for his 18th birthday party. They had been laughing and joking around, until their father appeared in the doorway.

"Yes baba?" he asked.

"You look good, strong. Please finish quickly. It is not good to be late to a party in your honor." Asha wanted to shrink herself or have the floor dissolve her as her father's eyes scanned the room. In the last three years, she found the best way to survive in her home was to simply avoid her father at all cost. At least then, he could not verbally castigate her for merely existing.

"Asha!" he barked, "What are you doing?"

Asha hung her head, "I was just helping T'Challa get ready. I will go back to my room."

He nodded, "Good. We cannot have anyone seeing you wandering around during the party. Go now."

"Yes, baba." Asha climbed off T'Challa's bed and started to walk toward the door. "Happy Birthday, T." She gave him a tight hug and a wide smile, mainly for his benefit. She did not want him worrying about her on his big birthday and knew he was already concerned about leaving her without her only advocate when he went away for university. That smile carried her until she was out of the view of his door and down the hallway to her own room.

Her brother's room disappeared as an intense argument in the royal gardens formed, Asha face to face with Hasani.

“What is the issue? It is just a date outside this Bast forsaken palace?"

An adult Asha tried to let him down easy, gave all the excuses her father outlined for her and he refused to accept any of them. It was almost as if he wanted to catch her in a lie. "I cannot leave. I would feel more comfortable if we just stayed in."

"No! I want to go on a real date outside of this palace. Today!" he demanded rudely. Asha scoffed silently. She knew the courting dates were part of the royal deal, her dad's attempt to pawn her off on someone else. However, she did not need to put up with another verbally abusive man in her life, her father was more than enough.

"Perhaps we should just chat another day? You seem upset, Hasani and I do not wish to upset you further. You know your way out, yes?" she said politely, deciding to deescalate the situation before it grew out of control. She turned away from him slightly, preparing to walk out of the gardens.

"No!" A hand enclosed around her wrist and yanked her back. His grip was so tight that Asha knew a bruise would blossom on her wrist later.

"Hasani, you are hurting me! Let me go!" she whispered, trying to avoid a scene as she failed to tug her hand out of his grip. She looked around for a passing Dora, cursing herself for telling Alexis that she did not need to watch over her during this date. She could feel the Panther beating against its cage, determined for release as someone attacked its owner. Even with the rings donning each of her fingers, she knew the flames were growing to uncontrollable levels. "Hasani, I do not want to hurt you, please let me go!" she begged, knowing that this was not headed in any good direction.

He scoffed, "What could you do to hurt me?"

As if on cue, sparks flew out of her hands, one hitting him right on his wrist causing him to jump back several feet. Fire shot out of her extended hand, drawing a line between them to protect her.

"W-w-what the fuck? I-I knew you weren't sick!" he cried, outraged.

Asha's hands clamped over her mouth in shock as she tried to approach him and make this right. "Hasani, please! I-it is not what it looks like!" But it was too late, he was off, Asha knew, to tell his mother who was meeting with her father in his office. She took off running after him, knowing that whatever happened next... she would certainly pay for this.

She was back in her father's office, Asha arguing with her father who refused to listen. "But I do not love him, baba! And he doesn’t love me! H-he hates me! H-he treats me horribly. You cannot expect me to marry him!"

"I don't particularly care if you love him or not. Sometimes arranged marriages are a necessary part of being royalty. You were the fool that showed your… disease to him. These are the consequences."

Asha threw up her hands, anger causing tears to stream down her face as she defended herself for the 100th time for the incident that thrusted her into this mess. She shared an exasperated glance at her brother and sister, the only two people who were ever on her side. "It was an accident, baba! I swear."

She knew she messed up, she regretted it everyday but she didn’t deserve this. She especially didn’t deserve the bloodied cut and bruise on her face, the reason her brother dragged her to her father’s office to demand the engagement be called off. It took Asha, Okoye and three other Dora to pull T’Challa off Hasani after he happened to walk in on an argument between the couple right as the back of Hasani’s hand connected with Asha’s cheek. It was the first time he had ever done such a thing and Asha knew it would be last since her brother made it clear he would not live to tell the tale if he touched her like that again.

"Sometimes I think you are determined to destroy this family and everything I built," he said as he settled behind his desk. "It is like you do not care if this family survives."

If he had slapped her in the face, that would have been less painful. "How could you say that?" she whispered, the hurt clear in her words.

"Baba! Please!" T'Challa said, no longer a young boy now but a grown man who refused to let anyone, even his beloved baba, attack his sister. He pushed Asha behind him as if he could act as a physical barrier between her and their father's verbal abuse. He, of course, knew it was too little too late to protect her from him but he tried to mitigate where he could. "Asha is not trying to destroy us by refusing to marry an abusive man. You did not hear the way he spoke to her. Why would you want her to marry a man who cares so little for her? Who is blackmailing our family into it? He has already proven that he has no self-control or respect for her. If you think those bruises were a one-time incident, you are mistaken. These lies have gone far enough, it cannot be worth it anymore."

"Enough!" King T'Chaka yelled, silencing his disobedient and reckless children. "T'Challa, you will stay out of it. You will be king one day but that is not today. And Asha, you will marry Hasani. You are lucky I was able to find this man for you. He is of royal blood, far better than you could have hoped for. Now, T'Challa and I will be leaving for Sokovia in a week's time. I suggest you take that time to accept this. I will not have this conversation with you again."

Asha nodded softly, her "Yes baba" so despondent and quiet that it broke T'Challa's heart. She shrugged off his comforting hand from her shoulder and raced out of the room. Asha rarely left her dad's office without tears clouding her vision, today was no different.

Asha woke among the dirt and swaying grass of the Ancestral Plane. Her second visit was far less confusing, almost as if she expected it. Bast did say she would see her again so she supposed this was that time. And this time, she knew she was not actually dead, which offered a small comfort.

She stood up and dusted the dirt off the long white dress with gold trim now hanging over her shoulders. Her bare feet sunk into the soft dirt as she walked toward a tree overflowing with black panthers. She did not need prompting, did not need Bast to lead her way. The path, the course forward, who she needed to speak to was as clear as day. She did not get very close before one jumped down from a high branch and landed in front of her.

Baba, she thought to herself. Sure enough, she watched as the panther quickly turned into a man... her father.

The two simply stood there, feet apart and stared at each other. He looked smaller than he did in life. He was never a big person, but his presence made up for what he lacked in stature... strong and intimidating. She never got to see the gentle King everyone else adored and worshiped. She had always only gotten the worst of him. She could not deny the small part of her that was filled with the urge to rush forward and hug him, the part that was still desperate for his approval and his love. But the larger part forced her feet to stay planted like a tree firmly in the same spot. She expected there to be more resentment toward him. What once was a burning inferno seemed more like a small contained fire, still present and noticeable but not all consuming.

"Why are you here... again?" he asked.

"That seems to be a question for Bast, not me... I found a new garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb and when I thawed it, I passed out. And I guess she brought me here."

"You found a new garden?" He did not even try to hide the surprise in his voice.

Asha scoffed, bowing her head slightly, turning away from him to study the horizon and the pale yellow and orange sky. "Always a tone of surprise. Apparently, Bast doesn't hate me or my kind as much as you did."

"I never hated you Asha."

"Really? You could have fooled me. 15 years... 15 years, you treated me like a prisoner, like I was nothing to you. If you did not hate me, you certainly didn't love me. It does not benefit either of us to pretend otherwise," she added coldly. If she was going to speak to him, it would be rooted in honesty, not historical fiction to sugar coat his actions simply because he died.

"I did not know how to deal with a child who was more powerful than I. Bast told me you were destined for great things and I refused to believe it. I was so obsessed with the mantle of King that I lost sight of... well, everything. I have had much time to think since being here."

"Yes, I would imagine death gives you all the time in the world to contemplate your failings," Asha responded, that small fire of resentment showing in her words, regardless of how she tried to contain it. The beautiful and serene terrain of the Planes did nothing to counter the frustration bubbling beneath the surface. She did not know what she expected from a conversation with her father but this was lacking. But she wondered if every conversation would; after all he could not come back from the dead and redo her childhood. His damage was set in stone and no words would fix it.

"What will you do now?"

"I will take the herb down the mountain and save your golden son and your tribe from being uprooted. That is all T'Challa and I seem to do lately, save our country from your failures. I will save your country, as Bast destined it. And then, I will find my place in that country, the place you selfishly denied me for decades," Asha responded.

T'Chaka nodded sadly, "Can you forgive me? I was not perfect in life. I made so many mistakes that forced you and T'Challa down paths that almost led to Wakanda's destruction. If I could go back, if I could have a chance at life anew, I would do so much differently. I did not hate you, I hated your powers and what they represented. But for you, I am sure that distinction means little. I failed you as a father... I failed you as your King and unfortunately, my realizations came too late. I can't fix it; I can't make it up to you. But I can apologize… and I am so sorry. Truly."

Asha did not hate her father, that was true. She did not know if she loved him either. But she had finally lost almost all the anchors of her past life, this was the final one. No amount of harbored resentment would fix his mistakes. Hating him until the end of her days, refusing to forgive until she was in a tree in the Planes next to him would not give her the life and childhood she desperately had wanted and deserved. She knew she needed to learn how to move on, to stop being weighed down by the past. She did not need to love her father to forgive him. She could not carry this pain, this resentment into her new life. She deserved to be light, not weighed down by someone else's failures and insecurities.

"A king who admits his faults? Quite the rarity." She refused to look at him, still studying the horizon, "You know I used to pray to Bast to take my powers, take my life, take everything so that you could love me. So that you could look at me as you looked at T'Challa and Shuri, with love, adoration, and hope. I wanted that so bad for so long that it almost killed me. Everyday felt like a festering wound that just would not heal. Your ego allowed me to wake up every day without hope, without light. Y-you caused that and, to be honest, I never thought I could forgive you for it. For planting seeds of hatred so deep in my heart that I started to believe them to be my own thoughts, my own insecurities."

She turned to face him finally, "But I cannot live that way anymore. I have finally started to uproot those weeds and my soul is so light," Asha sighed as tears sprung to her eyes, "that sometimes it feels as though I could fly away. I will never again be weighed down by the hatred you sowed nor the hatred your actions sowed in me for you. I will never feel for you as your other children do, but I do not need to hate you. I appreciate your apology and I forgive you."

"Thank you. I wish I could be there... to see the new garden," he whispered. "I wish I could be there to right so many wrongs."

"You are right where you need to be, T'Chaka," an angelic voice interrupted. They both turned to find Bast behind them. T'Chaka bowed slightly, stepping aside so the Goddess could approach. Asha stood tall as Bast stood directly in front of her, her face beaming with pride and joy.

"So, you solved my riddle?" Bast asked.

"Yes, but you couldn't have made it easier?"

"Well... There is just no fun in that. I am so proud of you, Asha. You fulfilled your destiny and Wakanda's future, that was once destroyed, is now like that garden: overflowing and teeming with life and hope. That is because of you and Lord M'Baku. Now I have a few final requests of you before you return to your life, if you do not mind?"

Asha raised her eyebrow, knowing the only acceptable answer was yes. She just nodded and waited for Bast to proceed.

"One, keep the Garden where it is. There will be a desire to move them to the Hall of Kings. But that mountain will serve as the bridge that connects the Jabari to Wakanda and the Black Panther. It must stay where it is to thrive. Two, you are learning about your powers, finally understanding and controlling them. Do not let another living soul limit them again. Three, love is overflowing in your life. It has not always felt like it, I know, but I hope you feel it now. Do not lose sight of the love you have, the family you have, as you settle into the mountains with your new one. There is space for it all."

Asha wrinkled her nose, laughing lightly. "Family in the mountains? M'Baku and I certainly are not there yet. Besides, I still need to find my place here."

"Of course... your place in Wakanda just may have a bit colder climate than you think, Asha Udaka," Bast mused. "It is time to go now. I expect I will not be seeing you again until your life has run its course, but worry not. You have a long and vibrant life ahead surrounded by those you love and who love you immeasurably."

Bast wrapped Asha into a hug so loving, so tender that only a Goddess could conjure such a thing. So much waited for her on the other side, and for the first time, she could not wait to get back to them.

***

Tag List: @destinio1 @muse-of-mbaku @jellybean531 @skysynclair19 @ashanti-notthesinger @gloriousgam3r @archivistofwakanda @leahnicole1219 @mygirlrenee @dramaqueeenamby

#black panther fandom #black panther #Black Writers #black panther fanfiction #black panther imagines #m'baku x reader #m'baku imagine #m'baku x oc

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rayofdawnworld · 3 years

Text

A Good Girl

So, for context: Earlier this year our darling @saiyanprincessswanie got sick and needed surgery. I being a worried friend, reached out wished her luck promised her a get well fic, and then prayed for her. All good and dandy. But not. See, the incredible idiot that I am, NEVER POSTED THE FIC!!! I PUT THE STORY IN MY POSTED FILE BUT I DIDN'T GIVE IT TO HER!!! I. Am. A. Moran... But, this has allowed me to re-read my work and I can make it better. So, I'm posting part one now and I'll post part two next Monday. Our beloved @saiyanprincessswanie deserves more than just a one-shot at this point. I'm so sorry my Dear. I so hope you like it.

For those interested, Tag list is open for this fic.

Moodboard by me. :)

Grey!Steve/Sassy!OC

A Good Girl

Part One- Warnings: None

She was a good girl. Anyone with half a brain cell could see that. Steve looked at the young man once again stunned. Not only was the young woman beautiful, she looked soft and sweet,he could hardly believe that she looked so young. If asked, Steve would have sworn the beautiful woman was a young girl of eighteen and not a woman of twenty-seven, but she did have an inner lining of steel running through her, she had a fire, judging by the way she was ranting with the younger man. Steve found himself drawn to her, captivated in a way that no one ever managed to captivate him. Not even peggy. A man can get up to some very bad things for just a chance at getting a Girl like her. He thought to himself with a half formed idea backing at the back of his head.

In hindsight, he was glad that he came with the idiot. They had met in one of his Support Group Meetings. The young man was in bed in the “act” when his girlfriend was dusted. But the relationship had been rocky, and he had been thinking about an old girlfriend of his, more and more. From what he gathered the girl had been left alone. An orphan, she had gotten a scholarship in Forensic accounting where they had met. They had dated throughout their college years but had sadly drifted apart when they hit the workforce despite having both been accepted in a prestigious firm. The stress had simply been too much. That's when things had ended.

One of the many consequences of the snap had been unemployment. Companies had gone bankrupt either because they had lost all or most of their workforce or because the owners and shareholders had evaporated and there was no one to sign the paychecks and pay the bills. The snap had caused more problems than solved them, at least on earth. Such, in point, was the young girl's case. Steve hadn't understood why she had quit her job at the firm and had gone to a much smaller firm with a significant downgrade in income, but now he understood. She was working as a waitress in a rundown diner. The smaller firm had lost everyone. She had been the only one left.

Steve had only just managed to dodge a flying cup aimed for the young man but alas, she didn’t have a very good aim. This argument had been going on for the better part of forty minutes. She knew she was going to get fired, so she may have decided to go all out.

The idea had been to go with the dolt, as moral support, go talk to the girl. He had sat in a booth, while the younger man had sat in another. Her face had soured from the sweet smile she had the moment she had recognized her ex-boyfriend. She had been polite, asked him what he had wanted, he said he wanted coffee and a chance to talk. She had agreed and went to get his order. Her boss had given her ten minutes that would be reduced from her lunch hour. He listened in thanks to his superior hearing. It had been a simple conversation at first. The air stiled when, the Moran had said that he missed her. Things became frosty when he informed her that the other woman had been dusted. It took a turn for the worst when he said that he wanted her back. At first, she just laughed, then… Then the argument started. That's when Steve got the truth. He had always suspected that there was something off about the sap story the other asshole had shared with the group. Now he knew. My poor sweet girl. Don’t worry I'll take care of you.

Sadie was done. Just done. All her life she had been a good girl. She always did what the nuns told her to do. She never broke the rules, worked hard, was kind to all even when she was bullied. She did her damn best, to tell the truth, she saved herself waiting for “the one”, she had been faithful, loyal. She was humble, modest. And for what? To be called boring and humiliated by being compared with another woman. She had felt so small when Kevin had said that, what’s her name was sexier and better in bed. She had rebuffed that she had been a virgin when they had met. Not to mention that he never wanted to try anything new, telling her that she shouldn’t try to be someone she wasn’t, whatever THAT meant. Kevin then had the gall of saying it was all her fault he slept with the other woman. She should have done more, tried better. Learned more. When she asked him acidly, if the point of exploring one's sexuality was to do it as a couple, the bastard had accused her of making a scene. She had quit her job and left the apartment they shared that very day. He had called her accusing her of being childish and overreacting, she threw her phone away, just in case he could track the serial number. Sadie wondered how long it would take the firm and his new flame to find out that eighty percent of his so-called excellent work was done by her, at home. In some misguided and deluded idea of good to him.

