#let’s hope I’m not forgetting anyone important like last time lmao
Text
Alright, I did one for my mdzs read so it’s time for svsss’s: Character Roundup!
Yue Qingyuan: lowkey gave me lxc vibes with the whole “overlooking abuse happening under my watch that I am both aware of and fully able to stop” thing, but otherwise, greatest Big brother when his Big Brother Energy™️ is directed towards an actual good person
Liu Qingge: dude was considered the God of War but let his reputation go to the wayside just to try to give sqq a proper funeral. If that don’t give him the best shidi award… also extra points for never liking Shen Jiu (though that comment on his cultivation was a loooow blow)
Mu Qingfang: an actually reliable doctor and friend. Too bad doctors are kinda useless in a story where sex is supposed to be the cure for all medical ailments lmao!
Qi Qingqi: she only existed to be bitchy and serve quips and honestly, good for her; one day she’ll outbitch the bitchiest character of them all (sqq)
Ning Yingying: ok but y’all don’t be giving my girl her flowers! The peak didn’t teach her how to fight cause the world wouldn’t have been able to handle an unstoppable nyy! (I want a rematch between her and the palace princess so she can properly stomp miss daddy’s girl into the ground)
Ming Fan: I guess he didn’t die this time around, good for him?
The nameless Qing Jing Peak disciples: I love how somehow sqq raised an entire peak of disciples who are crybabies to his face but disrespectful behind his back to everyone not their shizun (and he thinks it’s just lbh, smh)
Liu Mingyan: always lurking, always writing. Anyways, go make your coin, queen!
Sha Hualing: Luo Binghe owes my girl unlimited PTO, stop overworking her! 😭😭😭
Mobei-jun: congrats on the unintentional husband! Maybe go to someone else for relationship advice
Zhuzhi-lang: breaks my damn heart
Tianlang-jun: breaks my damn heart, but deflects with humor
Su Xiyan: she really did the damn thing, yet all of it is speculation 🤣
Old Palace Master: go to hell, fucking demented old man, fucking stranger danger ass creeper; he deserved having the most torturous death in the book
Shen Jiu formerly known as Shen Qingqiu: he wasn’t a character and didn’t deserve to be, that’s why he got replaced with someone everyone else liked better. All in all, a pitiable backstory and a pitiful end to a character who starts the story erased from existence. Redemption don’t work on the unrepentant
Bingge: oh sweetheart…we need you your own comfort Shen Yuan and a lot of professional help…
The System: still can’t outbitch the bitchiest character of them all LOL
The nameless “righteous” cultivators: Y’all consider it righteous to attack defenseless demons, including infants and toddlers, cause they “might be evil”? Go to hell, i hope at least one of y’all’s evil ass sects got demolished before the merge failed
Shen Qingqiu starring Shen Yuan: thank you, King, for your service in fixing all of your predecessor’s fuck-ups and thereby proving that it’s never to late to atone for the abuse you (not actually you) have wrought, despite what some people have to say 😒 Anyways, enjoy your honeymoon with the man every woman (supposedly) wants!
Luo Binghe: oh honey, oh sweetie, we need you a therapist; go on and enjoy your honeymoon with the man every man wants while that’s pending
Bingqiu: they make each other so happy 🥺 You couldn’t pry this ship from my hands if I was Tianlang-jun’s rotting plant body.
#svsss#human reads svsss#i think that’s everyone#let’s hope I’m not forgetting anyone important like last time lmao
82 notes
·
View notes
Note
Listen, maybe it’s just that I’ve done almost every slow burn route this game has ever thrown at us (Jake, Noah, Finn, now Ozzy, I also went for Oliver who was a last minute LI in S4), but I’m kind of… hopeful still? I won’t lie lmao, that hurt. It really hurt for a minute there. But at the end of the day, after you get a minute to sit back on it, it’s kind of understandable.
I seriously don’t get why people can do whatever they want in this game (MC included), but, if Ozzy does it, he’s the villain. Was what he did great? No. But was he hurt and confused and just made a mistake? Yeah. It’s actually not that different from what Grace did in CA, just less intentional. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think Grace is a bad person. She’s not my favorite (I won’t lie), but she’s a good gal. So, I get it (I still have to get completely over it myself), but let’s not talk about Ozzy like he’s this bad person, please.
He’s no Suresh. More than anything, Ozzy gives Noah vibes with an even softer personality, more baggage AND more insecurities.
MC was absolutely right to be mad at Ozzy right about now, but personally I also defended him from Marshall and Grace, because what was that. The hypocrisy (Grace), the gall (Marshall).
Also, I see that a lot of people are forgetting this is Love Island and Ozzy had no obligation to anyone at the time in which CA happened. We have every right to be upset, of course, but he’s no snake or player. Personally, I kind of just want to hug him.
Again, MC is completely right to be mad at Ozzy now (though I’ll admit, I’m already dying for the two of them to sort things through), but the fact that Ozzy was spiralling so bad he went for a three-way kiss while skinny dipping (when we know how he feels about intimacy) absolutely broke my heart.
(Not to mention, when Ozzy said he immediately regretted that night and was beating himself up about it, I swear I felt his words down in my soul. Plus, he’s the only one who owned up to his own mistakes. That, in my opinion, is more important than not making them at all.)
ALL 👏 OF 👏 THIS 👏
Fact: We weren’t in a couple with Ozzy
Fact: As MC, you can make so many choices throughout the game (kissing, bits, lap dances, etc.) that you get away with
Fact: It stung, but I still love Ozzy
Maybe we are all just making excuses for him, but I really don’t think he’s a bad guy. He owned up to it and seemed so remorseful. Grace was unapologetic for kissing Hamish, which I don’t really care about, but then she’s livid about Ozzy. I like her but I’m over her antics.
At the end of the day, I’ve put up with much worse in this game- Cherrygate, Blake, S5 to name a few. We’ll get over this, too 💖💖
#anon asks#operationnope answers#litg#litg s6#love island the game#litg double trouble#litg dt#litg ozzy
65 notes
·
View notes
Note
Okay so, chapter 3 of no time confounds me. Wilbur just being in denial while everyone around him already knows there’s no way he won’t get turned. Tommy feels so guilty because he already knows this is what will happen.
Wilbur spends the entire chapter trying to accept that it’s out of his hands. Sure he’ll go with the vampires, it’s not like he has a choice, there is nothing is panicking about it can do for him. Meanwhile, he firmly stays on his “Tommy didn’t mean to and is clearly going through it” agenda. So he can’t be mad, and he’s not, but eventually he gets tired of not having a choice. Especially if it’s such an important one. He doesn’t like the situation. He doesn’t like either option, but he still wants the choice. Still wants to have what little control he can still get.
You’ve shown us how much Tommy cares about Wilbur’s life and how guilty he feels about the entire thing. At this point I think that being turned by a vampire means staying in there coven, so this can’t be solved by just handing Tubbo over. So Tommy spends most of this time thinking Schlatt is just gonna demand to turn Wilbur and then Wilbur is stuck there. Which would be bad, but Wilbur dying would be worse for Tommy. Because he’ll spend eternity feeling guilty for getting him killed.
The Dual of Blood is such a cool concept. It’s a nice solution. Though they are forgetting about one thing. They say Schlatt will do it for bragging rights alone. But that also means he has to be sure that he can win. If he knows that Phil is older, which I’m assuming he does, he also knows the chance of him winning is low. Unless they are trying to trick him by taking something he doesn’t know the specifics of. At the same time he’d know Wilnur would try to go for Phil’s coven. He can’t win,
The thing is, as Tubbo said, Schlatt is petty. He’s reckless, but he’s not stupid. Also, his beef is with Tommy, who stole his claim. He wouldn’t dual Phil for that, especially knowing he’d lose. He would want to dual Tommy. Cuz 200+ year vs 52 are just way better odds. No one would like that, but if they don’t have other options, Wilnur would still take it. Which either ends with him having to try and stay awake to change the outcome or having to hope that the bond he already has with Tommy is somehow strong enough.
It’s a really nice set-up where they make a plan and except it to go their way, and then Schlatt pulls the rug from under them. And we get some actual tension.
Also, I’m really curious about Niki and Jack’s backstory. And the rest of Schlatt’s coven members. But I’ll have to wait and see in chapter 4. Also, I knew you really want to finish this before your midnight, but please don’t overexert yourself (is that the correct word? Who knows, definitely not my.)
-🌲
answering this so late hahahahaha oops
chapter 3 is wilbur trying so damn hard not to lose his mind because his entire life has been flipped on its head in the span of, like, 12 hours. mans is going through it so he's gotta live in denial for a bit to let everything settle in
yeah tommy is such an interesting character in no time because he's so childish and selfish about his relationships in a lot of ways, but he's also not at the same time. he knows that he shouldn't have gotten wilbur so involved in things and now it's his fault he's caught up in this mess, but at the same time tommy himself was so damn lonely that year without his coven that he couldn't help but get attached to wilbur. the last thing he wants is for wilbur to die because of him, but he also knows that an eternity (or at least, like, half a century) in the coven of someone neither of them like would also be a horrible fate for him to endure
:)
I don't really end up going into anyone else's backstory simply because this fic was not meant to be as long as it was and i just wanted to finish it lmao. maybe I'll come up with backstories for some of the other characters, but my main focus was just sbi for the most part.
also i did not end up finishing by halloween rip but hey it's done now!