The world had changed a year after that. She was still hurt. But not in the way most thought. She was hurt and angry at herself. For not saying what she wanted. For not realizing what a jackass Kevin was. But above all, she wished she could have punched him. And now here he was… Telling her how sorry he was, what a mistake he had made, and how much he missed her and how much he wanted her back. Everything went red after that, she didn’t know what she said but she did remember throwing something at him. She nearly hit the client sitting in the booth behind them. She was going to get fired for that. She just knew it. She didn’t care. It was a lousy job anyway. She did on the other hand get to do something she had dreamed of ever since they had broken up, no ever since she had caught him cheating and left him. It wasn’t a punch, no. But it had been a slap. And a very big mighty slap.

Later that evening, Frank had been gracious enough to “let” her finish her shift, with no job and slim prospects, she was still smiling. Her smile dropped when she saw Captain America himself waiting outside for her with an apologetic face. Now that she thought back on it. Kevin had walked in with him. Before she could say anything the tall Adonis took a step forward and smiled minutely.

“I’m sorry about today. I didn’t know the whole story. If I had I would have stopped him from coming here.” Steve Grant Rogers was talking to her. Apologizing to her. Sadie smiled stunned but sadly.

“It’s alright. Kevin has always had this way about him. It takes a bit for you to see past his bulshit.” Steve chuckled and shook his head. We’ll have to do something about this language though. “I’m not surprised you fell for it. You're a good man, Captain.”

Hearing that did things to him. She was perfect in every way. Sweet, pure, good-natured. She deserved better than Kevin. She deserved someone who would keep her safe from the ugliness that this word had become. She deserved to be cherished. Taken care of. And HE wanted to be the one to do all those things for her. But he also realized that he would have to pace himself.

“Well, to make it up to you how about I offer you a job? I was going to give it to Kevin, but I think there's a story he’s not telling us about him being fired from the firm you were both working at, so I feel my safest bet is offering it to you.” Steve said shifting his weight from foot to foot. Sadie smiled at that.

“Yea, someone at the firm must have found out that he was a slacker. I did most of his work for him remotely from home at night. And with no hot, exciting girlfriend in HR to cover up for him…” was all she had to say. “What kind of job are you talking about?”

“Simple accounting. Nothing out of the ordinary. Howard Stark stopped the government from declaring me dead so the hundred dollars I invested in his company have grown in stock value ever since. He also apparently bought a bunch of Real Estate and a lot of other stuff, so now I don't know what I have or what I owe to the IRS. I need someone to look at my books… that have been untouched since nineteen ninety-one.” Steve explained, a bit overwhelmed. Sadie wished she could have told him that she needed to think about it. But she didn’t. Without any job prospects, she wasn’t in a place to decline Steve's offer. The fact that she would be working for America's Golden Boy and getting one over Kevin was just a bonus. Thanking him he gave her the compound address and they parted ways.

He followed her from a safe distance. He wanted to make sure she got home alright. At least that's what he told himself as he melted into the darkness.

#greysteve #fan fiction #greysteve/femoc #fem!OC #mcu fanfiction

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bush-viper-cutie · 4 years

Text

“Back to Normal” || YEAR 3 – Ch.18 (HP au)

Chapter List

<-- Last Chapter Next Chapter -->

Day posted: 9/9/2020

Word count: 3, 395

Relationship: EVENTUAL severus X oc (slow burn)

Rating: E for everyone

Warnings: none

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A/N: This is my first fan fic I’m writing mainly as a way to practice. This is a retelling of the hp books with an inserted character. Although most every character will be written about, this is mostly for the pro snape fandom. Please do not fear, although this is a severus x oc story, it is an incredibly slow burn as I do not intend for them to get together at all until after the final book events. Chapters will be posted twice a week.

This derivative work follows the events of the Harry Potter books by Jk Rowling and is intended as a fun way to practice my writing. Thank you for reading :D

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Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall set Harry down on a bed and went to talk to Madam Pomphrey. He still hadn’t stirred the whole way up the lawn or at any point through the castle. Heather, Hermione, and Ron had followed close behind, holding back tears.

They took their seats next to Harry’s bed and sat there as Madam Pomphrey mumbled angrily under her breath as she looked him over.

“ – Should have canceled that match – Like I had said – but no – ” She pushed the sheets up to Harry’s shoulders. “I’ll be back with my wand. He’s fine,” she assured them.

Ron gave Heather an arm squeeze and she nodded, taking in what she said. Harry was fine. He’s been through worse… it was only a fifty-foot drop or so.

Professor McGonagall had left with Professor Dumbledore and come back with a bundle under a grey wool blanket. She gave it to Heather and sighed heavily before walking away.

Ron checked what it was and squeaked. “It was a good broom… The best.”

“They must have canceled the match after this, wouldn’t they? How many players can you have before the game has to be canceled?” Hermione looked out the window at the storm clouds nervously.

Her question wasn’t answered until twenty minutes later when the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, all muddy and sore, came rushing into the hospital wing looking for Harry. Fred and George sat on the bed on the other side of him, joined by the three chasers, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina.

“How is he?” Fred looked at Ron for answers, seeing as Hermione was still staring out the window, avoiding looking at Harry, and Heather couldn’t do anything but stare at Harry.

Ron nodded, “He’s fine. Just knocked cold. Madam Pomphrey already went over him and gave him some kind of goo,” he made a face. “Didn’t look edible.”

“He was real lucky the ground was so soft. All that mud broke his fall,” Fred nudged George.

George sighed, “Was really worried. We thought he was dead.”

“Wood even called for a reschedule – too bad we didn’t get one,” Alicia shook her head. “Poor Harry.”

Heather had been staring at Harry’s face when she saw his eyes squeeze. She stood and got on the bed next to him, “Harry?”

His eyes fluttered open. “Ow.” He rubbed his head and winced, “Everything hurts.”

“Well you did fall from the sky, Harry,” Hermione sniffled.

“How’re you feeling, Harry?” Fred asked, leaning in closer. “You gave George quite a fright.”

George hit his arm, “I wasn’t the one shaking on my broom.”

“What happened?” Harry sat up suddenly, looking at all their faces.

“You fell. From VERY high, so lay back down.” Heather pushed him back.

“We thought… We thought you’d died,” Katie was shaking under Angelina’s arm.

Hermione sniffed again.

“Yeah, I remember that. I mean the match! What happened? Did we win?” He stared at Fred and George but they looked away, rubbing their necks. “We LOST?”

“Right after you fell, Diggory got the Snitch. He hadn’t realized what was happening below and caught it while you fell – ”

“He wanted a rematch, though. Him and Wood argued with Madam Hooch the rest of the time we were out there, but according to the rules, it’s fair – ”

“Even Wood agreed in the end.”

Harry looked around. “Where is Wood?”

“Still in the showers,” Angelina said.

Fred leaned in again, “We think he’s trying to drown himself in there.”

Fred and George laughed but Harry pressed his hands to his face and shook his head. Heather looked at them and frowned.

“It’s alright, Harry!” Fred shook his shoulder.

“You’ve never missed the Snitch before,” George reminded him.

“There had to be at least one time you did.”

Heather pulled Harry’s hands away, “You can make it up against Ravenclaw. Right?”

“Yeah!” Fred shook his shoulder again. “We lost by a hundred points so Hufflepuff just needs to lose to Ravenclaw and we have to beat both Ravenclaw and Slytherin!”

“’Cept Hufflepuff never lose to Ravenclaw…”

“Well if Hufflepuff loses to Slytherin – ”

“Sure, that’ll happen for sure but Slytherin won’t be losing to Ravenclaw so our match – ”

“You could throw it for Harry, couldn’t you. Humble Malfoy a bit –”

“Ron!” Heather glared at him.

“You don’t need to throw the match,” George reassured them. “A hundred point margin could go either way, really.”

“Doesn’t really matter yet, if you think about it,” Fred agreed.

The team left and it was just Heather, Hermione, and Ron left by Harry’s side as he stared vacantly at the ceiling above.

“Did you see Dumbledore on his way out?” Hermione was asking them. “He seemed deadly angry.”

Ron nodded. “Never seen him so mad.” He looked back at Harry, “Furious the dementors had come onto the grounds.”

They all stared at Harry, who still hadn’t moved since finding out Gryffindor had lost.

He turned to them, as if realizing they were still there. He looked around. “Did… someone get my Nimbus?”

They looked at the pile of snapped wood on the far chair.

“Well…” Heather looked at Ron.

“I-it… Broke. Snapped in half, actually.”

“What?” Harry sat up again and was pushed back down by Hermione.

“When you fell the winds carried it and… dropped it off on the Whomping Willow.” Hermione kept her hand on Harry’s shoulder, preventing him from bolting up again.

“In half? How will I play!”

“Alright, visiting time’s over.”

They were glad for Madam Pomphrey’s interruption. Heather wasn’t sure how to answer his question just yet. It seemed like they had the money for another Nimbus Two-Thousand, but how they’d get to Diagon Alley in London and purchase it before his next match was the real problem, especially if they couldn’t even go to the village just below the castle gates.

They left him to rest and while Ron and Hermione went to Hogsmeade that weekend for more candy, Heather stayed by Harry’s side, studying and playing wizard chess with him. Neither of them where any good so she spent most of the time studying and Harry sleeping.

Lots of people came by on Saturday. Hagrid brought huge yellow flowers the size of Heather’s whole head, Ginny brought a get-well card she made herself – handing it over with a furious blush, and all of the team came by again with Wood.

“Don’t blame you, Harry. It was those dementors that ruined the game,” he had said. They could tell he was telling the truth, despite his sullen face and angry eyes.

On Sunday, Harry was finally feeling better enough to sit up and talk. They were on their third attempt of wizard chess when he paused and looked at her, opening his mouth to say something and then didn’t.

“What is it Harry?”

He crossed his arms and looked down at his feet under the white sheets. “I-I saw the… grim. Again. Right before I fell.”

Heather bit her lip. She really shouldn’t be encouraging this but… “I saw it too! In the sky! Right before you fell. I couldn’t believe the clouds had really formed – ”

“It wasn’t just the clouds, Heather! The grim was actually there. In the stadium, a few seats above you.”

She stared at him. “Harry… The grim is an omen, a symbol… Not an actual living thing.”

He frowned. “But the dog, just before I almost got run over by the Knight Bus! It was there again!”

“Harry. The same thing being used as an omen makes it seem like the grim is a creature. The book says the death omen shows up in many places – it never mentions any creature actually BEING the grim.”

He raised his brow, “You’ve been doing research?”

She blushed. Just because it was ridiculous to think that Professor Trelawney was right about the grim didn’t mean she shouldn’t be studying it on her own just to be sure. Especially if it had to do with Harry and the fact that every year something horrible happens.

“I’ve been reading our textbook. So what? You should try it some time.”

Monday morning felt like the world was back to normal again. Harry was back and even Draco had ditched his sling once again. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for Draco doing constant imitations and impersonations of dementors and Harry when he fell off his broom. Of course, it had been raining so hard that he wouldn’t have been able to see anything but a falling red streak, but everyone around him still laughed anyways.

Every chance Draco had to show off his horrible acting skills, he took. During potions he had decided that the best use of his time after he’d turned in his potion was to close his robes up all the way with the hood up and go around their table booing like a ghost.

“Shove off,” Ron pushed Draco back.

Draco laughed and went back to his seat.

“Why isn’t he doing anything?” Hermione was glaring at Professor Snape for letting Draco run around like that. “If that were me – ”

“Gryffindors would be at negative five-hundred points,” Harry rolled his eyes. “He’s a Slytherin though, so – ”

Heather scoffed. “Excuse me. But if that were ME I’d be serving detention for life. And I’m a Slytherin.”

“Well I’M not looking at any progress here and if I were you, I’d stop this bickering and get back to work.” Professor Snape narrowed his eyes at them. He looked down at Heather’s potion and tisked, “Done, I presume?”

Heather nodded and ladled her potion into her jar. “It looks like Malfoy’s… Doesn’t it?”

Professor Snape chuckled and snatched the jar from her hand, stalking away. She sighed and took out her potions guide and textbook, wondering where she was going wrong.

“OOOO!” Draco was back with his arms outstretched at Harry, bobbing up and down under his black robes.

“We said quit it!” Ron picked up the crocodile heart he’d accidently left out of his potion and threw it at Draco.

It smacked him right in the face and he stumbled back, holding his cheek. “Ow! Weasley!” he growled.

“Enough! Draco, back to your seat. Weasley,” Professor Snape glared at him, “Fifty points from Gryffindor. There will be no throwing – any – potions ingredients in my classroom. Get a mop and wipe that blood before someone slips on it.”

Ron nodded and ran out of the room for a mop.

“Only Gryffindor gets points taken away?” Hermione hadn’t even bothered to raise her hand.

Professor Snape made a growling sort of noise and looked away, sitting back at his desk with his arms crossed.

The bells rang and they packed up, walking out of the class in a hurry and stopped at a suit of armor just before the Defense classroom. They waited, looking down the corridor at everyone who walked by or walked into the classroom.

“No sign of Snape.”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t in there. Hermione, you check.”

Hermione walked over to the door and opened it a crack, peering inside. She gave them a thumbs up and walked in.

Professor Lupin was back behind his desk, looking more worn out than when they had first met him on the train. His clothes hung off him more loosely and he had deep grey circles under his eyes. Heather wondered how bad his cold had gotten since they talked. He hadn’t been in the hospital wing so he must have been in bed all weekend.

She opened her textbook as he asked the class how Friday’s lesson was and saw her essay on werewolves.

The class erupted and started calling out everything that had gone wrong that lesson.

“He gave us homework even though he was only filling in!”

“Two parchments? On werewolves? We don’t know anything about them!”

“ – TWO rolls – ”

Professor Lupin frowned. “Did you tell him we were on hinkypunks?”

“Yes, but he insisted!”

“ – And he said we were really behind – ”

“Well you can forget about the essays. I’ll speak to Professor Snape about all this. On to our lesson. Hinkypunks.” He pulled the cover off the tank on his desk to reveal a one-legged creature holding out what looked like a lantern.

There was smoke and mist floating all around the creature and only the lantern was crisply visible. Professor Lupin shut the windows and in the darkness they could make out the shape of it better, seeing that the hand holding the lantern had long claws and it’s pale eyes were glaring at everyone, watching them all carefully behind the glass as the yellow lantern light reflected dimly off its eyes.

“Tricky creatures, Hinkypunks,” Professor Lupin started the lecture and they began taking notes. “They lure people into bogs with the lantern. They follow the light into its den and then – ”

The Hinkypunk thumped against the glass and scratched with his caws. He tried biting his way free and ended up making a disgusting squelching noise, similar to that of a dead bloated mouse being stepped on.

The bells rang and Professor Lupin covered the Hinkypunk up again. They packed up and before Harry was out the door, Professor Lupin called him back. Heather, Hermione, and Ron left with everyone else, who seemed infinitely more happy about this lesson than the one from Friday with Professor Snape.

“Wait for me,” Ron headed to the boy’s bathrooms down a passageway.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t turn in the essay. I finished it Friday night.”

“I did too.” Heather added quickly.

“Well maybe Professor Snape will take it anyways,” Hermione turned to leave and Heather pulled her back.

“Are you mad? He’ll take more points off your house if you go talk to him now. I wouldn’t even try it after today’s lesson, and he doesn’t hate me as much as he hates you guys.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “He asked us to do this work. He HAS to give me points for it somehow.” She turned and left down the stairs.

Heather shook her head. Was Hermione hoping he’d include it in the grades for potions? She sighed and headed back to the Defense classroom, poking her head inside.

“Why were they at the match?”

Professor Lupin closed his briefcase, “They’re just hungry. And you were all a giant bowl of food for them to feast on.”

Heather let the door shut behind her. “The dementors?”

Harry nodded.

“Don’t worry, Professor Dumbledore won’t let them on the grounds again. They only came on because they’re supply of human prey has been taken away from them and with all the excitement on the Quidditch field – well – it was sort of like a feast, just waiting for them.” Professor Lupin leaned on his desk. “Professor Dumbledore wasn’t joking when he said they were dangerous.”

“How did Sirius Black escape them then?” Heather looked at Professor Lupin and noticed he seemed extra distant.

After a moment he responded. “Well, to begin with, the fortress is on a tiny island out in the middle of the ocean. But that’s not what keeps the prisoners stuck there. No. The walls and ocean isn’t even what I’d consider the prison to be. Azkaban is only the place that holds all those criminals locked inside their heads, unable to escape the misery inside their minds. Weeks, months, years… without a single happy thought… They’re all mad there. And defenseless. See, if you’re left too long at a dementor’s whim, they drain your magical powers…”

He hadn’t answered her question but the picture he had painted them in their heads was enough to stop her from asking again. It was all over wizard news about how dangerous Sirius Black is… and now she knew why. No wonder everyone at school always talked about how scary it was that he had escaped. And now he was after Harry, angry that Harry had defeated his master… She shuddered.

“But you made the dementor on the train go away… and Ron said Professor Dumbledore made them leave the field – ”

“There are defense spells to use against them… but the more there are… It was incredible hearing about how many Professor Dumbledore had been able to expel with only one use of it.” He stroked his chin, “Really wish I could have been there to see that.”

“Teach me?”

“Teach us,” Heather corrected. “Will it be part of this year’s lessons?”

“No – I’m no expert in fighting them, really. One on a train is the most – ” he looked at them and sighed. “If you really wanted to learn to fight dementors you should actually ask – ”

“I don’t need to learn to fight a whole bunch… just maybe one or two. If they show up on the quidditch field again… and come near me…”

“Who should we ask instead?” Heather was desperate to know who Professor Lupin thought was an expert in dealing with dementors.

“I don’t want anyone else to know about… what we talked about. Could you just show us? Just enough to do what you did? So that I could do that?” Harry cut Professor Lupin off before he could even speak.

Professor Lupin chuckled at the look of determination on Harry’s face. “If… you insist… I’ll help you two learn it – But these lessons will have to start next term, after the holidays. I’m hoping Professor Snape can tweak the potion just enough to have a stronger effect… so that I can recover from this illness quicker. Wizard colds can be real tricky sometimes,” he laughed.

Heather gave Harry a look and he groaned, keeping his mouth shut. “Alright then. After Christmas?”

Professor Lupin smiled, “Alright.”

They left the classroom to find Ron leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“What part of ‘Wait for me’ did no one understand? Where’s Hermione?”

Heather sighed, “Probably off getting more points removed from – ”

“I’m right here.”

They all jumped and turned behind them to see Hermione walking out of the ancient runes classrooms down the corridor.

“I just needed to ask my teacher a question.”

“Did you talk to Professor Snape?”

“Snape? We’re already down a hundred-fifty, please tell me – ”

“He took my essay and gave Gryffindor back a single point. Happy?” She crossed her arms. “ONE point? For two rolls?”

Heather couldn’t help but laugh. If Hermione got a point, then she was sure she could get Slytherin at least double. They headed down to the library to study, and after lunch she went down to Professor Snape’s office.

She knocked on the door three times and waited. The door swung open and she stepped in, her essay in hand. He was sitting at his desk grading papers when he looked up and rolled his eyes.

“Let me guess… The werewolf essay.” He stared at her as she approached and stuck out his hand for it, snatching it from her hand. He looked through it quickly and handed it back. “A point to Slytherin.”

“Just one?” She looked over her essay and frowned. “Was it worse than Hermione’s?”

“They were both awful, but at least yours was more concise. Yes. A point. What more do you want for doing your homework? Applause?”

She blushed and looked away, frowning. “Do I leave it here or…”

Professor Snape leaned back and curled a finger to his lips, tapping them as he thought. “Keep it,” he said slowly. “You never know when… it’ll come in handy.”

“But all this is in the textbook anyways.”

He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, looking annoyed. “But I doubt Professor Lupin will manage to cover that this year.”

Heather nodded and walked out of his office, closing the door behind her. “We’re not THAT behind.” If he thought he could a better Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher why wasn’t he one already. She headed back to the common room and stuffed the two rolls in her trunk.

She looked around and closed the door, making sure Pansy and her other dormmates were not in sight. She very rarely got a chance to open up the books she had taken from the library. She picked up the transfiguration one and started a new section in her art journal. “‘Chapter one: Thirty supervise-required spells’.”

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#harry potter #heather potter #severus snape x oc #severus x oc #snape x oc #pro snape #severus snape x reader #severus x reader #snape x reader #snape fanfic #snape fanfiction #snape fan fiction #fanfic #fanfiction #fan fiction

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mystic-kitten-writer · 5 years

Text

Limerence [M] ︳31

Pairing: Zuko x OC

AU: Adult-Verse

Genre: Romance, mainly fluff with smut, and if you squint hard enough - you’ll find some angst.

Rating: SFW

Words: 9200+

Notes: Greetings! I’m going to be posting a bonus chapter soon! It’s the bonus chapter I promised a bit ago; it’s didn’t fit well with the plot until now. That saying, I have another bonus chapter in the works. I reached 1k votes on Wattpad, which is crazy, and I wanted to create a bonus chapter.

Other than that, thank you for reading and leaving lovely comments. I appreciate the heart-warming support from you all. Take care~!

Masterlist ︳30 [M] ︳ Bonus pt. 2 [M]

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

Limerence: (English/n.) the state of being infatuated with another person. The moment their eyes locked they knew - the flames within him twisted while the water within her turned. It was a connection, a connection that would lead to love, adventure, and drama.

“He was her warmth / she was his peace”

(English/quo.) By Even Sanders; ‘The Better Man Project.’

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

Anger? No…maybe frustration?

A small huff flew through my lips, eyes scanning Zuko. He sat on the other side of Appa’s saddle with Aang and Sokka, discussing something. And while I knew the responsible thing would be to listen to what Toph and Suki had to say – I couldn’t.

Curiosity had me in its grip, studying Zuko with such care, I wish I paid this much attention to my everyday life.

It was just that…Zuko was such a puzzle, and it was maddening.

I was observant. Naturally learning the way people spoke, move – and in a matter of seconds, I could figure someone out. But with Zuko – I couldn’t. He was secretive, and that just made my sense of inquisitiveness grow. What’s going through Zuko’s head? What was he feeling?

Just briefly skimming Sokka, I could tell he was focused on whatever they were conversing. The way he crossed his arms, leaning forward with his head titled down – those were all tale-tell signs that he was attentive to the conversation. I even had Aang figured out! When his hands rested on his lap, it meant he was calm, but since his fingers were tightly linked, it meant he was concerned. It was little gestures like those that made me understand everyone’s mood – except Zuko.

His lips were pressed tight, which in theory would mean he was upset, but the way he sat, leaning back with his legs propped…Lounging meant he was at ease but…why are his arms crossed?

“Is Princess still staring at Zuko?”

“You guessed it – come on! You live with the guy, what more do you want?” Suki groused, her hand shoving me jokily. My gaze broke from Zuko, a faint blush covering my cheeks as I bashfully smiled.

“S-sorry. I must have zoned out.” Suki rolled her eyes, giving me a look that proved she knew I was lying, before speaking, “Mhmm…well, what were we talking about again?”

“How Princess figured out Mai was the snitch.”

My mouth opened and closed, uneasy, since, at the mere mention of Mai, the boys rapidly shifted their focus on me. “Toph has a point, we never did ask...” Sokka budded. My arms cradled my body, trying desperately to blend in with Appa’s saddle…or his fur… How about I throw myself over? How far of a drop could it possibly be?

“It’s a long story…” I started.

Toph snorted, “We got time. Spill.”

“We can talk about it when we get to the kingdom, we have much to discuss once we arrive – I prefer we don’t waste our breath.” Zuko asserted, an attempt to bring the whole topic to an end. I let out a breath, our eyes aligning momentarily. He gave me a knowing nod, obliviously sensing my uneasiness and a wave of appreciation engulfed me. He’s too good for me. With that statement, Zuko shifted his gaze towards the horizon.

The mountains and overall landscape looked insignificant being this high, and in some ways – it was humbling. Gosh. I missed riding Appa through the snowy peaks time ago…it was such a stress reliever.

The lack of clouds provided us with a magnificent view of the Fire Nation. The endless mounds of vegetation, small towns scattered about – some greater than others. To think that Zuko ruled over all of this…my heart started pounding just thinking about it. I could barely take care of myself, let alone a damn Nation.

“Fine, but we do have to talk about what we’re going to do with Mai when we land. Are you going to arrest her? Talk to her?” Toph insisted, not letting the topic die off. Suki huffed, pulling on the strings that lined the leather on her gloves, “Toph has a point. She may be a friend, but she’s a threat…”

“Mai is still a friend. We speak as if arresting our friend comes without pains.” Aang protested - the first I’ve heard him speak in a while. His voice was taut, fingers digging into his mustard robes, wrinkling the material. Sokka let a hand drop over Aang’s shoulder, lips pressed.

“But if Mai’s the snitch than she’s as guilty as Azula. Mai could be charged with attempted murder, treason, and the list goes on, Aang.” Sokka insisted and hearing that made my stomach uneasy. Attempted murder-

The headache that I woke up with this morning seemed to be coming back, my hand trailing up my face as I grasped my head. It was pounding, and it didn’t seem to go away completely. Just a constant, dull, stabbing pain – please don’t tell me I’m getting sick…probably just stress.

“We can decide once we land. We don’t know if Mai is aware that we know she’s the snitch. And if that is the case, it would be to our benefit to let her wander free, track her movements. Spying on the spy.” Zuko muttered and hearing his voice once again had my closed eyes fluttering open. The way his voice trailed off towards the end, I could start piecing together the emotions and thoughts running through his head.

“I agree with Zuko; it’s the safest plan. Babe, have you told Ty Lee about what’s going on with Mai?” Sokka asked, and Suki let out another tired sigh. She shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head meekly before meeting his gaze, “No. I need to tell her in person; I know it’ll hurt her, hearing all of this. I can’t let anything distract her, she’s my second, and I need her to be at her sharpest until I come back.”

“So we let Mai be for the time being, and how about Azula? What do we do about her.” Toph grumbled, and this time, no one spoke.

Everyone’s eyes shifted, looking at their hands or feet, anywhere, besides Zuko.

That’s it, how did I not realize before? Something so painfully obvious – why Aang and Sokka didn’t attack Azula that night. Realistically, Aang could’ve handled Azula with ease, but all he did was reflect her attacks, getting himself burnt in the process…it was something that bothered me, but ignored. But now that she mentioned it…

Toph let out a grunt, her feet tapping impatiently against Appa’s saddle, and I held my breath. “Well? What’s your grand plan involving Azula – almighty Fire Lord.” Toph pestered with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. I could see the way Zuko tightened his jaw, his hands clenching.

“We can think about it later Toph…” I babbled without much thought, anything to get Zuko out of the corner she put him in.

Sadness – that was what was running through his mind. It was difficult for me to pinpoint that look because it wasn’t a look Zuko wore often. He was usually exasperated, livid, even irritated, but sorrow; that was new.

To my dismay, Toph didn’t seem all too pleased with my answer, shaking her head. “I get that she may be your future sister-in-law, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a damn criminal.” I swallowed hard because Toph was right.

Aang and I were looking at Azula and Mai with our hearts – not viewing the situation for what it was. Toph wasn't unreasonable – she was logical.

“What do you propose, Toph?” Zuko shot back, his tone thick.

Toph’s lips curved downwards, tilting her head as if to hear better. The moment I saw her thin lips beginning to move, I could feel my heart thrashing, the relentless hammering in my head emphasizing my anxiety. Toph and Zuko were similar in many ways – and their assertiveness was undeniably one of their commonalities.

It was Aang’s airy voice that cut the growing tension for a moment, and I could allow myself to breathe. “We could capture her, get her the help she needs…help her as much as we can.” A chance to get his sister back. I knew Zuko loved Kiyi with all his heart; he viewed her as a daughter at this point, but I could still feel Zuko’s hesitation revolving Azula.

As much as he was hated Azula, wanted her out of the picture – I saw the faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. He cared, whether or not he wanted to admit it. Zuko wasn’t heartless, and while he had everyone else fooled – I wasn’t.

Everyone faced Zuko, waiting for his approval, but he didn’t utter a word. His long digits tapped along his thighs, golden eyes staring longingly into the distance. Silence and Zuko were two words that never went together in one sentence. Toph didn’t wait any longer to hear a response, speaking with clipped speech.

“Mark my words Zuko; I’ll try to capture her, for you, but we both know what should be done. And if given a chance, I’ll do it without hesitation.”

Zuko let out a bitter laugh, before glancing back at Toph, “As Fire Lord, you have my permission – kill her. It’s for the best, for not only my Nation but for the other Nations as well. But as her brother…” He flicked his fingers before letting his hands comb through his hair, “As her brother…I want the best. I want her safe. I want her home.”

No one spoke a word.

Everyone’s eyes shifted back down to the brown saddle we sat upon, letting the words Zuko muttered become one with the brisk air. He leaned back; arms crossed as he stared at the skyline once again. My body moved without thinking – the overwhelming urge to comfort Zuko eating me from the inside out. How I hated seeing him like this – I need to see that perfect smile of his.

Crawling on my hands and knees, it didn’t take long for me to be by Zuko’s side, feeling everyone’s eyes over me.

“Zuko…” I muttered under my breath, jerking Zuko from his thoughts. I was a hair away from him, but he was consumed with his feelings, he didn’t even notice. He was visibly on edge, looking at me with muddled thoughts, “What’s wrong, love?”

I let my body drop, head falling over his lap as I curved into a tiny ball. My hands reached for his, forcing them to fall over my head, “What are-”

“My head, it hurts…can you hold me?”

It was like night and day.

Zuko’s body relaxed, his hands combing through my hair. His shaky hands soon steadied, his warm breath even and no longer deep exhales of frustration. My hands hugged his legs, letting my head snuggle into his waist. The throbbing that resided along my forehead slowly began to ease with his warm touches, a small moan of relief escapes me.

Amidst my need to squeeze myself closer to Zuko, our eyes lined up for a short moment. A lovely look of freedom washed over his face. His lips moved ever so slowly, not a sound escaping him. With or without sound, I could still make out the heartwarming message he whispered to me, ‘Thank you.’

Just as fast as he mouthed the words, a faint smile on his face, he leaned back against the saddle, his fingers combing through my hair. A soft smile painted my face, unable to control the pleasing hum that radiated from my chest. My head hurt – yes, and while getting Zuko to caress my head was amazing, that wasn’t the reason I crawled over here.

Zuko needed comfort, whether or not he wanted to admit it.

Getting Zuko to snuggle me wasn’t for my own selfish needs; it was because I knew better than anyone that what Zuko needed at the moment was a good hug. I may not have Zuko as figured out as I wish, but I did know him. The man I loved was a damn sucker for cuddles, had a weird fascination with my hair, but more importantly – he needed constant reassurance and attention. Things I could, and would, gladly do in a heartbeat.

My eyes fluttered shut, melting under his touches, like a kitten. I knew it was only a matter of time we arrived at the Kingdom, I could vaguely recall seeing the crimson rooftops, but I couldn’t help but let my breathing even out.

Home.

We were almost there, and I found myself beaming at the thought of seeing Kiyi again. Oh, I can already hear her squeals of excitement! Ursa more than likely annoying Zuko with the idea of marriage, while Noren tried to save Zuko from his mother's dreams.

Then Iroh…what would he not say? Probably asking us if we managed to bring any teas for his tea shop…that’s right, he should be leaving back to the Earth Nation in another week or so. I’m going to miss Iroh-

“Hold tight; we’re landing.” Aang chirped, causing me to grumble under my breath. Just when my headache was starting to ease. Zuko’s grip shifted to my arms, staring down at me with concern, “You’re pale, love.”

“I don’t feel good…” I muttered, letting Zuko help me sit up. The moment my back straightened, I could feel a wave of nausea wash over me for a second, shuddering under my breath. I'm totally getting sick.

“Sokka, when did you say Katara is coming?” Suki asked, concern laced in her voice. A hand rested on my thigh; Suki’s to be exact, the leather giving it away. She was crouched down, and even with her makeup, I could see the look of worry on her face.

“Next week, maybe?”

“Aang, could we send Appa to fetch Katara? Yue doesn’t look too hot...”

“I’m fine, just a little bit under the weather.” I dismissed, trying hard to force a lively smile. Zuko kissed his teeth, the grip he had on my back tight, “As soon as we land, you’re going to bed. You’re sick. You probably caught something during that beach walk.” Zuko complained under his breath, and I coloured.

He had a point.

I may…or may not…had convinced Zuko to go on a walk along the beach far past midnight. I couldn’t help it! What a shame would it be to say we went to the beach and hadn’t gotten to see or spend time at the beach? It’s like going to a bakery and walking out with a piece of deli – it just doesn’t make sense.

The chilly air of that night and wet feet, because I was insistent on getting my toes into the water, most likely didn’t help in the matter. “I’ll be fine; I just need a nap-”

“You need a nurse, love. And so be it, I’ll tie you to the bed if it means you’re getting some rest and I SWEAR SOKKA. Wipe that stupid grin off your face!” Zuko snapped, glaring harshly at the only person who could tick off Zuko and somehow not feel his wrath.

Sokka laughed, waving his hands innocently, “I didn’t say or do anything! Trust me, buddy, the last thing I want is to imagine the nasty things you do to my little sister.”

“You need to tell us about those fresh hickies you failed to cover up on your neck, Princess. It seems like someone got some action.” Suki giggled, and in a flash, chaos.

Sokka choked on air, and Zuko shot a dirty look at Suki.

“Holy shit – you’re telling me those screams I heard that morning wasn’t a dream!” Sokka shrieked, and before anything else could be spoken, Aang pulled on Appa’s reins, causing us to nosedive to an open space in the Kingdom.