0 notes
Text
tw. mentions / descriptions of a panic attack
bokuto was excited — more excited than he’d been in weeks!
he was finally getting the time to spend time with his beloved, his puppy, for the first time in forever thanks to the recent onslaught of drama the house had been embroiled in.
he figured he should thank you for bringing it all on because now, as he stood in front of meiko’s room, he had a chance.
“puppy!” bokuto called out, knocking on her door enthusiastically. after a moment of muttering, shuffling around and a loud curse, the door opened up just a crack to reveal meiko clad in only a thin bedsheet with her thin lips wrapped around a cigarette.
kotarou peered over her head and into her room where he spotted a quick flash of dark brown hair before meiko stepped out and closed the door behind her.
“who was that?” he questioned innocently, assuming that it was one of the other housemates. meiko narrowed her eyes at him and blew out a puff of smoke.
“what do you want bokuto.” her voice was steely and cold, nothing like her usual peppy self. still, bokuto couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was in there who shouldn’t be.
“you know,” kotarou began hesitantly, studying her face for reactions. “iwaizumi doesn’t like anyone in here who hasn’t signed a contract. and also you’re not allowed to smoke.” his nose turned up at the smell, disgust for the cigarette written clear on his face.
meiko rolled her eyes at him before taking another drag and blowing the smoke out straight into his face. bokuto tried to hold his breath for as long as he could but his lung capacity wasn’t so great. i need to work on that, he thought as he heaved and choked on the smoke circling down into his chest.
the love of his life adjusted her sheet covering before dropping the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with the end of the blanket. “i asked you a question bokuto. what the fuck do you want?”
the harshness in her tone made him pause. was what he was here for actually important? or would it just bother her unnecessarily?
no, he resolved. bokuto missed her and he wanted to spend time with his kinda-but-not-really-girlfriend! especially after he waited all this time!
“i, i wanted to spend time with you...” with every word, his hesitance grew until he was muttering, the look in meiko’s eyes sending chills down his spine.
“no,” she said and turned back to enter her room. “wait!” bokuto’s hand shot out to grab her arm, very gently pulling her closer to him. “please,” he whispered, tears beginning to rim his wide, golden eyes.
meiko stared back up at him with absolute rage in her eyes as she snatched her limb out of his hold. “listen to me right now bokuto, and listen well,” she sneered, taking a step back towards her bedroom. “i have never liked you. you’re so fucking childish and clingy and annoying! i literally cannot understand how anyone cares to hang around you.”
bokuto felt something inside him shatter at her words, a sharp gasp escaping his parted lips. “but-“ “no buts! you are fucking nothing to me! all you were was a warm body to sleep with but you weren’t even good for that,” meiko’s chest heaved as she finished speaking, her dark eyes trained on the tear tracks on bokuto’s cheeks.
gently, he lifted a hand to his face, barely registering the water that covered them, his mind desperately trying to understand what had just occurred. in the back of his head, he briefly noticed the sound of a door closing and muffled giggling but it was covered by the sound of blood rushing in his ears.
how... could she? he loved her and she, she only wanted to fuck him? he poured out his entire heart, his very soul to her and for what? for her to take it and stomp on it until there was nothing left?
bokuto’s chest felt heavy — he wasn’t breathing. quickly, he took one breath, and then another and another and another until he was collapsed on the ground, heaving for air as he sobbed.
why him? what had he done to deserve this? maybe it was karma — he’d let a plastic bag float by him into a stream when he was 7 even though he knew littering was wrong. maybe it was because he didn’t kiss his mother goodbye the last time he saw her. or maybe the universe was punishing him for everything he’d done to you.
oh, you — the person who meiko had tried so hard to convince him to hate, and he had! his beloved had no reason to lie to him, or at least that’s what he believed until this moment. she lied to him about loving and caring about him so why wouldn’t she lie about everything else?
bokuto’s head was pounding as he tried to rationalize where he’d gone wrong, his usually bright eyes, dull and trained on the ceiling as he attempted to regain his breathing.
it felt like his whole world was collapsing on itself like a fallen star, just waiting to implode and destroy everyone and everything until there was nothing left and—
“hey, look at me, you’re ok,” a soft voice rang out over the buzzing in his head, his eyes beginning to focus on... your figure.
what were you doing here? he so desperately wanted to ask but the words were caught in his throat, trapped behind a wall of despair and anguish.
“don’t try to talk ok? just focus on my breathing, try and match it. i’m going to touch you now.” your soft, small (so much smaller — were you eating enough?) hand wrapped around his own and brought it up to your chest where he could feel the steady rise and fall of your breathing.
bokuto’s breath was shaky and definitely not as smooth as your own, but you didn’t seem to mind, instead holding his hand to your heart until his breathing became level and even.
he must’ve knocked out because by the time he came to, the hall was dark and you were gone, the only memory of you being a box of tissues and a glass of water on the ground next to him.
he reached for the glass first, chugging the whole thing down in only a few seconds. all that crying must have dehydrated him immensely, he realized as he searched for another cup.
standing on shaky legs, bokuto attempted to maneuver to the kitchen, holding onto the walls for stability as he crept through the dark corridors.
he quickly filled up his favorite owl mug (a gift from she-who-will-not-be-named) with water once he made it to the kitchen, extra careful not to make a lot of noise just in case someone was asleep.
bokuto swiftly gulped down his water, placing the cup in the sink where he knew it would not remain because if anything was sure, it was the clean state of the house that meiko kept.
ugh meiko. the whole situation hurt to think about so he didn’t, instead choosing to bury it in the deep recesses of his mind, never to be seen again.
as bokuto trudged upstairs back to his bedroom, he noticed the big black trash bag sat at the end of the hall near daichi’s room. he debated on taking it out himself but was ultimately convinced not to.
it’ll be gone tomorrow, he reasoned as he slipped into his room and bed before quickly falling asleep.
...
it was not gone the next day. neither was the cup in the sink, or the hair on the floor in the bathroom, or the laundry strewn all over the living room.
the whole house seemed to be in shambles and it remained that way for the entirety of the week. meiko was nowhere to be seen, flitting in and out of the house at random, escaping to only god knows where with god knows who.
bokuto didn’t care anymore. she ruined his life so why should he give a half of a shit where she was? what he did care about, on the other hand, was figuring what to do about you.
he wanted to thank you and apologize but he wasn’t sure how to do so! he knew he said some horrible things to you and was determined to make it right — not just for you but for himself too.
℗ poker face
shattered
series masterlist
(●’◡’●)ﾉ
an - ok writing this genuinely made me cry???? bokuto is my comfort character so making him go through this i just </3 i hope it came across ok? it’s literally 1 am so there may v well be typos and massive mistakes but i hope u guys enjoy this miserably sad chapter LMAO don’t forget to feed me <3
taglist - if your name is in bold, i cannot tag you
@boosyboo9206 • @geektastic84 • @elianetsantana • @trashy-simp • @infinitebells • @6mattsun9 • @suhkusa • @sazunari • @kotarosbabygirl • @fucktheworlddude • @insomniacwreck • @calumsfringe • @saltylettuce • @chai-blu • @al3x1ss • @hawksyoongi • @syndellwins • @jooleuuh • @amberalisa • @kissungjae • @liberhoe • @tetsurocore • @animeoverdosee • @duhsies • @saikishairclip • @afire24 • @premiyagi • @kit-kat428 • @doctorspencereid • @daphnxy • @kyomihann • @maer-333 • @sinoflust19 • @peteunderoos • @peachiikichu • @iidanotlida • @yongboxerrr • @kac-chowsballs • @tanakaslastbraincell • @memorableminds • @ris-illustration • @starry-magicshop • @sugavwara • @smuttyanimeslut • @kiwibirbs-library • @haijkk • @airybnb • @babierin • @iwaisa • @decaffinatedtealover • @notameera • @kawaii-angelanne • @rintarovibes • @urlocalsimp
the rest of the tags will be in the replies!!
#haikyuu!!#haikyuu#haikyuu x reader smau#haikyuu smau#haikyuu x reader#hq smau#hq x reader smau#hq x reader#haikyuu angst#hq angst#haikyuu fluff#hq fluff#atsumu x reader#osamu x reader#kenma x reader#kuroo x reader#bokuto x reader#akaashi x reader#daichi x reader#sugawara x reader#oikawa x reader#iwaizumi x reader#sakusa x reader#tw toxic behavior#tw toxicity#tw toxic relationship#tw panicking#tw panic attack#tw panic mention#haikyuu social media au
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Hollowed Minds Progress Update 5/14/22
Hi! I was hesitating to make a progress update this week at first, but even with all the stuff that’s been happening, I was reminded that I’ll eventually have to keep going. So yes, I’m here. I’ll have to be honest, though. I only managed to write around 1,000 words in Jade’s route lmao. So instead, I’ll be saying here what I plan to do next week!
Write as much as I can for Jade’s route in Chapter 1, with the goal of finishing it by the end of the week.