All we could hear was the vague screams of Sokka cursing in languages yet to be discovered, while Toph and Suki laughed hysterically to themselves. Aang shot us a cheeky grin with a thumbs up, my hands gripping onto Zuko’s shirt for dear life. As much as I loved riding Appa, the feeling of weightlessness as we landed or took off had me shutting my eyes tightly. Between Sokka’s screaming and this icky feeling – my headache was in no way going away anytime soon.

Only when I heard Appa groan loudly, signalling that we had landed did my eyes open. Appa’s feet stomped on the stone walkway, dust flying off into different directions. The guards that stood, waiting for us, had to hold their helmets in place.

“Shit Zuko – when we sort all of this fuckery out I’m giving you and Yue a damn talk!” Sokka snarled towards us, and Zuko grinned, “I don’t think we need a talk – I think I do a pretty good job at making Yue feel good, right, love?”

Sokka and my cheeks were a flaming red – both for different reasons.

Toph choked in a laugh, and before Sokka could explode, the sounds of the guards approaching, and people calling our names, had Zuko and I shifting personas.

Zuko cleared his throat, standing tall as he helped me stand. “Fire Lord Zuko, Imperial Consort Ying Yue, a beautiful vacation we assume?” a guard spoke, hand outstretched towards me. With his guidance, I found myself getting off Appa’s back, and I smiled. “It was splendid; I would love to go back sometime soon.”

The guard smiled at my words, genuinely happy to hear that I had a great time, despite all the chaos that happened. Zuko jumped off Appa, the rest following suit.

I turned on my heel, gazing about at the small crowd around us. We landed directly at the kingdom, meaning we avoided the unnecessary crowds we would have bumped into at the pier. But despite it all, I found my gaze wandering about, watching as everyone politely bowed, addressing me formally.

What a change…

I was used to the informality from the maids and workers at the house, and being back here reminded me of my position. The tall walls, the perfectly tended foliage around us – it felt weird being here, although another part of me was happy. The urge to jump into bed with Zuko, cuddling and falling asleep…

“Excuse me – move aside, you’re in our way.” A voice grumbled through the guards. My brows pinched together hearing the persons’ tone, low and unquestionably rude. I looked over my shoulder, Zuko was busy conversing with soldiers with the others, not noting or in earshot of what I was hearing.

The guards that surrounded us, one by one, moved aside, and the more I observed, the more I learned. Four figures weaved themselves in and out of the disorder around us, pushing the guards without care or respect. How rude of them. Who do they think they are? I found myself stepping forward, eager to see the faces of such inconsiderate people, only to notice the clothing they wore.

Each person wore striking red garments; robes that skimmed the floor and littered with decorations and embellishments. While they were not as extravagant or lavish as the clothing Zuko and I wore on a daily – they were, undeniably, people of high status.

My eyes studied the man leading the bunch, an older gentleman, followed by two others and a woman. The moment their eyes fell upon me, they stilled in their tracks, staring as if I was the living embodiment of garbage itself. As I opened my mouth, ready to introduce myself, I froze, spotting the sparkling emblems that decorated their arms.

“Greetings council – pleasure seeing you here,” I spoke, forcing a smile onto my face as I politely bowed.

“There are twelve councilmen – and out of those twelve, four voted against you. The rest approved, the majority won.” Zuko whispered into my ear. I flipped onto my side, facing him as I listened to the words he muttered into my ear.

Despite the darkness that flooded the room, I could still make out the faint frown on his face. His hand caressed my face, letting his fingers draw my features, “Why did they vote against me? Those four people…” I muttered under my breath.

Unexpectedly, Zuko pinched my nose, a playful smile dancing upon his lips, “Because they don’t realize how utterly adorable my baby is.” Zuko cooed. My heart swelled hearing those words, smushing my face against his chest with glowing cheeks.

It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together – these four people were unarguably the people who voted against me. The scowls that painted their faces, lips pressed tight, hands balled into fists. It was like four Mai’s – just older and, somehow, grumpier.

“Imperial Consort Ying Yue.” The man, in front, sneered while bowing.

My eyes narrowed. While they did bow, it was by no means a respectable one. I wasn’t fussy on customs, but when someone so obliviously detested me, it was adding salt to a wound. “What may I do for you?” I asked, forcing my voice to sound as sweet as possible. The headache that I tried to ignore wasn’t helping; I think they’re making my head worse.

“Nothing at all – we are here to see Fire Lord Zuko, we have a meeting scheduled.”

I frowned; meeting?

“Fire Lord Zuko never spoke of a meeting for today-” I started, but the man interrupted me, heckling under his breath, “It was unplanned, and hopefully after today, you will no longer have to worry about such matters.”

“What?” I gasped, noticing the hostility in his tone.

“What is going on?” A voice spoke from behind me, the deepness causing me to jump slightly. A heated hand rested on my lower back, feeling Zuko’s touch, as he studied me and the others. The way the four councilmembers bowed lowly at the mere presence of Zuko had me biting my lip. Assholes. It was clear they were trying to disrespect me, and Zuko seemed to notice because he didn’t return the formality.

“We have a meeting planned, Fire Lord Zuko.”

“I didn’t approve of any meeting today.”

“It was a meeting proposed by us, the council.”

“Everyone, or just the four of you?” Zuko interrogated.

I could feel his fingers digging into my back, exasperation lingering with every word Zuko spoke. At this point, the rest of the gang awkwardly stood, off to the side. Suki pointed at the elders, looking at me with a look that screamed ‘what’s going on?’ I shrugged swiftly, looking at Zuko and the elders once again.

The knots in my stomach grew in size; something wasn’t right. The way they addressed me and how they were speaking to Zuko…

“Yes, the four of us. It has been brought to our attention that not everyone is pleased with the idea of the future Fire Nation Queen being a Waterbender.” The man spoke bitterly, and at that moment, I could feel my stomach in my throat. They couldn’t be-

The grip on my back loosened, Zuko moving in front of me with a vengeance.

Zuko’s shoulders squared, his back straight as he looked down at the four individuals in front of us. “Who I decide to be my consort is not up for discussion. Ying Yue Jiang is my partner and the future Fire Nation Queen. Meeting over.” Zuko snarled, stepping dangerously close to the councilmembers.

The silence that flooded the area at which we stood was painful.

Not even the sound of Appa’s heavy breathing could be heard. Aang and Sokka were glaring, cautiously stepping forward as the guards around us watched the scene unfold. The guard's posture changed from a defensive position to an offensive, their hands deliberately hovering in front of them, ready to protect Zuko.

“We are politely asking for you to reconsider your decision-” The man stubbornly pushed, and the vein in Zuko’s neck bulged. This is bad, really bad.

“My stance is firm.”

“Well, if you follow us, we have brought suitable candidates. Individuals who come from royalty with strong bloodlines of Firebenders, and…” The man snorted, chinning to my direction with a glare, “far more pleasing to the eye.”

“You what?” I hissed.

Red.

All I saw was red.

My shoulder brushed passed Zuko, rage pumping in my veins, the headache festering in my mind growing in intensity the more I thought. “You brought other women, to our home?”

The man’s eyes widen, stepping back as I inched forward.

The looks in their eyes proved that they were not expecting my outburst – eyes feverishly flickering between Zuko and I. To think, that with a flick of my wrist I could- I swallowed hard, pushing the dangerous thought away before I finished it.

“Are you not aware of my position, who I am to you?”

While the other individuals wisely stepped back, the evident leader of the bunch didn’t. He puffed out his chest, matching his step towards mine, and in a second, I felt Zuko’s hands falling over my arms, “Yue – leave it to me-” He whispered, and I frowned.

“No. It seems like people are abusing my niceness.” I spoke stridently. The man scoffed, crossing his arms, “There isn’t a single thing about you worth abusing. You have no name, title; you’re nothing.”

“Is that so? How humiliating it’ll be for you to get dismissed by a person who is supposedly nothing.” I taunted, hands on my hips as I stepped forward.

“You don’t have the power of such-”

“But I do. You see, while I do enjoy spending time with my future husbands family, and getting to know the people who serve this kingdom; I also spend my time learning about Fire Nation politics.” I started.

While this imprudent man may be taller than me in stature, he was the one cowering away in an instance. My finger jammed those silky red robes that covered his chest, my nail digging into his clothes.

“Should Fire Lord Zuko fall ill, power temporarily falls onto my hands. And I can say with utmost certainty, the very first thing I’ll do is dispose of your mere existence.” I hissed, leaning carefully to his face, making sure he heard every word that I uttered.

The colour from the man’s face left, standing there with his mouth open, wide enough to catch flies. “Are you threatening me?” The man whispered, and I snickered, “It’s not a threat. Consider it an early notice of termination.”

I could feel Zuko’s hands fall over my shoulders gently, his fingers massaging. Goosebumps rose on my skin, no expecting such a romantic gesture, but he didn’t stop. His chest pushed against my back, his lips brushing my ear before letting out a dangerous purr.

“Now that we have arrived, love, I do feel unwell. Maybe it would be best for me to rest – would you be a sweetheart and take over, Imperial Consort Ying Yue?”

“My pleasure, Fire Lord Zuko.” I tutted, “And - you’re dismissed.”

If it weren’t for the guards, the man would’ve most definitely put up a fight. They held his upper arms, pulling him away from us, and in the process, stripping him of the glistening badge that was mockingly strapped to his arm. “I’ll get rid of you - you, bitch. And I swear, you’ll regret this.” He shouted, fingers pointing at my direction.

I could hear Zuko growl under his breath, ready to unleash his wrath, but I spun on my heel, letting my hands rest on his chest. “It’s not worth it Zuko…” I mumbled, and in a flash, Zuko’s focus shifted to me.

For the first time since the whole ordeal, I breathed.

My hands were shaking, body trembling with rage.

I can’t believe it. They actually sought out other women for Zuko. Am I that bad? Am I that-

“Love - you alright?” Zuko whispered, his hands brushing up my neck and cupping my face. Am I alright…? I nodded meekly, shooting Zuko a weak smile, “Y-yeah. I’m tired…I-I think I should go to bed.” I mumbled, biting my lower lip.

His gaze softened, a frown painting his face, “No, you aren’t. I’m sorry, if I knew they were going to do this I would’ve intervened-”

“D-don’t worry about it Zuko; it’s not your fault. My head is hurting, and you’re right. I need to rest…” I spoke with a muted voice, and Zuko’s grip on my face tightened, “I’ll go with you, make sure you’re tucked in-”

“Zuko.” I huffed, cutting him off. He tensed at my tone, and I didn’t blame him one bit, as I surprised myself. I sound weak - tired. “I’m fine Zuko, you and the gang have so many things to do. I’m not in shape to help out, no matter how much I want to. We know that…”

Zuko’s forehead pressed into mine, his eyes closing as he breathes out.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. But…” I trailed off, earning a curious look from Zuko.

I let out a small laugh under my breath, smiling light-heartedly, “Please kick those women out. It’s going to be impossible for me to sleep, knowing there is a herd of women trying to steal you from me.”

“Don’t be; you know you’re the only one.” Zuko cooed, and I shined against his soft touches. “I know…but for their safety; I advise you move them.” And at those words, Zuko grinned, “Is someone jealous, love?”

“I don’t get jealous; I’m territorial.” I teased, reciting the famous line Zuko muttered to me that one time. And the mischievous statement didn’t go unnoticed. He roughly pulled me forward, planting a chaste kiss on my nose as Zuko chuckled.

“Fuck, I love you.”

“I love you too Zuko, now go. I’ll be fine.” I hummed, pulling away from his sweet embrace. His touches weakened, letting me walk out of his grasp before I turned on my heel. The gang watched on the sidelines, unsure of what to say at this point, so I spoke first, “I’m going to rest, I’m ill, and it’ll probably be for the best…”

Sokka glowered, walking forward as he grasped my arms, “You sure Princess? That man said some pretty rude things…”

“I’ve dealt with worse, Sokka, the world is a cruel place after all.”

“And that’s why you always wear the sweetest smile – because you know,” Sokka muttered under his breath. A statement that would have gone unnoticed if I wasn’t paying as much attention as I was. “Feel better Princess. Love you.” Sokka sighed, pecking my forehead quick before stepping back.

I bid a quick goodnight to the others while walking towards a pair of guards – two individuals who I knew all too well.

“I didn’t think you two would be here.” I laughed, staring at the two young gentlemen. Even with their helmets on, I could see the way their pink lips curved upwards. They had beautiful smiles, their pearly white teeth beaming back at me. “It’s weird seeing you anywhere besides my bedroom doors,” I mentioned, earning light laughs from them.

“It’s nice to have you back, Imperial Consort, we missed you.” They spoke, and I blushed at their encouraging words. I love the staff.

We walked side by side, them pulling open the doors to the Kingdom. The hues of red, the rich scent of firewood and spice, all things I’ve learned to call home – despite the rough welcoming. People who spotted me waved gleefully, bowing before dashing off to whatever task they had.

While I smiled back, waving happily, my mind was elsewhere.

I would never question Zuko’s love for me – it was evident. The way he gazed at me or the sweet love confessions he whispered late at night…he loved me. But- My fingers twirled around each other the further we walked, bottom lip trembling.

I questioned my self worth at times...

All the insecurities I’ve long thought I had in check were suddenly hitting me full force. It was frustrating, continually feeling like I’m not good enough. But maybe I’m not? He said that many people had issues with me and if that’s true…

“Imperial Consort?”

My eyes widen, sniffling and wiping my cherry red nose. I’m crying.

“S-sorry, my head hurts, please, don’t worry about me.” I forced, smiling through my tears as convincingly as I could. But the two men looked at me, stopping their movements. I stilled, viewing them with confusion, “What’s wrong? I said I’m fine. I’m just tired-”

“He’s wrong…” The guards mumbled under their breath, and I puckered. “He said that people had an issue with you being Fire Lord Zuko’s consort, but that isn’t true…” I let out a sigh, waving away their words, “Don’t worry about that, really. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“But it bothers us.” My voice fell silent, surprised to hear them talking as much as they did. No matter how many times I tried to speak to them, they were often quick and short discussion, as if they were afraid to talk. But now…they were speaking freely.

“You know, you’re the first royal ever to greet us? Acknowledge our existence? You know maids and guards by their names, their family stories, and what they enjoy. You make us feel human.” I was speechless. Made them feel human? Was it strange for me to greet the staff? It was common etiquette. To think that people disregarded them.

“You may not score high with the royals, but you do with the people. And Fire Lord Zuko knows that is far more important than a silly hierarchy system.” A quiet pause fell between us, letting their words sink in.

The world was cruel to me.

I lost everything and had people walk all over me. Sokka was right; I smiled as brightly as I did because I knew first-hand how wicked people could be. And if a single smile could brighten someone’s day, I’ll smile all day.

“…you really think that?” I whispered, and they grinned.

“The day we call you Queen will be the greatest honour bestowed upon us.”

~ Fire Lord Zuko ~

Deep breaths Zuko.

One more woman. That’s it. You can do this.

Just politely tell her to leave and-

Her snake-like hands slithered its way up my arm, nails scratching my skin, the abrupt gesture catching me off guard. My skin rose, a chill running up my spine at the vile touch. It felt like poison, skin burning at the unwanted contact. There wasn’t a single ounce of decency in this woman’s behaviour, forcing my arm between her chest, trying desperately to show off her cleavage.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend some time with me?” The lady droned, batting her eyelashes obnoxiously while licking her lips. “I bet I can change your mind if you give me a few minutes. I know how to please a man.” She whirred, trying, but failing miserably, to sound seductive.

“Oh, do you? That’s great; you can start by getting the fuck out of my office.” I snarled, ripping my arm out of her grasp. Her face reddened at my response, stomping forward with her hands on her hips. “Do you know who I am?” She screeched, whipping her hair behind her ear for extra emphasis on her current discontentment.

“Yes, you’re a spoiled royal who is leaving!” I shouted, temper flaring as I gripped her shoulders, shoving her towards the door. Just a few more steps-

“How dare you! You should be honoured. I’m a gift!”

A manic laugh escaped my lips, rolling my eyes at her response, “Sorry, I don’t accept cheap gifts.” My hand hastily ripped the door open. She turned on her heel, mouth wide, ready to hurl another insult. But before she could, I slammed the office door shut; her dreadful voice muffled by the heavy door.

I let my body crash.

Fuck.

Me.

My eyes shut closed, running my hands exasperatingly through my tangled locks. Never, in my whole life, have I ever so desperately wanted to take a bath, and scrub my body to the bone. I could still feel her lingering touch on my skin, and I shivered - I could vomit.

I shoved myself off the door with much effort, the muscles that I so proudly worked on seemed useless at the moment. There was a reason why the gang left me, “Don’t worry Zuko, we’ll figure things out while you deal with the mess here. We got you.”

‘Got me’ my ass.

They didn’t want the pleasure of kicking out desperate women who would jump at the chance of being the future Fire Nation Queen. I knew I should’ve let the guards handle it, but I didn’t. I had to go and try to be a nobleman, be gentle and sensitive, and break the news to them that I am in no need of a ‘new consort.’ Since when do I care and acknowledge such feelings?

I swore, I already knew the answer.

Damnit Yue, before you, I didn’t care a single bit about emotions, and suddenly I’m a damn expert about them. Without thinking twice, I strolled to the corner of my study, seeing the various bottles that lined the glass shelf.

Whisky, where is it?

My fingertips grazed the array of selection; blended, bourbon, rye…

My eyes lit up, scotch.

I snatched the bottle, letting the dark liquid pour into a glass, the strong scent of alcohol flooding my nostrils. The bitter liquid touched my lips, and a groan escaped me – smooth. A faint burn carried down my throat, as I drank, and for the first time today, I felt like I could breathe.

The sun was setting, casting strange shadows along the walls. The room looked like a tropical haze under the setting sun, more than half the day gone in a flash – and the only productive thing that happened was me kicking out a bunch of women from my office. I stole another sip from my cup, walking towards my study.

Stacks of paperwork piled on the wooden desk, and I let out another grunt.

My body dropped onto my cushioned scarlet chair, finding an odd sense of comfort sitting behind this desk, with my pens and inks ready for use. And the moment the feeling of coziness hit me, I chuckled under my breath. Yue is right – I’m a workaholic.

I slid my glass off to the far corner, after stealing one last sip, letting my tired eyes scan the documents that flooded my desk — approval of new policies, revision of Fire Nation citizenship requirements, taxes, civil dispute cases.

“Paperwork. How I missed you.” I grumbled, before re-organizing the documents.

I knew I had to finish some of this work tonight, but the urge to leave to check up on Yue was eating me alive. She looked sick; I could tell just by her eyes. The way she struggled to stay focused, skin pale and cold to touch. But more importantly – she looked hurt.

The fucking rage I’m going to unleash on the council tomorrow. My fingers wrinkled the flimsy document in my hand, annoyance getting the best of me — complete idiots. The papers slipped through my hands, forming another mountain to be tackled tomorrow.

Tossing paper after paper into pointless piles, I couldn’t help but look for that one specific document. I asked Iroh to deliver it…did he forget? I huffed, not seeing the report at all. Maybe I do not see it; it has to be-

“Fire Lord Zuko?” A soft voice spoke, catching my attention.

My head snapped upwards, noticing a maid politely bowing, peeping out of the study door. “Yes?”

The maid glanced over her shoulder before facing me once again. “There are some people who wish to speak to you…” She whispered, and I frowned, “Who?”

“I think it’ll be better if you see them for yourself, Fire Lord Zuko.” I nodded tentatively, standing straight and fixing my appearance. The door shut briefly before creaking open once again. What in the world-

Six figures dashed inside, wearing red gowns, the badges they wore on their arms, reflecting whatever sun was left. My eyes narrowed, they have some fucking nerve-

“And what reason do you have to be in my office, council?” I hissed.

My arms crossed over my chest, staring at the six individuals who humbly bowed in front of me. Their hands laid over their upper body as they greeted, voices merciful. “We mean no disrespect with our presence-” An elderly woman spoke, standing at the front of the small crowd that had gathered in the study.

“You sure? Since it appears, the basic concept of respect is not found within the council anymore. Insulting the Imperial Consort, making us appear as fools.” I shouted. They slowly rose from their deep bows, grimaces painting their faces as they listened to the lecture that was about to rain down upon them.

“Fire Lord Zuko – we had no part in that-” She attempted to reason, and I scoffed. “No part? Then what brings you all here? I’m in no mood to deal with you all - not after that superb performance.”

“This.”

The elder reached into her robe, a brown file in her grasp.

“Where did you get this?” I snarled, eyes furiously scanning the paper. Her arm outstretched towards me, letting the document fall into my hands. Iroh was supposed to drop this off to me-

‘Lifting of traitor status – General Axe.’

“She’s just like him, you know…sympathetic…generous…” She spoke, voice trailing off. They knew – they knew who Yue was all this time. Mihir was right about people recognizing Yue; I should’ve taken his warning seriously.

“Fire Lord Zuko, you need six signatures from the council to lift a traitor status, which you’ll find inside that folder. Eight, signatures, in fact.”

I couldn’t form words, opening the file hastily.

She’s telling the truth.

Eight unique signatures, written with fresh black ink, dated.

It was done, Axe’s traitor status was lifted. A process that should have taken weeks to complete was done in a single day. Should Yue’s father be alive, if we find him, I could protect him. I could bring her father back, with no consequences.

“Why?” I whispered, shutting the document in a single motion, staring at the six individuals who stood in front of me. I had eight signatures, two people are missing- “I knew Axe, personally, just like the destruction your father unleashed.” She started, everyone sighing heavily, remembering the war.

Fire Lord Ozai – a monster. He viewed his soldiers as disposable and people of other Nations as a waste of space. She was one of the few people who worked under his rule and continued working into my term. Who would’ve thought she knew who Axe was? Clearly, Yue’s father was popular amongst the royals.

“I think you’re well aware of who, on this council, still reason with his philosophy.”

She rose a brow at me, and I nodded. “We dismissed one of them today,” I muttered, and she chuckled under her breath, the wrinkles around her eyes becoming prominent. “That feistiness you saw today – that was from her mother’s side.”

“If you knew who Ying Yue was, why didn’t you speak up earlier? You knew from the start that she was a Waterbender-”

“That is untrue, Fire Lord Zuko. Majority of us were unaware of Ying Yue’s history. If it weren’t for two council members and your Uncle, no one wouldn’t have known.” A man spoke up from behind, his hands interlocked together in front of him.

I’m a fucking idiot.

I swore under my breath, turning on my heel as I let my hands slam the desk. Of course, Uncle Iroh would’ve known who Ying Yue’s father was. He served in the military, knew the ins and outs like the back of his hands. Why haven’t I thought of that before? So focused on the mess that was unfolding before my eyes, I missed the obvious.

“Fire Lord Zuko, you may have dismissed one troubled soul, but there are others who are itching to find an excuse to get rid of Ying Yue, and potentially, you.” She spoke, her extremely calm tone carrying throughout the study.

“By signing these papers, you’re trying to prove where your alliances stand, I can assume?” I questioned.

They all looked at each other before nodding slowly. “We can’t go back to those dark ages. Those false followers of yours are trying every means to impeach you. The moment Iroh told us you were submitting a change of status regarding Axe, we knew it was time for us to intervene.” I nodded, tempted to steal another drink at this point. It was one less thing to worry about on my list, and I found my fingers tracing the document – Axe.

“If there is anything more we can do for you Fire Lord Zuko; we will do so without hesitation.”

“Thank you. It is much appreciated, and I respect your loyalty.” I hummed, turning to face the bunch. They all wore sheepish smiles, gazing at each other before stepping back. “We will show ourselves out. Have a pleasant evening, Fire Lord Zuko.” They muttered under their breath before bowing deeply.

One by one, they left, everyone heading into a different direction the moment they stepped outside. As if the impromptu meeting had not happened. The eldest lady of them all, the one who spoke the most gave me a warm smile. Her hand rested along the door frame, looking over her shoulder, brown eyes scanning the document on the desk.

“Are you going to retire early, Fire Lord Zuko? Deliver our Impending Queen the good news regarding her father?” I let a small smile sneak up on my face, “Not yet, I have a few things to settle first before I deliver the news.”

“If the rumours are true, Mihir will find him.”

My eyes widen at her comment, and she let out a sad sigh, “I couldn’t tell you if Axe is indeed alive. If I could, I would. But if there is one person who could find him, it’s Mihir.”

“Did you know her mother too?” I questioned, leaning against my study with crossed arms. She let her wrinkled hands brush some grey hairs behind her ear, strands that escaped her tight bun.

“I did. Kasa Jiang. You know, you would’ve thought she was the Firebender and Axe was the Waterbender.” The lady laughed. Her eyes shinnied brightly, remembering all the fond memories she must have shared with them. But, if she knew them as well as she did…

“Axe, he was an only child, I couldn’t find any relatives besides his parents. But what about Kasa? Did she have any sisters or brothers…” I inquired. The lady nodded, letting a finger rest on her chin as she pondered.

“She did, a younger brother. Poor thing, he was a child when Kasa left the Northern tribe,” My heart pounded hearing her words.

Kasa had a brother.

Yue had an Uncle.

“Kasa loved him dearly, but with the war, and her skills in healing, she had to leave him behind. Axe told me they built another room in their house so Kasa could bring him to the Earth Nation…poor thing most likely doesn’t even know what happened to his sister.”

Did Yue know this – that she had an Uncle, somewhere in the Northern tribe? I frowned, scratching my head. Fuck, if it were anyone else, I would’ve assumed no, but Yue was a family person. Knowing her, she would’ve asked her parents about their family – that was just how she was.

“Fire Lord Zuko…is everything alright?”

Her shaky voice caught me off guard, nodding my head like a madman. “Y-yes. My apologies. I think some rest would do me some good.” I muttered under my breath, and she nodded despite studying me with anxious eyes. “I agree…I’ll let myself out. Have a pleasant evening, Fire Lord Zuko, give my regards to our Impending Queen.”

The doors shut, and I found myself locking the documents into my desk, briskly blowing the candles. The room dimmed, as I rubbed my eyes tiredly, walking out with heavy steps. The sun was almost hidden at this point, the Moon making its presence known. The door shut behind me, bidding my goodnights to the guards as I walked down the hallways.

My mind was buzzing – and not because of the damn whisky. Although the urge to go back and finish the glass was tempting at the moment. Yue has an Uncle, and the thought made me tense. Could their relation explain Yue’s peculiar bending skills?

The way she healed was strange, and it’s evident there was some secret regarding that aspect of her bending, especially since Aang threaten me if I tried to dig any further. Even Yue’s affinity of ice. The way she manipulated water – it was something I have yet to witness.

Beautiful – but chilling.

Nothing about this seemed right. And the more I thought, the more I remembered. Azula’s words were on replay in my mind, haunting my thoughts; the mother’s side is far more interesting…Everything was too coincidental, and something I learned during my reign was that there were no such things as happy accidents.

What are the chances that Azula comes back alongside Yakone? A man who we’ve been aimlessly searching for with a vengeance? Azula wouldn’t work with someone else; unless they had power and something to gain. Yakone had power – but what was she gaining from this? And then there’s Mai-

I groaned to myself, realizing where I was heading to without much thought. I need to speak with Uncle Iroh, what else was that damn tea-loving senior hiding from me? But what about the gang? Another grunt escaped me. Fuck.

My feet stopped moving, ready to turn on my heel. They said they had everything under control – that Suki and Toph will figure out Mai while Aang and Sokka talk with the military officials - fuck it.

All sense of duty and responsibility left the fucking premise, my feet moving with one goal in mind. My eyes spotted the two guards out front, shooting me smiles and bowing, “Evening Fire Lord Zuko.”

“Evening, is Imperial Consort Ying Yue inside?”

“Indeed, she’s resting. The nurses looked after her; nothing more than a cold.” I nodded at their words before pushing the doors open. The addictive smell of flowers and vanilla danced in the air, a stupid smile appearing on my face.

Home sweet home.

There she was – blankets messily wrapped around Yue’s body, teddy bear tucked under her chin. A deep chuckle rumbled from my chest as I stepped closer, taking in the magnificent sight in front of me. “Why am I not surprised?” I mused, taking note of the fact that she stole, yet another, shirt of mine.

My fingers ran along her silky legs, pulling the blankets and covering her. “Even in your sleep, you tempt me,” I mumbled, letting the sheets fall over her waist. She fell asleep on my side of the bed, a first I believe, but I was by no means complaining.

I flicked my fingers, lighting the candles on our nightstands, illuminating the room. And as I lazily rolled up my sleeves, unbuttoning the front of my robe, I found myself staring.

She’s beautiful.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I grasped her hand tightly with mine, thumb rubbing her palm. The feeling of her skin against mine left me breathless at times. But it was more than just that – I could spend hours relishing, admiring, every detail about her down to the last beauty mark.

The feeling of her lips against mine, or the way her hair tangled between my fingers.

The sweet vanilla scent that always lingered on her skin, or the soft giggles that sounded like music.

I rose her hand against my lips, letting a content sigh escape. “I love you…” I mumbled against her skin, planting soft, delicate kisses. Her mere presence had me relaxing, ready to take a bath and sleep. I can worry about everything tomorrow. For now…I want her.

“Zuko?”

My eyes opened, noticing Yue pouting. Her golden eyes fluttered open as she let out a whine. Fuck she’s adorable.

“I-I thought you’ll still be working- what time is it?” She hummed with a sweet smile on her face. Her eyes were no longer hazy, her natural glow shining through. She looks ten times better than this morning. “I let the gang handle it. I wanted to be here, love.” I muttered, letting my lips press against her hand, basking in her touch.

She nodded, watching me intently as I relaxed, “Zuko…can I ask you a question?”

I opened an eye, nodding slowly. Her mouth opened and closed, her cheeks flushing, and I grinned. “What’s got you so flustered, love?” I teased. There was something about seeing Yue squirming, to shy to speak, but unable to contain herself. She bit her lip bashfully, staring up at me with those big innocent eyes of her. “You’re going to laugh.” And at that statement, I did.

“Come on; love. Tell me.” I cooed, planting another kiss on her finger. The pink on her cheeks turned to a red, and with a rushed voice, she blurted.

“Why did you kiss my hand when we first met?”

My eyes widen at her question – something I was most certainly not expecting. I let our hands fall onto the bed, staring at her face. “W-well? I know kissing the hand isn’t a Fire Nation custom, so…” She integrated.

“You want the truth?” I mumbled.

Yue nodded.

“I don’t know, but fuck - it felt right.”

“Did you ever regret it?” She asked, curiosity dripping from every word she spoke. I smirked, leaning forward, letting my breath tickle her lips. “The only thing I regret is kissing you on the hand when it should’ve been your lips.”

Yue purred under her breath, lacing her hands in my hair, “You could make up for it now, by kissing me.”

I chuckled darkly, letting a lone finger trail under her chin, “But here’s the problem, love.” I groaned, tilting her head, just enough for her lips to press against mine, “if I kiss you now, I won’t be able to stop.”

“Who said I wanted you to stop?”

Her lips pressed against mine, and I let myself drown.

If love is madness – fuck sanity.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters portrayed in this story besides Ying Yue Jiang, Lia, Kima, and any future creations.

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

#Zuko x oc #Zuko x reader #atla: zuko #zuko #Avatar The Last Airbender #Limerence #Masterlist #Smut #Series #Love story #Romance #Love #Story #Firebender #Fire Lord Zuko #Prince Zuko #i hope you like it #Like and/or reblog!

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alliewilkes · 4 years

Text

In My Direction

Pairing: Chris x MC (Allie) Zig x OC (Ash)

Book: The Freshman Book 3

Word count: Too many (3,500+)

Rating: R (eventual sex, swearing, and heavy topics)

Summary: This takes place during book 3 where my MC has a twin brother. I can't imagine my life without any siblings, so I've been writing this in my head for over a year now. Her twin brother Ash, falls in love with Zig, and the two men go through their own struggles. Together or not is the question.

Author's note: This is my first time getting back to writing in a year. I just graduated college myself, so I'm a little rusty writing anything other than notes and flashcards. I think the beginning of my chapters are a little fast paced, but I hope everyone else likes it more than I do. I'll add a picture later, I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. I don't really know about the texting part and Tumblr botches the formatting so ugh. Please don't roast me.

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Relaxing after work was nice. Ash Wilkes spent nights pretty much just scrolling through his phone until he got tired. Nothing else to really do other than make sure his tiny apartment was clean. Though he could probably eat.

Setting his phone down next to his gloves on the nightstand, he sat up and was about to stretch until his phone buzzed. Snatching it up, he was surprised to see a text from his sister.

ALLIE

You up for coffee?

ASH

👀

Free coffee?

ALLIE

I mean no

ASH

👁️👄👁️

The person who usually invites pays

ALLIE

Whatever asshole. Just get over here.

ASH

Love you sis

ALLIE

🖕

Okay then.

Throwing on some clothes and grabbing the keys, Ash made his way to Hartfeld. He didn't go see her as much as they were hoping to, but he was glad he could actually take a little bit of time off now. He tried to be around for her a little bit, especially since he knew she needed comfort with her anxiety, being in a completely different home and all. So far he's only met Chris.

So he was a little nervous when he realized she actually has four other roommates. But maybe he's just a little overprotective. He gripped hard at the steering wheel to push the idea that anything that bad could have possibly gone wrong.

She would've said something. He was definitely about to find out.

Stepping out of the van, he noticed a well dressed man step into the coffee shop. A little overdressed for some caffeine he thought, but maybe the man had a date.

As soon as he made it in the door however, the first thing he saw was the same man grabbing Allie's arm.

"Hey!" His attempted intervention went unnoticed however, as a strong whatever it was sent him falling backwards.

Rubbing his now throbbing head, he caught a glimpse of the dickhead booking it out of the shop.

"Are you okay?"

Startled, Ash looked up and saw Allie looking at another man in front of her before turning in his direction.