Fixing some sentence structures in both the Prologue and Chapter 1 that I find too long or awkward. (If you have observed specific sections for this, do inform me!)
Finish Alonzo’s prompt (this was meant to be posted this week, but idk, Alonzo’s background as a character hit too deep for me given the current situation in our country.)
I’ll start making character profiles! Don’t expect much because I’m bad at making anything look classy haha
Okay, this is something I’d like to ask you all. If I start adding exclusive content on my ko-fi, would anyone be willing to subscribe for that? or is it a nah? I don’t want to start up a patreon until Chapter 2 is ready (plus I’m not even sure with what tiers I want), but the money I can get from ko-fi will certainly help a lot. Will begin adding commission slots soon, too!
Aside from these, can I request you all to send me asks about the story or characters? Or just some feedback/opinion. I still have a few I haven’t answered yet, but as much as I want to focus on writing alone, I’ll need some breathing room from politics on this blog (to help me recover mentally, though I might still post philippines-related stuff when I believe it’s needed), so I’d love to answer some HM-related asks!!
Anyway, happy weekend! I just have a short message for my fellow Filipinos doing their best to keep holding onto hope right now! Under the cut!
So yeah.
I’m not gonna lie. I bawled my eyes out countless times this week. There were times when I thought I was okay, then I’d just cry out of nowhere all of a sudden like a child lmao (just cried earlier before writing this post). Never have I been that emotional my whole life ever since I lost someone important to me, and I suppose that tells a lot. It felt like I lost all hope, because seriously, seeing the elections results was like a nightmare. I have my own personal reasons why I didn’t want to see the Marcos family back in power, but I believe we can all agree that it’s a very bad thing, especially now that they’re starting to attempt rewriting the past.
We can’t deny the fact that the next years will be challenging. We might cry a whole lot more. We might suffer. But when the Angat Buhay NGO was announced last night, I had the realization that we’re not alone. Our voice will be heard. It will be so damn hard to fight against the current, but there will be leaders who will remain alongside the public.
In turn, we should keep fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. The farmers, the fishermen, the indigenous, and those others who for several years felt that they’re being continuously ignored.
It’s okay to cry (I know I’ll still keep doing that), and it’s okay to be afraid, but don’t forget to get up. A lot of martial law victims are watching the country right now, watching us. We can’t let them regret what they’ve done for our generation, can we?
I, for one, almost gave up writing Hollowed Minds altogether this week. I didn’t want to risk my safety writing something that might not even change anything at all. I didn’t want to endanger my family for the content I’m about to include (suffice to say I never really thought the Marcoses will return to a position of power). But at the same time, I didn’t want to let my ancestors down all because I was afraid. This is what I’ve always stood up for, and that’s what I’m aware I should keep doing
And this is who we really are, you know? Over several generations, after several wars and revolutions, our heroes faced their challenges head on. So while you shouldn’t let anger take over your compassion, keep fighting!
Sama-sama tayong lalaban!
That was not short at all, sorry for that, but anyway, I tend to listen to Rosas every time I’m feeling way too down. I’m linking them here so listen if you need some uplifting, though tbh I might just be that weird to rely on one song to get my hopes up lmao. Just choose between the two versions I love the most, whichever you fancy (don’t laugh at me).
(All-Star/Musician version, Leni-Kiko Music Video version)
Take care and I love you all! I’ll just be here if you need me!
#progress update#interactive fiction#hollowed minds series#hollowed minds#hollowed minds book one#writing#interactive novel#wip#if wip#choicescript
56 notes
·
View notes
Text
OOPS.
Well. It’s almost my birthday, so maybe you can forgive me for forgetting to update, yeah? lmao
Heading off on a mission to Kamino is the last thing Anakin wants to do right now... But at the same time, it's likely for the best. A mission will give him some time and space away from both Coruscant and from Obi-Wan.
And... Well... it will give him some time away from Padmé too, until he can figure out what he wants to say to her. He needs to talk to her about Palpatine, definitely before he talks to Obi-Wan again, but he just... He hasn't been able to make himself do it. He's afraid that it might end in an argument, and that simply is not how he wants to spend what little time he has with Padmé.
It feels odd to be away without Ahsoka, to not have her at his side as he goes on a mission. However, she is to remain on Coruscant for the time being for the sake of furthering her studies, not to mention that Anakin thinks she might need a bit of a break from the war. Besides... If she remains on Coruscant, then she's in a way his eyes and ears there.
No doubt will she be willing to tell him all about what's going on there, which... Well. If he can't be there himself because he's out in the field, then at least he'll be able to get some information from his Padawan. It could be worse, really.
Still... He can't help but hate everything that's going on right now. He can't really wrap his head around it all, and he hates that... That... That he's not sure that he's really right about Palpatine. Because Palpatine has committed crimes... And Anakin was so sure he hadn't.
It just seems like he can't trust any of the people closest to him anymore. Obi-Wan doesn't trust him, is probably keeping secrets... Padmé is definitely hiding something about Palpatine. And Palpatine... Palpatine he... Anakin doesn't want to think about it anymore. It's just too terrible to really think about.
Maybe he'll suddenly wake up and it was all just a weird and terrible dream caused by eating too many Canodian burgers from the Temple cafeteria too close to bedtime. It wouldn't be the first time that caused him to have nightmares...
He doesn't think he'll be that lucky, though.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Anakin turns to his captain.
"How are we doing, Rex?"
"We'll be arriving at Kamino right on schedule, General. We're suffering no delays and everything has run smoothly with no issues so far."
Anakin snorts. "Let's hope it stays that way."
"Absolutely, General."
~~~~
"General! We have an incoming transmission from a Republic frequency!" One of the shinies's voice echoes across the bridge.
Anakin blinks in surprise. Well, unexpected, but it might be important.
"Patch it through, standard security protocols."
"Yes, General!"
Now, Anakin wasn't exactly expecting anyone, but he really wasn't expecting to suddenly have Luminara Unduli's hologram standing in front of him, looking as calm and unflappable as ever. He doesn't have the slightest idea what she could possibly want.
Sure, Ahsoka and Master Unduli's Padawan—he's forgotten her name, he realises and has to suppress a small wince—are friends, but Anakin has rarely had missions together with Master Unduli. They don't really... mesh. They don’t argue or anything—Anakin doesn’t think he’s ever seen Master Unduli so much as upset—but Anakin sometimes feels stifled by her in the field, simply because of how different their approaches are.
She’s really nice though, and super skilled, so even as different as they are Anakin doesn’t mind working with her.
"Knight Skywalker, I'm glad I reached you."
"Master Unduli. What can I do for you?" He doesn't really like formality, but sometimes he has to play by those rules too. It's just the way it is, even if the Galaxy would be a lot better off if there was no need for formality and hierarchies and everyone could instead be each other's equals.
"I am sending this message to inform you that my fleet will be reconvening with yours at Kamino." Her hologram gives a small bow. "I have been given a mission down on the planet, and as such some of my fleet will remain under your care while most of it heads down to the planet."
Anakin feels his eyebrows rise towards his hairline. This is the first time he's heard anything about this.
"Why wasn't I told about this before now?" He keeps his temper in check, and really, Obi-Wan would probably be proud of it. Despite the fact that clearly Anakin's been kept in the dark by the Council again, he's not blowing up!
"It was a last minute mission. I just received the transmission from the Council, and as such I took on the task of informing you immediately."
Huh. Well that's new.
If he can trust it, that is. It doesn't really sound like the Council to do something like that, but perhaps even they do impulsive stuff on occasion.
"Right. Well, I appreciate it, Master Unduli." He gives his own little bow to the hologram. "We'll keep our scanners ready for when your fleet arrives and those ships that remain in orbit will be safe among mine."
"Very good, much appreciated, Knight Skywalker." She inclines her head. "I bid you farewell for now and will contact you again once we've arrived and make entry into the atmosphere."
"Right. Yeah. Sounds good."
The holocall cuts out and Anakin is left scratching his cheek. He wonders if Unduli brought her Padawan with her, or if she's hanging out with Ahsoka back on Coruscant. He can probably ask her next time.
Not that it's really important. Ahsoka's fine on her own.
Definitely.
—
(Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi masterpost)
118 notes
·
View notes
Text
But It’s Better If You Do
Trying to keep your relationship with your professor was easy enough, until you learned that someone had found out about it.
words: 7,424
tags: manipulative!peter, explicit noncon/dubcon elements, degredation, implied overstimulation, blackmailing, kidnapping, college student and professor relationship,
a/n: whew this had a lot of words compared to what i usually write. plus, since im bad at titles, i’ll just use my fav song titles lmao. (ps. erik lehnsherr aka magneto is here and im just glad i could put him in my little fictional world bc im d biggest slut for him)
A complete lie, you just did not want to deal with college fuck boys.
The man in front of the class was practically pouring his heart out into the lecture. The chalkboard was filled with white letterings from left to right, not knowing where to start as you take down notes.
“It is important to keep in mind that bimolecular structure and function are dictated by the properties of the medium in which they are dissolved,” your professor explains while continually pacing from one end to the other among the students seated at the first row.
You decided to seat around the middle to the last row, knowing it was the least obvious way for other students in the class to notice how much you fawn over your Organic Chemistry professor rather than the subject itself.
Honestly you could listen to him talk for hours. All those information he had been discussing would not actually process through your thoughts. You knew that better than anyone.
But who honestly would invalidate your reason? Everyone can probably relate to hating Chemistry, no matter what subcategory it is.
Considering that this was probably one of the most difficult courses you had in your program. You were just thankful and lucky enough you landed on one of the hottest professors amongst the campus.
“Hey what did Professor Lehnsherr say about the problems during synthesis of proteins?” Peter asks.
In spite of being fortunate about everything else about this subject, you were not quite happy about Peter Parker following you around like a lost puppy. Especially during the classes you both have alike.
The boy constantly asks so much questions as if you were the teacher already. In addition, he seemed smart enough to figure things out yet somehow he keeps on bugging you for reassurance.
You did not want to be rude. He has not done anything to completely deserve your rage, however he was definitely getting on your nerves.
Honestly you would not want to be infuriated over his consistent queries, but you were just as distracted as he was, maybe even more. With this, you were looking dumber to him each day.
To anyones pride, it was probably a kick in the stomach. You knew you were not the brightest in this class, but it was best to leave the information to yourself. No need for anyone to point out how mindless you were.
And you really were not. You had other Science subjects you totally excel at. Sadly, Chemistry was just not one of them.
“Well, uh, I don’t think I got that part either.” You look aside where he was seated and awkwardly smiled at him before mentioning an apology, “Sorry, Peter.”
In return, Peter smiled at you and dismissed the question. You were not so sure whether to forget about it or take even the least bit of offense. You felt a little mocked by how easily he did it and innocently he smiled, but maybe you were just overthinking this through.
“It’s fine,” he tells. “I just didn’t get the third bullet, but I’ll try to review it in the textbook when I get home.”
“Oh okay, sure.”
“Speaking about reviewing,” Again, Peter tries to start another discourse.
“I was wondering if you got reviewers for the upcoming text for next week? We all know how difficult Professor Lehnsherr’s exams can get, right?” He lets out a forced chuckle, assuming it could lighten the mood.
As much as he tried to make small talks with you, almost everyday, today you really feel like you did not want to return the favor. Especially after having to bring up the test next week.
“I don’t really make reviewers, I usually just scan the books I have at home.”
Lies. You probably have a box full of index cards and sticky notes in your room.
You tried to use every studying tips every corner of the Internet could give. All those study-life hacks that really did not help much but pile up to your disorganized state of mind.
You fucking tried to study Chemistry. You really did.
“What, you don’t?!” He suddenly exclaims, not realizing the loudness of his voice as it almost caught the attention from people at front. “You seem to be busy all the time though. It’s like I always catch your writing or reading something in class.”
Maybe your mood was just off but it definitely seemed weird for him to say that. Though, you did not want to make something from what he said. It was not worth your time.
“I guess people are not always what they seem to be, yeah?”
Again, Peter gives out that soft chuckle and smile, “Then I guess so. You do make a point.”
He does not argue with you any further.
“Can I at least borrow your Physics book? I only bought Chemistry and Biotech for the semester. Didn’t know they would actually utilize it for once,” he scoffs.
At first you hesitated. You were reviewing for it too, but you already felt bad for being no help whenever he asks a question and often times disregarding him when your mood if off. Plus, you did just make it look like you were not much of a study-freak.
“Okay.”
He instinctively fist pumps the air and looks at you with a wide, grateful grin. “Thank you so much. You’re a lifesaver, Y/N.”
“Don’t mention it.” You grab the book he needs from your bag and hands it to him. He accepts it and places it inside his while also clearing the rest of his things.
Looking at his digital wristwatch wherein he raised his index finger up as if he figured something out of it, he says, “He’s going to dismiss the class in a few minutes. We should get ready for Cell Biology next period.
Oh how you hated it. Were you jumping to conclusions? Or was this boy really trying to be too close with you? Or was he just being nice and informing you to prepare ahead?
God, you did not give Peter Parker the right to cloud up your thoughts like this.
“Thanks,” you say, “but I need to talk to Professor Lehnsherr after class. Have to, uh, consult him about my concept paper that he made us submit last week.”
As he tidies his notebooks up and carelessly shoves it inside his backpack, he immediately looks back at you with a confused expression, “Oh, I can always wait for you–”
“It’s fine, Peter. Thank you though.” Two of your hands were instinctively waving in front of you, a meek gesture for him to stop coddling you or whatever move he had been trying to make at you.
“Are you sure? I–”
And if you were ought to be saved further from lashing out over Peter’s incessant attempts, you finally heard the words any student was longing to hear. “Class dismissed. I’ll see you all on Monday.”
“Eri–err, Professor Lensherr just dismissed the class. Better catch up to him before he heads out,” you hurriedly said. And with a loud slam from your notebook, you quickly shut him out. In addition, you practically shoved every thing in front of you into your bag without sparing a second glance.
One strap of your back was slung over your shoulder as you hurriedly flew down the aisle. Professor Lehnsherr was midway into packing his things before you interrupted and approached him.
“Professor,” you call out. “I have a question. About the paper I handed in last week.”
“Uhuh.” He faintly furrows his eyebrows, trying to hide his already obvious bewilderment. “I forgot which assignment was that, Ms. Y/L/N.”
There were students still exiting in class. So you tried your best to make your conversation with him less suspicious. He was most likely doing the same.
“It was about the Chemistry-proposal thing.” You snapped your fingers a few times as you gathered your train of thought, but realizing it was not going effectively. “Well I just wanted to confirm it since, you know, I was hoping for any feedback from you throughout this week.”
“I’m not sure if I have read it. I’ve certainly been busy this week,” he clarifies. “Nonetheless, we can talk about it later. Thank you for bringing it up. I’ll make sure to follow it up in my schedule, Ms. Y/N.”
Both of you made your way out the door once there were only a minuscule amount of students left in class. You probably had been looking at your professor with gushing stares, but you doubt the other people in the room could notice it. They were farther away from where both of you stood, much less would they be able to hear what the two of your were talking about.
“Oh thank you so much, sir!” You almost cried out and jumped in joy while reaching through the threshold. Moreover, you composed yourself before mumbling out, “I’ll see you later, Eric.”
In which you were certain no one would have heard it besides him.
.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．
“I’m sure you’ll get a good grade in the exams, Y/N,” Eric leans back to his seat with a humble smile upon his face.
“Really? I doubt so, there’s a kid in your class that keeps bugging me out to a study date, or whatever you call it,” you sneer. You lick your lips as you finish taking a sip around the wine glass, setting it down and looking back at the man you were having dinner with. “It’s getting very annoying though, he surely knows how to get on my nerves.”
“I’m sure he’s just trying to flirt with you, like any other college boys do.” He optimistically and maturely lays out the options. “It’s pretty normal for anyone to chase someone they are fond of, especially for young adults like you.”
It was a pretty obvious sign that he was trying to let his message reach you.
“Well, I apologize for my standards of men,” you say. “I just want to skip the whole heartbreak in college and character development. All that stuff you usually see in a typical teen romance movie.”
You sigh, looking down and saying, “I already found a man for me. Why would I stoop down for some guy who’s most likely wanting something from me, and dumping me once he got what he wanted.”
“Y/N, I don’t blame you for liking men that’s ten years older than you,” Eric assures. “But I want you to realize that you still have a lot to look forward after graduating
“And I look forward for you too!” You tried to not raise your voice, though having dinner in his house wouldn’t really catch anyones attention. “I can’t wait to finally graduate from second semester and be able to spend more time, publicly, with you.”
“Yes, I understand, honey.” He places his hand over yours as he tries to calm you down. “Like I said, I just want you to make sure that you’ve clearly thought this through.”
Eric adds, “There’s plenty of men out there. I don’t want to take away your opportunity of experiencing something new at such a young age.”
“I’m turning twenty-four! I promise you I’m thinking everything through.” Your voice was much weaker than a few seconds ago. The evident tone of strength fades even with one glance from the man in front of you. You felt yourself shrink in your seat. But you were sure he does not intend to frighten you into compliance.
“Sorry,” you pout. “Didn’t mean to raise my voice.”
“I understand, and I won’t pressure you any more tonight, okay?” He tries to uplift your mood, detecting quickly the shift of the room’s atmosphere. “You deserve a good dinner tonight, like I promised, sweetie.”
His smile made you calmer. It was then that you realized why you were attracted to a man like him even if he was still your teacher.
The way he handles you in any given situation so sensibly. Though it may feels intimidating at first, he consequently tries to override the tone of the conversation which cheers you up.
With one hand, he hold yours and gently draws it towards him at the same moment he leans his head down. Eric presses a kiss against the back of your hand and you butterflies immediately fill inside your stomach. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Every doubt you had entirely disappeared now. If there were hints of you hesitating to continue seeing Eric, they were certainly long gone now.
“Let me drive you home after dinner,” he offers, like the gentleman he is.
Eric always does make sure you get home safe. However, you both agreed that he drops you off at least a block away from your house. Just in case people around your neighborhood might catch you, or worse your parents.