"Ash!" His sister kneeled down next to him and pulled him into a hug which he gladly returned.

"I didn't even realize you were coming in. Are you okay? You didn't just get hit did you?" He laughed a little bit at her concern, clearing his throat when she raised her eyebrows in offense. What she didn't know is that he was supposed to be asking her.

"I guess I just got the wind knocked out of me for a moment," he shrugged. "Who the hell was that grabbing on you?"

Now she shrugged. It was a way bigger deal than her body language is saying it is. Before she could open her mouth, a yell erupted from the other side of the cafe.

"Zig! We need you behind the counter!"

Zig. He'd really have to thank him for acting to protect Allie. He can only assume that was the manager. Ash forgot about everyone else other than Allie for so long that the first reminder that it wasn't just them made his insides almost eat themselves. Could also be adrenaline.

"Sorry, I need to go," Zig spoke up. "If that a-hole comes back, come find me, okay?" He slouched off where his balding, pissed off looking manager was waiting. Yeesh.

Allie grabbed his arm pulling him up off the floor. Once they got to the others, Allie set a coffee cup in his hands before she got enveloped into Chris's arms.

He smiled at them for a second before he focused on his coffee. He seemed to be in his own head for a bit because after a moment, Allie started walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm thinking I should go say something to him," She suggested. Turning to her friends, she gestured to the dining room. "Can you guys go get us a table?"

"I'll go with you," Ash shouted suddenly, catching everyone off guard for a moment before her friends walked to find a table and Allie smiled at him.

"Come on then."

Despite whatever that jerk was about to do to her, Allie even just laughed a little. It was good that she found ways to stay her happy little self, especially with everything he worries about her going through.

Once the twins made it to the counter, Zig gave them a pleasant expression before Ash greeted him.

"So… Zig, huh?" Okay, not so much "greet", more like just blurting out words randomly. It wasn't too late to check to see if he has a concussion.

Zig glanced up at him, surprised. Looking down at his hand, Ash let out what he was hoping was a silent wince. He's had his fair share of injuries, but ouch.

The shock on the barista's face quickly melted into a calmer expression. "Short for Zigmund," He remarked. Interesting name. "Zig is fine, though. Zigmund tends to raise a lot of questions."

Ash chuckled, until his sister kindly bumped his shoulder to remind him that he was being a weirdo. Clearing his throat, he simply smiled. "I don't think shortening it is really fooling anyone."

Zig smirked.

"No I guess it's not."

Ash bit his lip subconsciously, trying and failing really hard to hide a smile. His cheeks flushed a deep red as he felt he ended up doing that for a very uncomfortable amount of time.

Another clearing of the throat. Can he stop doing this? "I'm Ash, and this is my little sister, Allie."

Allie snorted and rolled her eyes, elbowing her brother a little too hard, causing him to clutch his chest.

"We just wanted to say thanks, and I'm sorry you had to get involved in all that," She said, putting her hands in her pockets.

Zig smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you guys. But there's no need to apologise," he shrugged. So humble. "I'm not a fan of bullies."

Before Ash could think of something to say, Zig tossed a rag over his shoulder and fiddled with the espresso machine. The twins stepped closer.

"Trust me, I can take care of myself," Allie smiled. "But I appreciate the help." Not so humble.

She put a finger on her chin, furrowing her brows. "I haven't seen you around before…," Oh, he must have just got here. Maybe a transfer student or something. "Are you new?" Ash looked at Zig with a smirk, and the barista fixed him with his own.

"Yep," The smirk was a wide smile now. "Just started here a couple weeks ago." Awesome.

"I mean at Hartfeld. What classes are you signed up for?" Allie continued.

"None," Zig replied. "I'm not in school actually."

"Oh! Sorry I just assumed…" Allie smiled sheepishly. Or hoped.

Zig turned his attention back to the machine, reaching for the tamp with the bruised hand. He dropped it with a hiss, shaking out his hand.

"How bad does it hurt?" Ash asked, reaching to tell Zig he wanted to get a better look at it.

"I'm fine," He assured, holding it out of his view. "Probably."

Ash leaned over to gently grab him by the wrist of his injured hand and saw that his knuckles were badly swollen and a bruise was starting to form. Zig quickly pulled his arm back.

"I guess evidence suggests otherwise."

Ash looked at Allie with a mixture of amusement and slight annoyance. This man was a stubborn one.

"Let me help you with that," Ash suggested, already getting up to sit on the counter. Zig's face lit up with a smile.

"I'd really appreciate it," his smile made Ash ridiculously happy for some reason. "But my boss would be pissed if I let anyone behind the counter."

Psshh. Screw that guy.

"Well, you've already punched out a customer. How much worse can it get?" Allie spoke up. Ash fixed him with a smirk.

"I guess you have a point," Zig chuckled.

Ash climbed over to the other side of the counter and flushed red when Allie walked in through the gate, and went to find the ice tray. One of them held the towel while the other took care of scooping ice into it.

Ash took it and pressed it to Zig's injured hand. He hissed through his teeth as it made contact.

Ash bit his lip, too nervous to apologize out loud. He was questioning why, they were talking fine two minutes ago. He suddenly noticed how close they were to each other now. He had gloves on, but he could feel Zig's fingers on his palm.

"Sorry," he finally got out. "Does it hurt?"

"I've felt worse," Zig made a face. Oh god, he was looking directly at him.

"So are you going to tell me what that whole scene was about?" Ash looked really confused for a second, and then turned to his sister. He really wanted to know too.

"If you would believe it, it was a student council dispute," she said. Both men arched an eyebrow, Ash a little more impatiently. He knew politics were a touchy subject, but it should never involve actual touching.

"Really?" Zig opened his mouth in shock. "Seems like a lot for something like that." His feelings exactly.

"I guess you could say there were extenuating circumstances," she responded. Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head, focusing back on Zig's hand. Even Zig raised a sceptical eyebrow at her. She finally told them what happened during her first two quarters. Now it was Ash's turn to be shocked.

"You blackmailed someone? I wouldn't peg you for the type," Ash personally was more worried that Allie was near a fucking sociopath this entire time.

"Well, it was a pretty low moment for me."

Ash felt his heart ache at that, pulling his sister into a one armed hug.

"Sounds like you were just looking out for your friend," Zig said. Ash gave Allie a supportive smile at that, causing her to hug him a little tighter before letting go, and then looked a little sullen again.

"I was, but I could have ruined someone else's life in the process." Did she mean Sebastian's?

"You mean that entitled brat who tripped me?" Allie was too damn nice to people, if someone thinks it's acceptable to not only treat complete strangers like they're beneath him, but also to take advantage of them and the school that seems to kiss rich people's asses, he can go live in a box for all he cares. "If you or anyone else do wrong by him, he's earned it." Ash liked this guy.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Allie's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "It was him or Chris, and I protect the people I care about."

The twins shared a smile at this.

"That's good to know. Loyalty's a sexy quality," Zig said. What?

Ash couldn't tell when he felt first, his heart sink or his face turn red.

"You're kind of a flirt, aren't you?" He blurted out, putting a hand on his hip.

"And I've been told I'm damn good at it."

If his face got any redder, he'd have to throw himself into a tomato garden.

"Is it working?"

"I won't lie, I'm kind of into it." Okay, now he was just saying things. Better than speaking in tongues or something. Probably.

"Glad to see I'm not losing my touch, then." He heard his sister chuckling to herself behind him, and quickly glared at her for being nosey. When he looked back at Zig, the slightly taller man was smiling at either him or the exchange between the siblings.

Ash went back to pressing the ice against Zig's hand, and he let out a shudder.

"Ah! Careful!" He should've been paying attention.

"Sorry!" Despite feeling bad, he laughed. "I'm not being a really good nurse, am I?"

"I think you're doing just fine," Ash had to avoid eye contact to stop himself from doing anything else too embarrassing. He could feel Zig's gaze burning a hole into his skull.

"Well… you should be good now," he said, making sure Zig had a hold of the towel.

"We should probably get back to my friends," Allie said.

"Sure thing. Thanks for checking up on me," His smile made Ash feel really… happy? He wasn't sure.

Zig held up his hand and gingerly flexed it. "I think the sting is starting to wear off a little."

"Well, just keep icing it and try not to put too much pressure on it." Zig laughed at him.

"Yes, nurse Ash."

"Don't be a smart ass, I've had my fair share of injuries, especially hand injuries, so you should be thanking me." Both men smiled at each other after he said that, and Ash quickly extinguished his before he did something way too forward.

"I guess we'll see you around?" He was glad Allie interrupted this time.

"You know where to find me." Ash started walking off towards the booth her friends found and Allie gave Zig a wave on their way back.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, we're here because my friend Kaitlyn made a friend who's in a punk rock band," She sat down next to Kaitlyn and he sat across from her, rolling his eyes. He didn't care if he was going to be a jerk about this, but he didn't exactly trust Kaitlyn's judgement with anything after Allie texted him last quarter about how alone she felt. Her friends shouldn't have turned their backs on her.

"I came here for you. But I will say, checking out a different kind of rock music is a good way to hang out," he smiled at her before taking a sip of his frozen mocha.

"I'm so bad at remembering to introduce people," Allie laughed. She started pointing at her friends around the table. "You kind of already know Chris and Kaitlyn, but this is Tyler, Abbie, and Zack. And this is my other friend James, he also worked with Professor Vazquez."

"Cool."

Allie turned her attention to the band, observing them doing an instrument check.

"Wow, they look so cool," Abbie said, mouth agape. Tyler, the guy sitting next to her, fixed her with a look.

"You think so? I think they look kind of intimidating." Ash rolled his eyes. What are those ladies going to do? Aggressively play their songs in their faces? That's kind of the point of rock music.

Microphone feedback turned everyone's attention back to the stage. A woman who he guessed was the lead singer was in front of the mic. "Hey everyone! Thanks for coming tonight! We're The Gutter Kittens."

This should be fun.

The band started their thing, and once they dove into the song, Ash started absentmindedly tapping his fingers against the table to memorize the beat. Or it helps him enjoy it more, he wasn't sure. Just something he's always done.

"Hey, they're pretty good!" Chris commented.

"I knew they would be," Kaitlyn smiled. "Natasha's got a great taste in music." That she does.

"This is perfect," Zack stood up. "I can definitely work out some pent up aggression to this. I'm hitting the dance floor, who's with me?" He yelled, pumping his fist into the air.

Allie and Kaitlyn looked as excited as he was. It's been forever since Ash found himself in a moshpit, but hell yeah.

"I think I'll pass, I'm not sure that is dancing," James said. What a pussy.

"Oh whatever, James," Kaitlyn giggled. "Count me in, Zack. Allie?" She looked at his sister hopefully.

"I'm totally in! I could stand to work out some issues too," she said, pumping her arms in the air. She was too cute. Then he felt his arm being tugged on. "You're going too. And no, you don't get a choice."

Like she even had to convince him. The now slightly smaller group ran in front of the stage and started dancing.

"Yes! I haven't been in a pit in so long!" Kaitlyn shrieked. Ash laughed at that and his sister almost hitting him in the face with her hair. He would drag her to places when they were in high school, but only managed to get her to go to one concert. She seemed to be uncomfortable with the amount of people, but she seemed to be thriving now that she's in college.

"Do they call it that because it smells like armpits?" Zack asked, making everyone laugh.

"With all this jumping? How could it not?" Ash joked back good-naturedly. Maybe her friends weren't so bad.

He bumped shoulders with his sister and she bumped back, the twins getting into a groove while laughing and playing around.

After a few songs, they all went back to the rest of the group, sweaty and sore.

"You guys totally missed it," Kaitlyn smiled, making it to her seat first.

"Zack bumped into this huge guy, and he was not happy about it." Allie finished, she and Ash laughing together.

"I totally thought he was going to murder me," Zack shrunk into his part of the booth.

"Be grateful you weren't wearing earrings," Ash said, rubbing at his earlobe at the memory. "Worst concert of my life."

"You guys were a great crowd!" The lead singer yelled into the microphone. "We've got one last song left, but first, I'd like to bring up a special guest to help sing it!"

The crowd cheered as the group of friends "ooh'd" in interest.

"Ooh, a special guest?" Kaitlyn looked more mesmerized than everyone else.

"We just met recently, but I'm sure she knows all the words. Kaitlyn?" The girl on the mic said, holding out her hand.

Everyone turned to Kaitlyn, shocked. She seemed quite surprised herself.

"M-me? In front of all these people?" Kaitlyn squeaked out.

The other woman waved Kaitlyn over while her other bandmates re-tuned for the next song.

"I don't know about this," Kaitlyn whispered.

"Kaitlyn," Allie smiled, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders. "You've got this! We'll all be right here cheering for you."

The rest of her friends smiled.

"And I've heard you sing in the shower before," Abbie said supportively. "You've definitely got a set of pipes."

"You can hear that?!" Kaitlyn gasped.

"Pretty much anywhere in the suite," Tyler piped up. "I've heard you up on the roof before."

"I'm surprised we haven't gotten more noise complaints from the neighbors," Zack joked, elbowing Tyler in the arm.

"Don't listen to them," Chris rolled his eyes at his friends and their antics. "That's beside the point. What do you have to lose?"

"Yeah…" Kaitlyn said softly, still unsure. "Yeah. You guys are right," she brightened up. "I'm going up there. Wish me luck!"

"Luck!" Abbie said sweetly.

Kaitlyn ran up to the stage while Ash found himself cheering her on along with Allie and her friends.

"Knock 'em dead, Kaitlyn!" Chris yelled.

"Yeah! Uh, rock on!" James said awkwardly, throwing his fist into the air.

Kaitlyn got to the stage and once the rest of the band had everything ready, she spoke into the microphone.

"Uh, hi everyone, my name is Kaitlyn and this is 'Heart of Ice' by Coargurot and well, here goes nothing."

The band launched into the song, and Kaitlyn gripped the microphone as she sang intently into it. The crowd cheered wildly, singing along with her.

"Wow, she's really something, isn't she?" James said in awe.

"I mean, I knew she was something, but look at her go!" Abbie laughed, happy that her friend was enjoying herself.

Looking up at the stage, anyone would be able to see that Kaitlyn was in her element.

Everyone continued cheering her on until The Gutter Kittens finished playing the final notes of the song. Kaitlyn bowed as everyone clapped for her, grinning wildly.

She ran offstage and immediately got tackled into a hug by Allie.

"You were incredible! Who knew my best friend was so metal?" She said almost breathlessly.

"I know right? I guess all the singing in the shower paid off!" Kaitlyn shrugged.

"Kaitlyn, you were so good!" Abbie complimented.

"Thanks guys!" Kaitlyn laughed.

Kaitlyn startled suddenly at a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see the bandmates.

"You totally killed it girl!" One of them said, who Ash recognized as the drummer.

"Seriously, our shows never get that crazy," the girl next to her mentioned nonchalantly.

"I find that hard to believe. You guys can play." Kaitlyn looked starstruck.

"Tell that to the people who don't go to our shows," the drummer said.

The lead singer walked up, throwing her arms around her bandmates shoulders.

"I see you've officially met Amara and Rachel. And these are probably the rest of your friends?" She looked the group over.

Kaitlyn lit up. "Yeah! You already know Allie, obviously Abbie. And this is Chris, and Tyler-"

"Yeah, that's cool," Natasha cut her off. Ash raised an eyebrow at her for the rude gesture. "How would you like to join the band?"

"Like, full time?" Kaitlyn opened her mouth in shock.

"Natasha likes to say she isn't really a singer. We've been looking for someone for a while now…" Amara informed.

"We just couldn't find someone who we liked or fit our aesthetic," Rachel added.

"Until now," Natasha smiled warmly. "What do you say?"

Everyone looked at Kaitlyn, awaiting an answer.

#the freshman choices #the freshman book 3 #zig ortega #zig x oc #chris x mc #choices stories you play #chris powell #kaitlyn liao #james ashton #abbie bishop #tyler alan #twin siblings

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katewaliss · 4 years

Text

1x1 plot list!

hello girls, gays and theys! my name is crissy, i’m 21, go by she/her pronouns and live in the PST timezone. i am celebrating bullshitting my way through my junior year with ( copious amounts of tequila but also ) make a list of 1x1 ideas / plot bunnies because i need something to do during this Borentine and what better way to spend it then making myself cry with ships!

i primarily send really long keysmash head cannons through discord and the ims, but i am also down to do replies ( on tumblr or discord ) and ask memes are my most favorite. i am introverted af but very excited abt ships so i really like having rp partners who like want to stay up all night and write and scream with me, so if that sounds like u, come thru!

if u like any of these please don’t hesitate to shoot me an im!

also my discord is daddy devito#2918 ( & yes, i do hate myself )

were starting with mermaids bc i love mermaids

ALSO YES I LIKE OPPOSITE PLOTS DONT @@@@@ ME!!!!!