It was not like you were ashamed of your relationship with Eric. Cautious was the term.
You were only a few months in seeing him. Fair enough, he was your second semester professor and the both of you met before that period.
You were not only risking the wrath of your parents once they hear you’re dating an older man, let alone your Chemistry teacher. But you were also putting him at risk if ever his faculty finds out.
Eventually, the two of you pack up and end your conversation. Other than talking about college, the two of you also talk more about yourselves which has progressed you into learning more about each other’s personalities and likes.
He helps you out of his house and into the passenger seat of his car. It had been more than thrice wherein he drove you home, and the familiar scent of leather and the typical Glad air fresheners has clung onto your nose. You strap on your seatbelt on just as he was getting inside the driver’s side.
The ride was not entirely dead silent. Eric made a few more small talks before finally turning a right which was where he usually drops you off. It amazes you how instantly he remembered the way to your home, as you instructed him the first time.
“Thank you for tonight, like always, Eric.”
As always, you made your way out of his car prior to giving him a kiss. You only had to walk straight ahead, glancing at your home which had one dim light illuminating through one window.
Upon entering the house, you figured your parents were already asleep and a hint of the living room lamp was present. Taking the benefit of not having to be interrogated by anyone, you rushed upstairs to your bedroom, turned on the lights, and immediately closed the door behind you with a sigh of relief. A smile was also visible after recalling your night with Eric.
As you made your way towards your bed, a piece of paper lays obvious in the middle of it. Your sheets were flattened and tidied, so you could obviously detect when something is placed on top of it. You have no memory of leaving it early in the morning before you left too.
When picking the paper up, you realized it was a piece of polaroid film. Its back was facing you, having no idea what to expect at the front.
At that point, the smile from your face turned into horror and all the color in you basically drained away.
The picture displayed you and Eric at one dinner night out from a few days ago, you still remember. It could have been anything but malicious, but the way his hand was intertwined with yours as both of you laugh away without worries. It was clear as day, the light shining perfectly at the both of you. Anyone can conclude what was happening in the picture.
You did not know this day would come. The picture was taken from Eric’s home to prevent such things like this from happening. So it puzzled you just as much at it terrified you.
This was definitely someone who had been stalking either one of you. It was not a mere instance like paparazzis who catch celebrities dating on the streets of New York.
Someone definitely have been observing the two of you.
.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．
Days have passed, a week almost. Examinations are scheduled for tomorrow.
And you prayed that the picture you received would be the only thing terrorizing your dreams. But you were completely wrong.
From thereon, you started to receive more pictures, specifically one every morning and night, from your past hangouts with Eric. It were simple shots but had the power to completely jeopardize either one of you, mostly him at stake though.
It was obvious that the person behind this was definitely observing the two of you for a while. Probably even during the most earliest weeks when your relationship with him started.
Though it may seem unfair, you did not mention anything about it to Eric. It was enough the he was keeping with you, his job, and himself private – which clearly was not working out so well. You felt like it was your responsibility to handle this situation. You were so sure you did not try to publicize anything and kept it on the low.
Nevertheless, it was out there. Eric had not mentioned anything so you assumed he did not receive a picture like you did.
Currently, you were seated at the farthest row at the back of the room, somewhat near the corner. Physics was your last subject and you could not wait but finally leave.
In addition, you texted Eric that you would not be seeing him until after the exams. It was an easy excuse not to see him, saying that you wanted to focus on studying for it; however, you knew that you would just be busy thinking about the creepy stalker gallery you have been receiving.
“Hey.” Unsurprisingly, a familiar voice whispers next to you which disrupts your heavy train of thoughts. “You finished studying for tomorrow? I’m about to end my review with Chemistry later.”
“Cool.” Probably the one of the most basic replies in the universe. “I haven’t finished studying, I’m kind of dealing with a lot of things recently.”
You made sure to generalize your answer, but enough for him to sympathize and at least give you some space.
“Oh, sorry to hear about that.” Peter frowns. He takes his seat a few desks away from your left, leaving you to continue thinking. You were thankful for his gesture too.
Surprisingly enough the boy barely bothered you for the entire lecture. You were still engrossed on finding out whoever was stalking you, even so dating back to boys you evidently rejected during the first semester – who badmouthed you immediately afterwards. There were not a lot of names, so it was easy to remember who was who.
You traced back to each boy and remembered what they said after you told them you were not ready to enter a relationship – a complete lie, you just did not want to deal with college fuck boys.
Just as you expected from any of them, rumors have spread out about you which was mostly shaming you physically or mentally. Some were milder insults than the other yet at the end of the day you did not care.
“Fuck,” you whisper to yourself. “Who was that boy at Liz’s party.”
Your eyes were sealed shut, recalling a list of names while using your thumb and middle finger to massage your temples. It was getting frustrating and mentally exhausting.
After some time, you had so much word filling in and our of your brain that you were not aware that your own name was being called. Your heart practically skipped a beat after hearing it the first time, assuming that you were being called to recite an answer. But you became content after seeing that it was just Peter, who started tapping your arm to get your attention.
“Huh?” You lightly shake your head before turning your head aside.
“Oh, class was dismissed a few minutes earlier than usual–”
“Don’t forget to answer the assignment regarding thermodynamic concepts found it the book. You’ll hand it in immediately on Wednesday.” The professor addresses the class as they were already carrying their bags and themselves out the room.
You start placing your stationeries inside yours, packing your other things up until it was only a pair of earphones and your phone left in front. Peter stood near the aisle while looking at you just as you were zipping your bag shut.
“Oh shoot, I’m so sorry, Y/N,” he states out of nowhere causing you to furrow your eyebrows at him. “I forgot I still haven’t returned your Physics book I borrowed last week.”
Nodding your head and standing up, you shrug it off. “It’s fine. You can return it tomorrow.”
“Sure, but how will you do your Physics assignment?”
Oh yeah. Your professor literally reminded the class a few seconds ago.
“I think I might be able to do it overnight. How many pages is the task?”
“Eight, or nine I think.” He frowns looking very guilty at you.
“Shit,” you swore. That was a lot of pages than the usual assignments given.
“Yeah, professor said it could help add points if you somehow get a bad grade at the tests.”
“Never mind,” you tried to set his mistake aside. “I’ll try to do it within overnight tomorrow. I can ask for help from my friend tomorrow morning and–”
“Wait! I realized you can stop by my apartment to get it.”
“Oh–er, Peter, I don’t think I have time to–
“It’s just nearby the campus, I promise,” he assures and adds, “it wouldn’t be a hassle, it’s probably on your way home anyway so it won’t make a difference.”
“Uhm.” You were doubtful of him.
However, you did realize that you did not have anything to do after class. You were keeping distance with Eric for the meantime which meant that your schedule was mostly vacant after this.
“Please,” he begs, “I feel so bad for keeping it the whole week. I swear it’s like a few blocks from here.”
“Would it take more than twenty minutes?” You purse your lips, convincing yourself that you would rather force yourself to study at home than spend it at someone’s apartment.
“I only take around ten minutes to walk so,” he answers. “Unless you’re a slow walker, of course.” The tone of his voice seeming to be joking.
Again, he pleads. This kid will not fucking budge.
“Fine,” you blurt out. Though, you realized your sudden-almost lash out moment at the boy that you made sure to reiterate it but slower, “I mean, sure. I can stop by your apartment to pick up my book.”
An awaited smile and sense of agreement washes over you.
Peter then leads the way as you walked behind him, maintaining a short distance so people would not throw out any suspicious looks. Like in every college, everyone knows just how fast gossips formulate and rumors spread.
If you think about it though, it might avert anyone’s suspicion – mainly pertaining to your creepy stalker – with you and your Professor. But you were not prepared for that yet, maybe some time when you can finally think about its consequences through.
True to his word, as the both of you exited the campus, it took a short time before the boy in front of you told that you were about to enter through the entrance to the building of his apartment. You were not so sure if it was really a momentary walk or because you were so focused on thinking and keeping a distance.
At some points he did often look back in case you got lost from following him. Plus, like always, he asked you simple questions either about your day or your subjects to make small talk. In which case, you were barely answering him but definitely progressed compared to when he attempted for previous times during class.
In addition, as the two of you walked down the block, the number of faces you could only assume was in college decreased. Meaning that the glares at you eased up.
“Well, here’s my location.” A loud huff follows as he uses a key to unlock the door for the entrance to the building, “It wasn’t that far, was it?”
“Yeah, I guess it wasn’t that far.” You agree as he holds the door for you and then walks right after you.
As Peter leads you upstairs onto around the fourth level, he proceeds to walk along the corridors. The array of same beige colored doors with small golden indents of unit numbers paraded along it too. Eventually he stops and inserts a key into the lock, twisting it until hearing the unlocking sound.
For a moment you hesitated to follow him. You just wanted your book and you were sure he can give it to you on a shorter span than your walk from campus to here. Was it that troublesome?
Entering his complex, you discovered how minimalistic it looked. To be fair it seemed quite small, the living room instantly greeting you through the entrance and a kitchenette at the side. But since his things were tidied up, it looked roomy.
You instinctively close the door behind you, slightly aware that it did not create a locking sound. Following Peter, you took a few more steps until you stood still at the passageway between his living room and entryway.
“Do you want a drink?” Peter asks.
“No thank you.” You were still trying to subtle. “I just want my Physics book, Peter. Please?”
He looked at you and paused for a split second. You could feel the frown behind the expressionless look. “Yeah. Okay. Sure,” he nods for a few times before turning around and proceeding to a seemingly narrow hallway. “I’ll get it in my room. Be back in a second.”
Your feet faintly paced back and forth, still where you stood a few meters between the entrance and living room. After a few more minutes, Peter emerges carrying the familiar book with one hand.
He approaches you within a few stops but stops in his tracks, leaving a distance from you. “Well uh,” he starts as his chin was tucked.
“I just want to tell you something before I hand you back your book.” He looks up at you with really pleading eyes. During other instances in university, you were definitely familiar with that look. However, this one probably ranked as one of the most downhearted ones.
You did not want to feel regretful for him. Though it definitely feels like you just kicked a puppy.
“Was is it?”
“I love you,” he blurts out as his face goes back from hiding and looking down.
It seemed awkward. You were somewhat expecting it, but you were also hoping that this day would not come – or not at least until you graduate and leave the university.
“Oh.” You honestly did not want to react.
Were you going to say sorry? How about thank you? Would it be better if you said you did not like him back? Or will the best response be that you are already taken?
“Peter, I–”
“Are you really dating Eric?” He shots up with eyes appearing almost teary.
What. The. Fuck.
“No,” you mutter. It was not much of an answer to his question. It was more on being quite horrified as your mind started jumping to conclusions.
The amount of things running around your mind right now was immeasurable.
Firstly, anyone could make two and two out of what he said, especially knowing that no one knows it even so around your circle of friends.
Secondly, you should have thought better. Your doubts with Peter should have been grater and you totally underestimated him. However, some part of you prayed that he was just an annoyingly awkward nerd who follows his friends regarding flirting tips.
Lastly, you turned around and ran.
You probably got your way with opening the door and taking two steps out. It was not long before you felt arms wrap around your waist and either side of your arms. You were then lifted and pulled behind while you tried to kick at the air as an escape. Did not work though.
Peter was surprisingly stronger than you thought. He already seemed fairly muscular at class, hiding behind those long sleeved sweaters and flannels.
Eventually the last thing you remember was the image of the door of his apartment open while you get sucked into the room further. Everything went black afterwards.
.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．
When you felt that you were slowly restoring to consciousness, you were aware of the pounding at the back of your head and your arms.
You tried to move your hands, wanting to press against the parts of your body that were aching. But you felt incapacitated as your wriggled your wrists around and felt an unfamiliar sticky fluid enveloping around them.
“Glad you’re awake,” a voice says. “Does your head hurt?”
You tried to open your eyes, the dark lighting of the room not cooperating with your vision. A light from the window and a lamp were the only things that helped you form something out of the void.
From there you saw Peter Parker sitting closely beside you at the edge of the bed.
Hell please let this be a nightmare.
“What–” You groan, “What do you want from me.”
Your mind was building up your anger yet your body says otherwise. You felt exhausted and heavy.
Peter shushed you in a caring manner, “We’ll talk when you feel better. I’ll let you get more rest okay, sweetie?”
“Uhh.”
That was what you could remember the most. If you have awoken for other times in between your sleep, then you surely did not have an idea of it.
When you finally woke up, the level of your grogginess felt little to none already. You looked around and saw that the room was still dark and seemingly still nighttime.
As your head was twisting from side to side, you saw Peter appear from the doorway carrying a translucent cup filled with water in one hand. “Hey, you’re finally awake.”
Instead of replying to him, your wrists writhe beneath the fluid that you are still not familiar of. You could not really look up to get a good view of what it was, but it was wet, sticky, and felt like super glue.
On the other hand, both your legs, ankles, and feet were free. The back of your thighs bounced against the bed as you struggled, but it would not do much since your arms were practically stuck.
“Fuck,” you grumble.
“That won’t help. You’re pretty much stuck there,” he says, Then he takes a seat at the edge of the bed, alike where you remembered him positioned from earlier, “Might as well talk to me until I let you go.”
“Okay then, when will you let me go?” Your voice was calm hoping you could talk your way out of this mess.
“If you behave for me like a good girl, okay?”
Shivers went up your spine as you cringed at his statement.
Immediately, your mood shifts from calm to furious after hearing his disturbing bargain. Then purposely rolling your eyes for him to see. “How the hell will I behave if you’re a creepy stalker! You disgust me!”
Peter hums, displaying a look wherein he seems like he was thinking. You were not sure if it was sarcastic or not, either way it annoyed the hell out of you. “Creepy stalker sounds overstated, it was more on being curious.”
You scoff as well as exclaim, “You sent me photographs of me and Eric at his house! Fucking hell, Peter.”
“Oh yeah that part.” He slyly pouts his lips to the side as he comes to realize what he had done, “I guess it was a bit creepy–”
“What do you mean a bit? That was invasion of privacy!”
Despite being trapped, both your hands balled into a fist, feeling very furious at his dense answers. “I was living my own life! I kept my relationships to myself,” you cry out.
“Yes, but you weren’t completely living your life,” he whispers while gently combing his hair through the front of your hair. “You deserve much more than someone who couldn’t proudly tell that you’re his girl. Is he even a man? Do you really enjoy that kind of life, sweetie?”
“We were happy,” you weep. The evident crack on your voice was a signal that you were about to cry though you were not sure if it was because you were held hostage or because you were worried for Eric.
No one would understand your situation with him right now. Especially Peter.
“Trust me you weren’t,” he scoffs. “You deserve so much more, and I can give you that.”
“I’d rather be alone forever than be with you, asshole!” Your voice was inconsistent, clearly affected by how fast Peter’s mood also shifts quickly.
You also figured you were not looking entirely fresh while crumbling beneath him. Drops of tears and sweat were all over your face and neck, both your eyelids felt swollen, and your nose was almost stuffed.
Peter stand from the edge of the bed and advances to his desk from the side. A harsh bang echoed throughout the room as your body twitched out of shock.
“What does that dick have that I don’t?!” He grits his teeth as the curves of his jaw intensifies. A displeased look was written all over his face.
“P-please let me go.”
“I need you to answer, sweetie. We going nowhere unless you answer!” He was never going to let you go if you were not going to cooperate.
Every step he takes closer back to the bed just increases your heart beat further. He had rolled the sleeves of his sweater up to the edge of his elbows and you felt threatened looking at how firm his arms looked.
“Peter, p-please,” you hiccup.
As Peter returns to the edge of the bed, he does not hesitate anymore to keep a distance. His hands hover to either sides over your body and sets the left side of his head on your midriff, laying while also getting a good view of your vulnerable state.
He does not even look life he was struggling to make an effort to keep you down, but you could feel how heavy he was and was barely giving you a chance to move around.
“I can give you so much more, Y/N.” The way his gaze directs at you was definitely one of the creepiest things you have experienced. He had so much emotions yet completely lacked sympathy for your state of mind.
Shutting your eyes, you only cried further. You felt a hand cup one of your cheeks as its thumb wipes away the pouring tears. Like a broken record, you only pleaded more, “Please let me go.”
“I can’t.”
“Why.” You bawled, realizing he has no plans of releasing you anytime soon despite it. “I won’t tell anyone about this, I p-promise.”
“I know that,” he says, “but you’re going to run back to Eric, probably tell him too, right?”
You did not want to answer, merely shaking your head as you resisted a cry from your lips. It was somewhat what you had planned, but now you were just scared shitless.
“You won’t tell anyone but him cause no one knows about it other than you two, right?” He corners your words.
“Eric would lose his job if someone, especially your parents find out, right?” Hell he was correct. He most likely had been stalking you for so long to find out about it.
“You love him so much, you wouldn’t want to hinde
It was terrifying that someone had been learning about you and your life for a while without your awareness.
“Please stop. What do you want... money?” you whimper.
Peter did not seem likes normal college boy; he does not think like one, too, for sure. Anyone with a right mind would not do something like what he did. No one would have the guts to do so.
“I just want you, Y/N. I want to give you what you deserve,” Peter answers as he sits up and leans his face closer to yours. His mouth leaves a small gap from your right ear as he whispers, “Let me make you feel good.”
“No–”
He cuts off your plea with a proposition, “If you let me, I might consider letting you free.”
“You want that, right? Want me to let you go...” His hand combs through the other side of your face, “just let me show you that I can do way better than him.”
Every ounce of your blood was trying not to give in. You were smart, you ought to find a way out of this. However, you realized that it will not be enough. You already struggled so much from the super glue around your wrists and you could not imagine how much more would it take now that Peter was on top of you.
Eventually you stopped struggling and let him be. There was no way out of this than to let him do what he pleases.
You feel his lips press against your ear first and then progresses over your cheek. His grip around your arms loosen after detecting that you stopped struggling beneath him. You could feel him smile on your skin, “That’s it, relax for me. Good girl.”
His hand reaches to undo your pants as his lips drifted on yours to force their way on making out with you. Another hand then presses under your jaw and throat. “P-Peter,” you choke, feeling lightheaded after being unable to breath properly though your mouth until the grip had loosen.