ALSO ALL OF THESE PLOTS CAN BE GAY! BE GAY DO CRIMES!

i’ve always kind of wanted one based loosely on these pictures x, x, x. im thinking ponyo meets enchanted meets h20 little mermaid AF realness! like maybe hes this lil regular boy high school college student taking pictures and stuff and sees this girl wash up on the shore looking very confused. so he helps her and you know, shes a little hysterical and cant walk very well, takes her into his apartment puts a towel over here bc she like keeps talking abt how shes a mermaid and hes like oh my god shes crazy ahh. she keeps saying her dad is king of the ocean and hes like???? do u have a last name? and the police dont know anything abt her she has no file, no id, no finger print in the database?

basically the mermaid is staying w the college student in his apartment and he like teaches her what the microwave and the tv is and its very soft they fall in luv maybe drama he has a girl friend who sucks a lot who is angry abt mermaid girl idk maybe the government realizes and tries to steal her! fun THAT FIRST PIC? MAYBE HE SAVED HER WHEN HE WAS A KID ONCE FROM DROWNING!!! AHHH

alternatively i found these pictures were are in the same vein very aquamarine x, x, x, lifeguard off duty surfing and he gets stuck in a gnarly wave and almost drowns but this mermaid saves his life! and he comes to see her a lot on the beach and they hang out and fall in love he teaches her how to speak english shows her his phone!!! MAYBE THE GOVERNMENT IS ALSO POACHING HER WE LOVE DRAMA

ok last mermaid plot? BUT ITS A SIREN PLOT!!!!!!! these sirens/a siren wipes out this sailors entire ship with the sirens song they all get drowned/eaten .... but plot twist! this one sailor homie lives bc he is DEAF and therefore IMMUNE TO THE SIREN SONG!! so this siren keeps tryna sing at him and its not working and u know they fall in love good stuff MORE POACHES MORE PIRATES MORE GOVERNMENT TRYNA KILL THE AQUATIC AMERICAN BC I LOVE SUFFERING modern or maybe set back in the day???? spicy

anthour or a sculptor that writes a book w a main character or makes a statue and it comes to life and has no perception of human stuff and is like a big alien

also literally all of these plots can be made gay as the flyest bi i ENCOURAGE it!!!! i will play either character in any of them pls tell me which one u like if u like one

pls the clown clown valedictorian plot

ok speaking of giving the gays everything they want

damn i just want a cheesy wlw 1x1 plot where the first girl is a famous celebrity hella spoiled very purse dog paris hilton type and her fancy convertible sports car breaks down smack dab in a small ass hick nowheresville town and this flannel wearing mannerless tomboy mechanic comes to fix her car but rich girl is stuck in town a few days while they order the part she needs for her car bc it’s a small town they don’t have it and they get closer and the celebrity girl is humbled by the town and learns a lot abt the world and herself just ,, good times LISTEN!!!! zendaya and kristine froseth ???? SPICY

ok maybe a period piece lady knight / princess plot where she was personally assignment to the princess but maybe its a whole mulan thing where no one knows the night is a girl and is posing as a man bc women were allowed to be knights and the princess is betrothed to some loser prince once again ill play either

princess body guard plots always smack

ok princess protection program BUT GET THIS instead of that its my boy dmitri who is the heir to the russian throne or some made up european country but theres an assasination attempt so hes told he has to go into witness protection. and this dude or girls dad is head of cia/fbi and dmitri has to pose as a foreign exchange student at y/ns college and be shown around/baby sat by them. they hate eachother. probably bc dmitri is obnoxious and entitled and sleeps w everyone. he was a matthew daddario fc but not that necessary!

cheerleaders on opposite squads who got the sexual tension!!!!

plot based off hollywood the netflix limited series where its 1940s-1950s hollywood and maybe actors falling in love, an actor and a director? OR omg even better an actor falling in love with some sort of stage crew, lighting, camera person............SPICY!

a beauty / makeup youtube influencer and a pranking rant gaming sort of youtuber and they have to collab and hate it points if its gay

that cliche plot where ur friends older brother is hot

ok kstew / naomi scott .....that is such.....a wave

UGLY BETTY PLOT BITCH!!!!!! REVERSE THE ROLES OR MAKE IT GAY

i saw this gifset of margo robbie and michael b jordan talking abt how they are eachothers celebrity crush and it got my brain turning

a very whimsical hopeless romantic artist who finds a muse in a no nonsense american college student studying law studying abroad

PERCY JACKSON BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE HUNGER GAMES BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

business man/prodigal son who falls in love with a stripper/escort

harry potter......next gen................please.............scorose............but like can i play ravenclaw soft boy nothing like draco scorpio BUT ALSO ALL THE HP i also really like ocs also BEAUXBATONS DRUMSTRANG ( if anyone wants to help me w a not hogwarts but other wizarding school rp let me know )

not to b cliche but uh....pastors son bad boy plot yes!

alternatively bad girl good boy/girl plot yes! ( can i pls play bad girl seulgi its Dire )

horror until dawn stuff

soul eater? death note? OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB BITCH!!!! ANIME!

the epically cliche popular person failing math and is gonna get kicked off cheer gets tutored by biggest loser in school and only agrees to tutor her in math if she teaches them how to be cool to impress crush (popular persons friend) and they do that, they start to bond, she gives nerd a makeover the whole school falls in love with them and the popular girls real jealous and wHEw

a disgruntled detective whos wife cheated on him with his partner and he drinks everyday (also could b a lady) throws himself into work and this waitress at the diner he works at who is the opposite of him and very sunshiney

OKAY HANNIBAL but like the hannibal is a lady!

superhero x villian plot! spicy maybe theyre exes! or they went to the same super power school?

SPEAKING OF SUPERHEROS I WANT A MIRACULOUS LADYBUG PLOT RIGHT FUCKING NOW SOMEONE PLAY CHOU TZUYU AS MARINETTE!!!!!!!!!

also every disney plot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think this will get added to but for now this is the gist HIT ME THE FUCK UP!!!!!!!!!!

#1x1 rp #1x1 #1x1 plot #plot bunny #discord rp

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veridium · 4 years

Text

5 Questions for Writers

Tagged by the great @teknon to answer some questions about writing. Thank you so much for including me!

Passing it along, I tag @bitchesofostwick, @local-thembo, and @star--nymph to join in the fun if they wish to. (Really I’m just a fan of ya’ll so anything I get to see of your process is terrific).

1. Do you have a favourite character to write? Who and why?

These days Olivia is still probably my favorite. Though, I have to say, the more Fire in Her Mouth goes on and expands into my other OCs’ storylines, the more I enjoy alternating their perspectives. It was always the plan to start off squarely in Olivia’s POV and then gradually extend branches out through the girls and canon characters in the Inquisition ensemble.

I echo a similar sentiment to Trish’s: I just really enjoy getting to write women and non-binary characters for all of their troublesome possibilities. I like playing around with the idea of “good” representation. It’s incredibly cathartic to write characters who are profoundly wounded, jaded, and prone to hurtfulness, but who are also incredibly strong, wise, convicted.

2. Do you have a favorite trope to write? Or one you want to write?

I mean, there are certain tropes I work with by virtue of taking on a DA:I longfic: the reluctant hero, for example, is present in the way Olivia grows in her role. I think tropes can be useful as basic frameworks but I find more fun in playing around with their rules than I do following them.

Maybe here I’d say I’m referencing more stereotypes than tropes. For example, I try to dispute the idea in Olivia’s storyline that she, like so many worldly heroes, craves a remote, domestically tranquil life at the end of the line with the kids, spouse, and picket fence. That’s not to say to do so is wrong or foolish; I just wanted to write a character who always wants some sort of skin in the game when it comes to the world’s events. Even if it costs her everything, she’d rather say she devoted her all. I think sometimes we give those kinds of iconic happy endings to characters because it makes us as authors and audiences feel a lot better about the trials they endured regardless of whether those endings fit their journey/personalities. What are we making ourselves feel better for, though, when we do that? Are we trying to reconcile the idea that our characters can be hurt and still be “deserving” of that kind of ultimate, normative end? What happens when we dare to imagine something else, somewhere else, as their endgame -- a place that subverts the notion that all we’re trying to do is be deserving or “whole” enough of something we might not even want?

For me, I’m more interested in the ways in which life’s solaces arise in and out of our lives, rather than in a solid destination after we have “suffered enough.”

3. Share your favorite description you’ve written?

This always changes for me! Especially when I’m leaning on prior passages for inspiration/tie-in for themes on what I’m currently working on. Right now, I’m still pretty hooked on Chapter 100, “A Serpent’s Parable” from FIHM. It’s partial monologue, but the parallel description is something I’m very proud of:

Isolde then sighed and pushed over her chalice. It fell loudly, and after the initial impact, it melted down and elongated into a serpentine shape. Extending both ways until a head, erect and pointed towards her, formed with slithering tongue and all. Pure black even in the eyes, its belly scales looked like opals as it wound towards her.

“For the purpose of this, let me introduce a parable. When you are faced with the task of fighting evil as we have been, it is all rather easy...in fact, fun, to think you are victorious by virtue of distracting the creature that holds the venomous bite.”

The smoke-born rats and vermin with pronounced front teeth billowed in the air around it, scattering and circling it. In random turns they began sneaking jabs, biting and scratching away, and cowering just in time into amorphous plumes. The snake hissed in pain and turn around in every which direction the assaults came from. With every attack it grew more frustrated, more incensed at the ghostly antagonists. Eventually it became too preoccupied to advance.

“Over time you learn that they learn. Spats and skirmishes, illusions and petty diversions, they only do so much. You realize that the snake, though made angry or even miserable at your actions, still grows. Your bravery does not stop it taking someone you love, it merely means that they become tomorrow’s meal rather than today’s, for you and your kind were made forever its source of power. Its sustenance for which you must give your life so that the rest of the world makes sense.”

The snake’s shadow stretched farther and farther until Olivia could nearly reach and place her hand within it if she wanted to. The vermin spirits crept in and out of shape, sniveling and striking as they had before. Their growing enemy, sadly, no longer bent and writhed in reaction.

“You are faced with a choice: continue being the hero who’s deeds become songs and silly secrets, suck poison from wound after wound until your mouth no longer waters, pretend that your adventures keep people as safe as you feel you are in your anonymity. Maybe you have saved a child or feed a few hungry mouths. Yet the snake’s fangs are sharper with every year, its mouth so wide it can consume more and more of what is dear to you without hope of salvation. Unless you decide enough is enough.”

Olivia had lost focus on the snake in favor of Isolde. By the time she halted her speech it was almost too late: the snake, offensive once more, lunged for her. In the same sharp moment as it split its mouth to fill itself with her, a blade broad and tipped like that of a staff's swung down. Its sound and shine blinded her to the gore of the head's severance before it fell upside down, gaping with a now limp tongue. A last remaining hiss lost to the sound of the blade cutting the air.

With every last drop of bravery in her body she withheld a scream. Her heart nearly erupted under the weight of its many terrors. Much like her nerves, the snake’s body contorted, until its muscles no longer lingered with life. The rats no longer trifled their foe. Nothing but death had been served on the table.

“At last,” she finished, “you cut the head off once and for all.”

4. Share your favorite dialogue you’ve written?

This also changes so often! Dialogue is one of, if not the, most fun part(s) of writing for me. I convey my message and themes most starkly in the way my characters talk to each other, and it’s where I put the most forethought. One of the ones I most often return to is the back-and-forth between Veronica and Cybel in Chapter 98: “Humoring Stars.” --

“Are you really so sure that everything that does not meet your eye is simply lies? That you, a Mage who spent the majority of her life in a Circle where knowledge was a controlled resource rather than a respected right, are the best person for determining such things?”

Oh, you son of…

“Just because I lived in a Circle does not mean I am without independent thought,” Veronica refused. She was a hard shell to crack but even she was not immune to the coerced inferiority years of Circle life embedded. No one who experienced their captivity was. And to call it out in such a way only made it more painful.

“I did not say that. What I meant was—”

“Shut your mouth. I do not give a shit about where you come from or how special you think you are. You are not going to stick a knife where you think it will hurt me into believing your stories. And if you try to do the same to Gem, then…”

Cybel’s eyes narrowed. “Then, what? You will kill me?”

“I m—”

“You know, Veronica...and that is your name, so I will refer to you as such.” Cybel took on an air of confidence, re-approaching with stiffened shoulders and tilted chin. “Either you have a thirst for death that is beyond the likes of which I have seen anywhere, meaning that deep down your motivation is not merely the safety of your friend and leader; or, as I reckon, you think being a predator cornered is more powerful than a predator caged.” They continued their advance, so stern and so suddenly cold that Veronica’s need to keep eyes on their hands turned into her backing up in sequence with them. It was enraging.

Veronica was backed against the rail, ass and waist pressed like paper. Her hands gripped either side. Cybel looked as they did back when they were threatening her with an arrow to her neck. Curls of hair around their face, tough bottom lip, appraising the validity of a shot yet fired. They halted so close to her that their freckles were countable, as well as the weathered loose strings on the edge of their tucked scarf.

“So what is it then?” they asked when Veronica had no salted quip to offer. “Blood lust, or bloody fearfulness?”

Who are you?

Veronica’s breath caught on the rigidity of her chest. She could be stabbed or choked right then and there. She could be tossed over the edge. Maker, she could be poisoned even if Cybel’s hand was quick enough with a vial or cloth dusted with the right material. Everything about her expedited training was about evaluating what dangers were posed both in front of her nose and beyond all senses. It was intoxicating to think in such a way when previously you were kept like a lamb to a flock, the shepherds heavily armored and sword-wielding rather than gentle guides with sticks. But blast them for thinking it was their right to point it out.

“I will say it again,” she answered with an unprecedented humbleness to her voice that even surprised her, “I do not fall for your attempts to strike at me until I am too weak for your lies.”

Cybel’s irises raised and lowered between Veronica’s eyes and mouth, their own lips parted with their tongue pressed against the back of their teeth. “And there I have my answer.”

#writing stuff #fire in her mouth #the foxes #olivia sinclair #veronica crespin #cybel #writers tag #writing asks #friends!!#thank you!

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ladylyra · 4 years

Note

do your nuzlocke characters all have names and stories and personalities? if so i want to hear more about your unova nuzlocke friends!

LONG POST AHEAD

Okay, so the protagonist of my soulsilver and white2 nuzlockes is named Halle, and while in soulsilver it was very much “her” story, i focused more on gijinkas and the pokemon themselves in white2.

rin, my sunflora, is the daughter of my sunflora, ieyasu, from my soulsilver nuzlocke. i figured if i was gonna use two sunflora they’d somehow be connected. she liked to be babied all the time, blamed her weaknesses on her unevolved form, and while she was considerably weak up until the time she evolved, it was also her mentality holding her back. in terms of character she learned to despise this mentality when she saw all her friends growing to surpass her. (kind of seen here) she saw how yuki, like her, remained unevolved for a period of time; her, without a stone, he, without a friend. she filled that hole for him. even if he was a bit insensitive at first, she really does feel a connection with him. they took down many gyms together! she is the binding factor to my entire team, helping keep everyone in somewhat high spirits even when things are tense. she and yuki’s relationship becomes romantic over time.

muramasa, my samurott, was a natural born leader. this was to a fault, because he’d always be getting into fights others would be more than capable of taking on. he’d always get himself hurt and, well, in the end, fainted because of that. despite being kind of stoic, he wears his heart on his sleeve (who knows, he might actually be expressive under the mouth cover.) for a while he failed to realize that protecting rin constantly wasn’t helping her grow. while he originally also doted on elline, he came to train alongside her rather than for her. very much a “big brother” to the entire team except for elline, who i always saw as at least slightly romantic.

elline, my krookodile, is a powerhouse, but shes kind of finicky; self proclaimed ‘princess of the desert’ she demanded to be carried around and treated like royalty all the time (murmasa obliged to this and they kind of fell into a princess/knight role.) despite her attitude she was and is one of the strongest members of my team, but it took time for her to get over her mentality and help without being asked to. after muramasa “died” she really couldn’t deal with the thought of becoming a leader and having the welfare of others on her shoulders, so she kind of withdrew, leading to rin becoming the leader despite her...or, well, what everybody else thought her to be. she was very wary of acai and nari when they first joined the team because it was right after jack and muramasa died. she has no patience for yuki and acai and how clownish they act.

wess, my umbreon, went from a humble city boy to a pop star. he loves attention of any kind, even negative, but preferably you’re fawning over him. he didn’t fully integrate into the team by the time i boxed him in favor of jack, but he was a useful member (aren’t all defensive tanks in nuzlockes?)