“Sorry, babe.”
He soon descends from your face to your neck and collar region. You were so sure he was leaving marks on you as you felt him suck and nibble against your skin. Like a controlling asshole he was, you expect to see bruises on your skin by tomorrow.
Despite having your hands fastened, he still moves your shirt upwards past your head. It halts and hands loosely around your arms as you emerge topless beneath the boy.
“Fucking beautiful,” Peter compliments your body under his breath.
Although he seemed to have time on his hands, he does not leave a second wasted. He also goes to haul your pants past your legs and ankles. The growing look of impatience on his face says it all.
Peter moves from your side and welcomes himself between your legs. He spreads them out to have enough space for his body and you could not feel more embarrassed than this.
You grit your teeth over each other as you felt him press fingers against your cunt. Instinctively, you clench around nothing as he continues to play with your entrance, making sure you get entirely soaked under his touch.
“You know you shouldn’t hold back. I know you’re loving it so far, your body says otherwise,” he teases before laying on his stomach and moving his head closer to your pussy.
Without a warning, he licks a strip of you making the back of your thighs quake lightly. Peter senses your reaction and continues to do so, using his tongue to play around and poke inside of you until you were slowly giving in without even realizing it.
Just as you thought you were getting used to his actions, he then inserts fingers inside you, feeling your warmth around it as he pushes it in and out.
“Oh,” you moan.
He continues, making sure he also does not leave your bud of nerves behind. The tip of his fingers and tongue alternate on playing against it, making you throw back your head out of pleasure.
“I bet he doesn’t please you like this,” he scoffs.
Eventually, at your vulnerable state, you could already feel yourself closing to an orgasm. Your toes curled as your temples throbbed, sealing your eyes shut as you accepted on giving in.
You bit onto your lower lip, trying to resist a moan. Somewhere inside you, you were still trying to fight back and not let Peter have the satisfaction he had been craving.
“You’re being so tight... Just let it out.” He coaxes and you hate how you did what he told you so.
The extensive grin on his face seemed priceless. He pulled back and you were aware that you seemed exhausted beneath him. You assumed he was done with whatever he wanted to do with you.
But when he started to take off his sweater and unbutton his pants, you realized it was far from over.
As he presents himself just as naked in front of you, he again welcomes himself between your legs. This time you get a better view of him and his muscles and abs. He gets a good view of your body too for sure as his hand reaches to start stroking his dick.
He places one hand on your thigh and pushes it farther to give him more room. Finally, he inserts in inside you and you automatically felt him throbbing between.
There was a growing heat between the both of you, and it only intensified as Peter started to thrust his hips forward and backwards. There was not even a rhythm from him as he moves harder after hearing you softly moan underneath.
The slapping sound echoes through the room that would eventually reek of sex and you felt ashamed that your body was enjoying all of this.
“Ah… ah… ahh… agh….”
“You’re starting to enjoy this, aren’t you?” He brags as one hand was reaching for your breasts while the other holds your thigh up. “Fucking slut.”
Your body and mind were tired and could only hold so much longer. It was not a surprise when your stomach started to churn your the muscles in your thighs were cramping up.
Peter did no help after seeing you starting to wear out. He tried leaning in to make out with you and expect to moan into his mouth. You did for a moment, a combination of both your drools were streaming down from the corner of your mouth.
“We’re making a mess, huh,” he mumbles. “But I know you’re already a dirty fucking girl.”
He proceeds to deprave you with statements, “Can’t believe you’re enjoying my cock better than that old man’s... Such a fucking whore.”
You twist your head aside, trying to hide the fact that you feel like your temperature were burning up. You were so sure he could feel the increasing warmth of your walls either way.
Your eyes were rolling back as you resist arching your back, which was not really a success as the amount of pleasure was overwhelming.
As you writhe beneath him, you felt a hand on your cheek. It pushes your head back onto looking at front and at Peter. “I want you t look at me when you’re going to cum, sweetie,” he orders and you could not do much anyways.
The second time you came was a whole other level. You never felt this with any person you slept with so far, rather not this fast and intense to say. “That’s it, fuck, you’re tighter than I could ever imagine.”
Peter continues until it was his time to cum. The bed continues to move along with his pace and your body was basically abused to his liking.
And even if you were not aware of it, the boy was practically thankful that his agency decided to agree to soundproofing his whole apartment – his motive being for personal reasons, which they did not question any time soon.
You were helpless, you knew that. All you had in mind now was rest. Your eyelids were heavy and your mind was drifting to slumber.
The last thing you remember was Peter moving over your body to come all around your chest like a painter with its paint brush creating a masterpiece from your chest to your core.
“I love you.”
a/n: ily pls leave comments <3
#dark!peter parker#dark!peter parker imagine#dark!peter parker smut#dark!peter parker x reader#dark!peter#dark!peter x reader#dark peter parker#dark peter parker x reader#dark peter parker imagine#dark peter parker smut#peter parker imagine#peter parker smut#peter parker x reader#dark!verse#tom holland imagine#tom holland smut#tom holland x reader#spiderman imagine#spiderman smut#spiderman x reader
1K notes
·
View notes
Photo
Kamski the magician
Connor on the spirit’s seal
Hank and Connor
Gavin and Nines
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7
Connor arrives into the hall of the castle without encountering anyone. He sees the darkness war spirit's seal engraved in the ground, and runs towards it to hit it with an ice spear but is stopped by a voice piercing through the gigantic hall. He freezes as his spear shatters in his hand, evaporating into thin mist.
??? : Well… It's been long since the last time I've seen an intruder in my house.
Connor looks up to see… Kamski.
Connor : … Please sir, my companions are fighting your monsters and… They won't last long… Can you call the monsters back ?
Kamski : Why exactly do you think those monsters are here ? They're made to defend this citadel. It's a miracle that you made it here.
Connor falls on his knees : I beg you, sir… Please order your monsters to retreat…
Kamski : Hm…
Kamski walks slowly to the middle of the room, towards the symbol on the floor, not deigning looking at Connor. He finally uses his magic stick to hit the seal and Connor sighs in relief as he can hear the darkness war spirit roars vanish, echoing in the silent hall. The Golem can't even stand up, his legs feeling numb as cotton threads. He slowly realizes he's facing his creator, his God, people would say. After a moment, Kamski speaks again.
Kamski : So… you're a Golem… You've come a long way, don't you… Who are your companions ?
Connor : Nines, the closest thing to a brother I have, Gavin and Hank, two human companions form the Red Guard.
Kamski : You came here with humans ? And you call them your companions ? Interesting.
Connor : We're here because we…
Kamski : Let me guess. Your species is on the decline, and humans are hungry. Did I get it good ?
Connor : ...you know about it ? Then why… didn't you help us ?
Kamski : I helped you already. I helped Golems by creating them to be sentient beings, able to feel and think, able to want. I gave you the key to freedom. I helped Humans by giving them magic creatures, able to cultivate the lands and mix in with them on a social and emotional level.
What did you all do ? Humans enslaved your people, and Golems turned their back to those they morally had to protect : now you're killing each other like animals.
Humans treated you as their creations, and instead of establishing a dialogue, you rioted, killed many of them, and condemned the survivors to die slowly from never ending famines. Humans could have treated you as their equals, but instead of that, they made you their slaves, and thus created their own fate.
I already helped you, but it was nothing more than a waste of time.
Connor : … But… we're dying…
Kamski : And you're just standing there, thinking I was going to save you all ?
What if I gave you everything I could already ? What if you had to save yourselves, now ?
Connor blinks.
Connor : "The key to our prosperity..."
Kamski : You know the answer. You wish I could give you a simpler solution, but I won't. Tell me, what's the key, Connor ?
Connor : … "The key to our prosperity lies in…"... symbiosis.
Kamski : Symbiosis. Funny how simple the solution is, and how everybody just overlooked it. Humans and Golems are enclosed in interdependency : the only way to save your peoples, is to unite them.
Connor : But how ? We… we're fighting for decades ! Killing each other ! How can we just… forget and step forward together ?
Kamski : I don't have all the answers, young one.
Connor : … I… I thought… you would come up with something… and save us all…To me, you were like a god… Now… How can I tell my friends we came this far for… nothing ?
Kamski : Oh no, Connor, you're smarter than this. Look at your partners, fighting for you to get here, and dare say again that you all came for nothing.
Connor is lost and disappointed.
Kamski : I'm sorry to disappoint you. There are no such things as Gods here below. All we have is willpower, determination and patience. If you all want to save your peoples, then do it by yourselves.
X
Connor finds Hank, resting against a column in the tunnel. The man gets up seeing the Golem, wincing a bit and holding his abdomen. All the monsters are gone.
Hank : So ? What happened ?
Connor just closes his eyes and hugs Hank tight. The warrior is surprised at first, but then sighs, realizing Connor's crying against him.
Hank : Let's find Gavin and Nines, you'll tell us later, okay ?
Connor helps Hank walk down the rock since he got hurt again fighting the monsters. They join Nines, who is taking care of Gavin's wounds. Connor can't help but notice his brother's fingers, delicately curled around the human's. Surprisingly, none of them ask anything about Kamski : they can already feel that something went wrong. Connor feels grateful when Gavin reaches for his shoulder, giving him an awkward yet comforting pat.