yuki, my swoobat, started out as a menace to society. he grew up in a cave, on his own for the most part, with little regard to how his “jokes” may have harmed others. he didn’t have many friends, the few he did were just as rude as him, so it’s not like he ever had someone there to check when he was acting like a jerk and make him realize what was socially unacceptable. being a pokemon that evolves by friendship, this lead to some problems. rin, the most bombastic and happy member of my team, became who i thought could cure this attitude of his. they were both the last to evolve on my team from their base forms at the time so there was some solidarity there, and she was also one of the first people who went out of their way to get under his unpleasant exterior and make him realize that there’s consequence that comes with his behavior. while originally he only had a “soft spot” for her, he eventually warmed up to anyone that would accept him. being a bit more conscious of his behavior now, he’s actually got major anxiety forming genuine connections with others, both from guilt over his previous attitude and wondering still if he’ll say something to mess things up. rin’s kind of like a safety net to him, and he’s also a big comfort to her, given how long shes known him at this point; after muramasa’s death, they were the ‘oldest’ members of the team (those i had the longest) so even in the ever changing landscape they were like security to each other. hes usually seen with her--theyre practically inseparable at this point--but besides that he can be seen with acai. the three of them are like a clown car.

richie, my cofagrigus, actually ties back to my platinum nuzlocke. i had a tentacruel named richie who died during the elite four and it was heartbreaking considering i had him for such a long time. he was very nerdy at the time, a bit shy, didn’t mend too well, but even then. he was my baby. two years later to now, i caught a yamask and i saw the opportunity and took it, naming it after richie. in the story canon, it’s the same richie. he suffers from amnesia and doesn’t have much direction in his life. he’s near constantly wondering what he’s meant for, why he’s here, and if he’ll ever be truly accepted by the team (in reality he’s kind of the one closing himself off and not interacting, but that’s his anxiety for you.) he blames himself for the death of jack (in real life i was debating switching in my altaria or him against hydreigon because either was risky....as you can guess, i made the wrong choice) and becomes even more recluse. jack and muramasa died in the same battle, so this coincides with rin becoming leader, at which point she near forces him to be included. he was a star player during my elite four run next to elline, by which point he finally gets his memories back, and wonders if he has finally proven himself to his old friends and new ones. (i actually did a small comic about this i never posted, i have a lot of small doodles that never make it to tumblr...haha...unless?)

acai, my vanilluxe, entered the team with a purpose. he would be the defeater of dragons now that jack was gone. he and nari came on the team at the exact same time, only a route apart, so i think they were friends, or at least acquainted, beforehand. they don’t mesh super well, considering acai is very laid back and happy and jokey and nari is always going on about his “training.” acai and yuki become good friends almost immediately; acai was almost like yuki but a lot less unintentionally rude and a lot more oblivious. he mostly hangs out with him and rin, who didn’t really plan that arrangement, but she does have a lot of fun around them, and she likes seeing yuki actually enjoy the company of others. he has a tense relationship with elline, even after she warms up to nari. he is completely unaware of this “tense relationship” because he cannot read the atmosphere.

nari, my mienshao, is pretty straight faced and serious. he puts a lot of value in his strength and focus whether it be mental or physical. he and elline are a bit standoffish at first because she was refusing to accept he was a member of the team, given her close relationship with muramasa, and her unwillingness to let any other people into her heart after being so hurt, but she does get to a point where she doesn’t mind him. i feel like maybe if my nuzlocke went on longer they would have been good friends; train together, hang out, all that...they do share a nature, after all.

jack, my altaria, was a relatively short member of the team, and he had died not long after i caught him. he helped me with drayden alongside richie and died at ghetsis. for the short time i did have him, i always saw him as a ‘do what must without any nonsense’ type of person; a little bit sassy and proper, but that may be to do with how i named him after one of my ocs that’s kind of in the same vein. he died at the same time as muramasa, and given i had muramasa for longer i was much more focused on losing him than jack.

lucas, my azumarill, was only on my team for the beginning of the team. i didn’t really have a need for him (in the least rude way possible im saying this) so i replaced him with...i believe it was yuki; that, or wess. i don’t really remember. anyways, he wasn’t the sharpest fellow, but he was certainly nice. before he left the team he and rin were close friends...by the time he was an azumarill she was still a little sunkern, to put into perspective how outclassed she was beginning to feel, haha.

obviously i had more time to develop some members more than others, but i do love them all dearly, and they’re probably my favorite nuzlocke bunch of mine. thank you for humoring my long rambling, friend!

#THIS TURNED LONGER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE I JUST KEPT TYPING LIKE THIS IS THE MOMENT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR #nuzlocke #white2 nuzlocke

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randomfandomimagine · 4 years

Text

Love Above All. Chapter 5

Fandom: The Man in the Iron Mask/Musketeers

Ship: Phillippe x Marie (OC)

Previous Chapter - Chapter Index - Next Chapter

AO3

Remember to please reblog and leave feedback if you’re enjoying it! It means the world to me :)

It turned to night, yet all that new information was quite overwhelming, and so I was trying to take it all in still. Only Aramis had known all those facts, keeping Porthos, Athos and myself in the dark. About Phillippe’s existence, about the complexity of his plan, about his own sin in being responsible for the boy’s fate.

And after all, Phillippe was not a nobody like he thought himself to be. He was the son of the old King and the Dowager Queen, he was the twin brother of Louis. The crown was his birthright as it was Louis’. And they expected him to take the place of his brother and pretend to be him, to become king even though all he had known most of his life was loneliness and despair. It was a terrible leap, and a great burden.

It was too much to accept at once, and a painful turn in my stomach instantly caused me to regret ever learning about the matter. In an effort to calm myself, I summoned the feeling of hope and eagerness that had taken over me at the possibility of a new purpose, of an important endeavor.

“You had to listen, Marie” Aramis’ voice startled me so badly that I jumped in my seat.

I recognized a brief apology in his eyes for having startled me, yet he did not openly voice it. He lingered on his stubborn demeanor as a punishment for my snooping.

“I needed to know” Was my only reply.

“What troubles you, my child?” Aramis’ stern demeanor immediately dropped as he sat by me, and only then did I look into his eyes.

“It is quite a lot to take in” I shrugged one shoulder to take importance out of my daze. “And that poor soul… I cannot help but to feel sympathy for him”

“You must detest me after I inflicted such cruelty upon him” Aramis sighed tiredly, and I could truly tell the effect of his age in his exhausted expression. “An innocent man...”

“No, I…” Aramis did not have a choice, and while his actions were terrible, he always had the security of his country in mind. I understood his motives in spite of it all. “You… Aramis, you have tried to make amends ever since that awful day”

“I seek his forgiveness, and that of God” He desperately wrapped his hand around the crucifix that always hung around his neck and over his chest. “Yet I do not wish for you to regard me as a monster”

“I could never” I gently lay my hand atop of his. “I regard you as the kind man that gave me a home and a family when I had nothing else”

Aramis managed a small smile in gratitude for my forgiveness, something that he had longed for despite it not being from the right person, but I assumed it was a beginning for his soul to heal. After that, he leaned back on the chair and deeply exhaled, rubbing a hand across his face in further exhaustion.

“I would like to comfort him, though I don’t know how” I spoke up to break the loud silence, also changing the subject for my friend’s sake. “Should I go see him?”

Aramis watched me for a moment, yet he paused and did not move at first.

“He shall appreciate the comfort of your company” Was all I needed to hear to stand to my feet.

As I walked to Phillippe’s room, I rummaged through my thoughts in search of words of comfort, or perhaps on a subject that would distract him from any possible bad thoughts. Aramis interrupted me as I arrived at the threshold.

“Marie” I turned at the sound of my name. Though a tired gesture, Aramis smiled at me. “Ever since you arrived, you have succeeded in looking after us and blessing us with your gentle cares and your kind friendship. I do not have a doubt, you will comfort him as well”

“Thank you” I was genuinely moved by his honesty and generosity.

Before his smile could falter, he ushered me away with a motion of his hand. I laughed a little as I nodded and left for Phillippe’s chambers.

Athos was still there with him, yet they continued to chat until I knocked and opened the doors.

“May I come in?” I softly said, hoping I wasn’t interrupting anything important.

“Of course, I was about to leave” Athos stood up, kindly leaning a hand atop of Phillippe’s shoulder. “Come on in”

“Thank you” I examined the man, wondering what they were talking about.

I was still getting to know Athos, yet it felt like I knew him a little already. I ventured to think that he had also been there to comfort the boy, using his experience as a father to rid Phillippe of any anguish.

As Athos passed me by and left the room, Phillippe and I made eye contact. As soon as we did, I gently smiled down at him.

“How are you feeling?” I timidly started, unfamiliar with him still.

“Tired” In spite of it all, and of the clear telltales of his absolute exhaustion, he achieved a small smile of his own.

“May I?” Phillippe nodded, and so I sat down in the chair in front of him.

The tension was palpable in the air, for we were clearly strangers still. I averted my gaze as he timidly yet curiously stared at me, nearly posing a question. Perhaps he was wondering why I was visiting him.

“Forgive me if I importune, I only wanted to bless you with my valuable company” I decided to acquire a playful attitude to diminish the awkwardness. “Although Athos might be better at comforting people, though he does not have my dashing good looks”

Acknowledging my intentions, Phillippe laughed a little. The sound of his laughter caused me to smile widely as our glances met, this time in a comfortable gesture.

“I do appreciate your valuable company” He teased me a little as well. “It certainly makes up for the lack of luxury”

“What are you on about? This is greater than any palace!”

We both laughed, still aware of the fact that our current living space was humble yet comfortable. His warm blue eyes settled on me, acquiring a more serious approach.

“Truly, it is very kind of you to be here with me” Phillippe reached forward, as though to lay a hand upon my arm, but retracted in the end.

“I didn’t want you to feel alone” I merely shrugged, slightly flustered by his manners and incredible softness.

I realized I had averted my gaze once more when I had to force myself to glance at him. The striking resemblance with Louis bothered me still, to the point that I nearly expected Phillippe to angrily shout at me and see his eyes acquiring that intense hateful look. But of course, it never came. Louis and Phillippe were identical, like two drops of water, yet at the same time they could not have been so different. The more time I spent with Phillippe and the more I watched his tender expression, the more I realized.

“May I ask you a question, Marie?” He asked, perhaps to stop my staring.

“Of course” I immediately looked down to my hands, which I folded over my lap, not to stare anymore.

“Is Aramis your father?” I smiled at his curiosity, the very one reflected in his eyes at all times.

I understood his question, however, as not only our closeness, but our likeness was notable. We both had brown hair, although his was starting to whiten because of his age. Though my eyes were dark blue and not brown like his, we both had that fierce spark in them. Our personalities were quite similar as well if we were to compare our stubbornness and determination.

“No, he is not” Though for a moment he reminded me of the events that led me to staying with him, I recovered quickly. “He is the closest thing that I have to one, but no. Weren’t it for him and Porthos and Athos, I would have no one”

“Forgive me if I-“ I shushed Phillippe with a movement of my hand, for when I looked up at him I saw the sadness and empathy in his expression.

“It is quite alright. I do not mind you asking, I-“ Taken aback by a sudden commotion coming from downstairs, I interrupted my sentence.

Phillippe and I exchanged a quick glance of concern as we both rushed to our feet and towards the window, just in time to see Aramis and Athos rushing to the collapsed hut. Was someone inside there? Porthos, perhaps?

“Excuse me, Phillippe” I lightly graced my hand against his arm, briefly turning to him before I left. “If there is anything you need at any moment, please let me know”

“Of course” He vehemently nodded. “Now go, I will stay here”

I nodded myself and rushed out the chamber and down the stairs, jogging across the lot and joining them. I found with Porthos, who was wearing Aramis’ coat. I was certainly glad it took me several seconds to arrive, for it seemed Porthos had been nude. However, I did see a rope tied around his neck.

“Porthos?!” I exclaimed in shock, to which he immediately turned to me. He had seemed to be furious with Aramis since he was the one responsible for his failed attempt. However, Porthos’ glance immediately shifted at the sight of me.

“Put some clothes on” Aramis urged him as tough it was not the first time he asked him.

“Wait... I want to speak to you, Porthos!” I rebutted, prey of a desperate need to address such a thing at that very instant.

“He will wait for you upstairs” Athos said for him, to which Porthos reluctantly nodded.

Porthos stomped on the ground as he walked away from us, clutching to the coat to cover his backside as he did. It would have been quite a comical image were it not for the distress I was experiencing. I would certainly have a word with him later for attempting to end his own life in such a manner.

“Did he try…?” I asked to them for confirmation.

“Yes” Aramis sternly replied, his brown eyes fixed on his departing figure. “Perhaps now he will quit his foolish and puerile attitude”

I glanced up to Phillippe’s window, about to gesture to him in order to let him know everything was alright. However, the sight I was received with startled me so that I shrunk closer to Athos, who was immediately by me.

“Athos…” I gently patted his arm, pointing to the window. When his eyes fell over the figure of Phillippe looking down at us, he frowned.

The boy was wearing the mask again, a sight that troubled me profoundly. Whatever he was going through, I thought that Athos had more experience on the subject at hand, having had a son before he was cruelly taken away from him.

“I will go” The former musketeer said in his soft voice.

“Let me know if I can assist you in any way”

“I will” Athos left too, just as I noticed Phillippe walking away from the window. I heaved a sigh as the tension within me vanished and turned to the only other person with me.

“Serves him right” Aramis still showed his temper. I nervously fidgeted as he directed it to me. “And you, Marie, I do hope you are truly done with that same attitude. For the love of God, I am sick and tired of your gloominess! Both you and Porthos, it is exhausting!”

Perhaps it was a nervous reaction, yet a chuckle stirred within me. I fought to suppress it not to anger Aramis.

“Forgive me, Aramis” I innocently replied instead, batting my eyelashes at him to appear angelical. “I am done with it, truly, especially after this”

The unexpected nature of my response struck him with shock, though he recovered quickly and decided to maintain his dignity by lingering on his fury, although now quenched and artificial.

“And do not make that face at me, child” The corner of his lips were twitching. “I have seen it before, behave”

“Do I not usually?”

“Not as often as I would like you to”

Remembering that I had meddled in their secret endeavor after all, I decided not to argue. Besides, I did not want to push him back into his enraged state again.

“You are right, of course” Despite my amusement, I attempted to keep my sarcasm to a minimum. “I should not talk back as I do”

“I am afraid you would not be yourself if you didn’t” Came his response, making it harder for me to keep my laughter to myself.

In the end, Aramis gave in to my charm and we both chuckled.

I barged in, determined to lecture Porthos. If it weren’t for Aramis, Porthos’ decision would have… I did not even want to think about it. Perhaps I was closer to Aramis, yet I appreciated Porthos and I considered him a close friend nonetheless.

There he was, already dressed, feebly sitting in a chair staring at nothing.

“What were you thinking?” I exclaimed as soon as I was inside. “Were it not for Aramis…”

Porthos sighed noisily, and I understood what he was thinking, but I did not care. Although it must have been absurd for him to be lectured by me, who he regarded nearly as a child, it did not stop me.

“I am useless” Porthos shrugged. “What is the point?”

“Useless?” I wished Aramis and Athos could shove some sense into him, though they had tried, to no avail. “You are one of the most brilliant musketeers in the history of France!”

“Not anymore” He had completely surrendered himself to his apathy, once his rage against Aramis had faded, and did not hide it from me anymore either. “I am an old fart”

“You are to restore Phillippe to his rightful place and bring peace and prosperity to France once and for all, is that not enough?”

Porthos did not reply, he in fact looked away from me and into the fire that lit and warmed the room we were in.

“Porthos...” I tiredly continued, sitting before him as I obstructed his staring point. “You would have left us alone”

At my words, he finally glanced up at me. There was now guilt and regret in his dark eyes.

“Are you not glum, Marie?” Was his response. “I thought you understood”

“I did, and although I do feel hopeless at times still, I…” I did not know why, but I was feeling better as of late. Perhaps it was a mixture of Aramis’ words and our endeavor. “I find that there is hope after all”

“How do you do it?” He genuinely asked. “You have recovered that light from when you were brought to us, you have found your smile once more”

“I do not know” I hadn’t quite analyzed when it was that I had found joy again. I had been too concerned with recent events to question it, and honestly, grateful enough about it to be content. “Perhaps it is because I do not know the nostalgia of once being a musketeer and looking back at my days of glory”

Porthos’ silence was quite eloquent, as it was exactly the main reason why he was troubled. I was aware, he longed to see himself as that man he once was, as being useful, being young and spry. Being a man of action. He could not see that he was useful in a different way, that his friendship was important to us.

“Or perhaps I saw that there is indeed hope now that we can cause real change” I insisted, in an attempt to bring some of that hope to him.

My efforts seemed to be of no use, though I had hopefully convinced him not to try end his life again the future. I stood up, hoping to at least see him smile and that he would abandon that lifeless expression.

“I do wish you brightened up” I dedicated him a big smile that might pass on to him. “Besides, there may be some of that action you crave, only that not quite yet”

He sighed once more, only responding by holding my hand in one of his and patting it with the other. I did not know what that gesture meant exactly, but I said a few more words of encouragement nonetheless.

“Believe, Porthos” I covered his big hand with my free one. “I do, I believe that there will come better times. I am quite sure of it, I am done being feeble and dull”

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#love above all #laa #the man in the iron mask #the man in the iron mask fanfiction #the man in the iron mask series #tmitim #tmitim fanfiction #tmitim series #athos #aramis #porthos #d'artagnan #phillippe #historical #drama #adventure #romance

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