X
They get back to Nestlepeek, and sit down in an inn. Connor finally explains everything Kamski told him, staring at his hands, feeling on his shoulders the weight of his responsibility in the situation.
Connor : I know it's all my fault. I thought we were going to find a simple answer to all our problems… I took you on a quest I had invented because I was certain Kamski was going to help us.
I'm sorry for the trouble, I'm sorry we still don't have any solution… it's- it's all my fault.
Hank : … A few months ago… I'd have said it was just an illusion… that we couldn't bring peace between our two peoples. But now I… I want to try.
Connor looks up, eyes shining wet, surprised. Hank blushes, scratching his cheek in embarrassment as he keeps going:
Hank : I'm not optimistic, you know that. But we… I can't give up. You said we would save our people … and we're going to do exactly this. It ain't gonna be easy, I know, but we can do it. Right, Nines ?
Nines remains silent for a few seconds, his arms crossed in a reflective attitude. His stare wanders on the table, before it meets Gavin's profile for a fleeting moment. Connor waits nervously, ready to hear Nines say they should have stayed at Jericho, that maybe there was nothing left to save now. His breath fastens suddenly, but he tries to regulate it by himself, closing his eyes while Hank's large warm palm covers the back of his hand in a soothing gesture. Their eyes meet and Connor smiles faintly.
Nines : I learned to appreciate Hank and Gavin during our journey. I'm ready to plead for the Humans' cause with our people when we will be back home. Markus should listen to us… But we will have to convince the rest of them.
Hank : What about you Gavin ? Would you help me talk to Fowler, then the Queen ?
Gavin : I'd do anything to not have to fight Golems again. I can't do that anymore…
Nines smiles discreetly at Gavin's words. Connor can't help but to be touched by how close his brother and the youngest warrior are : Kamski knew it, they didn't come for nothing, after all. They had all found each other.
Connor : You guys really want to go back to Detroit and Jericho, tell our leaders we have to unite our forces to survive ? What if… what if they refuse ?
Gavin : Why would they ? We're living together or dying together. Even I know there is no better choice.
Hank : Diplomacy, this is our last resort : Kamski was right…We have willpower, determination and patience.
Connor meets Nines, Gavin, then finally Hank's loving eyes.
Connor : Alright then... Let's go back home.
I’m finally posting the last part lmao
So yep, they’re going back, and will solve the problem by themselves... I think it’s important that they try to make the world a better place by themselves, and not with only Kamski’s deus ex machina.
Hope you liked that last part, see you later for the Operation Cyberlife update ;)
#detroit become human#dbh#detroit become human hank#dbh hank x connor#hank x connor#detroit become human hank x connor#hankcon#detroit become human hankcon#dbh hankcon#Connor#dbh connor#gavin reed#detroit become human gavin#dbh gavin#nines x gavin#reed900#detroit become human reed900#nines#dbh nines#TRGATSA
344 notes
·
View notes
Text
Killing Eve ― 4x02 (Review)
4x03 is almost here (tomorrow) so I think it’s perfect time to write this and refresh our memory a bit, so shall we?
Eve keeping tabs on Helene
I was impatiently waiting to see Eve in that particular disguise, but it’s a shame it only lasted for a minute or so. Knowing how often characters change their outfits on this show (mainly Villanelle) it’s so easy to just look through a certain outfit that had barely any screen time. In this case, I LOVED Eve’s wig and her overall disguise, it feels like she’s finally using all of Villanelle’s tricks for her own benefit and we love to see it 🙌
“Does it hurt?”; “Only if you let it” ― okay, that’s deep. I love the fact that later on Eve will be the one to say it to Helene in a way to show her that she was there at the time, but we’ll come back to it!
So Helene is in London and just casually spends time with her daughter and I’m assuming a babysitter in an open like that? While she’s trying to recruit new assassin’s to get to the twelve..? In some way that does not sit right with me? Like, would Helene really be that reckless to show off her daughter around London like that? That’s just putting one of your biggest vulnerabilities on display for everyone to see, so I’m hoping there’s more to it than that.
That black dress was quite a fashion statement and I was sure they would only reveal it in the final couple of episodes but starting off with it the second episode?? They better have more outfits like these for Eve this season since she deserves it and at this point it’s just boring to have her wear normal clothes as she always has. (Where is Villanelle, her fashion sense and her money when you need her?)
♪ Stop what you’re doing before it’s too late ♪ ― yup, at this point I’m convinced this is Eve’s theme song this season and I absolutely love it for her. However it keeps playing whenever she’s trying to get to the twelve which is a major red flag... then again, she can’t hear what we can.
“I guess I’ve never known anyone in my life who really challenges me. Maybe you’ll be different” ― proceeds to make out with the chick moments later. I see what you are, Helene 😏 (love that for her)
Seeing Eve getting so into this whole thing and eavesdropping to the extent that she forgets what’s her actual mission is, is so hilarious. I mean, same Eve, we all love some tea. However, seeing her just hanging back and listening in is one thing, but her literally passing Helene and that chick mid-making out is another 🥵️ (Laura does know how to start the episode right)
The way Eve slipped the tracker in Helene’s bag... a direct parallel to Villanelle slipping the lipstick back in 2x03. I think it’s important to remember that Eve wasn’t aware of what happened in that moment, yet she managed to pull this trick off as if she actually watched Villanelle do it before... interesting.
Also the shots in that scene? Chef’s kiss 🤌
The Bus Quiz
The way they added so much foreshadowing aspects in that quiz, making the entire fandom lose themselves in the religious lore lmao.
Not the Vicar mentioning murder by the use of tent peg 😭 yes, ouch indeed, Phil 🤡
The way Villanelle quoted Luke chapter 15 in a way of apologizing to May was such an adorable touch 😭 not that it fixes or makes the situation any better since she did almost kill May, but at least she feels regret and wants to be better. Also, like did she memorize the entire bible by heart that she literally has a bunch of quotes ready to use in any situation? At first I was going to mention it would be cute to have her cite the bible to Eve, but she tried her own way of praying to her the last episode and well... that didn’t end well lmao.
The fact that Phil named the tents this time so Barbara wouldn’t get lost is peak comedy 🤣 no, but seriously... did she try to get into his tent before or something? Oh, you naughty, naughty Barbara...
Is it just me or Villanelle’s tent is bigger than everyone else’s...?
Your Spiritual Guru
We all do have conversations with ourselves, mostly inner ones, in our head while we overthink, Villanelle does it by actually creating Jesus... who looks exactly like her, in Drag to lead her to salvation. There’s nothing abnormal here 🤡
On a more serious note, now that I’m rewatching it after listening to Jodie’s interview about Jesus!Villanelle so many insights are popping up... when you think about it, Jesus!Villanelle is the perfect form of Jesus Villanelle would imagine. Jodie mentioned that the way Jesus!Villanelle image was created included Villanelle’s sense in fashion, her sexuality and gender fluidity...which leads me to few posts that I recently saw saying that Villanelle is confirmed nonbinary lesbian. Just to be clear here, nothing is directly or openly confirmed here, but if you see it, then it’s for you. For the longest of time I couldn’t fully figure out why I related to Villanelle so much, for her gender expression, sexuality, just the way she existed... and now thinking about her as a nonbinary person...it does make sense. And I feel it quite deeply, since I’m also leading towards identifying as nonbinary. So for those of you who will argue and say that’s only gender expression with Villanelle and the fact that she wears both masculine and feminine outfits, no, it’s not only that, it’s the way she carries herself. It didn’t occur to me until now although the signs were there, but now I’m definitely more aware of that possibility!
Now, this vision of Jesus can be pretty triggering and even offensive to some religious people, but it’s Killing Eve, so when was anything in some way normal or acceptable? lol
So fascinating that this Jesus!Villanelle vision was supposed to represent everything good and have pure intentions towards Villanelle and her transformation... but since it’s a creation of Villanelle herself, that’s probably doomed to fail lol. Silly me actually thought this Jesus!Villanelle was going to help her, but apparently all it wanted was to show Villanelle’s true nature, to which we will come back to in a moment.
Now, Villanelle must be aware that to “fix” things with Vicar, she needs to get on May’s good side again, or so Jesus!Villanelle tells her so... so does it in a way represent her subconscious? So many questions 🤔
Casual stick pocking May’s tent
Oh poor baby is trying her best to “explain” May what a big step she has overcome by not killing her. Those of us who have been following Villanelle for seasons now, know that its a huge step, but it certainly doesn’t make it okay.
“You know when one person thinks you’re evil, everyone else starts to think it. And after a while you start to believe it yourself” ― that’s some deep unresolved trauma right here. Ever since childhood she has been treated poorly, didn’t receive enough love or attention, was made to feel like crap... only to be dumped into a damn orphanage and then years later being rejected by your own mother who tells you, you’re a monster... yeah maybe if they believed that Villanelle was good she wouldn’t believe it herself since so many people previously made her feel like she was evil... kept telling her so many times to the point where she ended up lashing out on them... which does make sense. So I’ll repeat myself from last year Do not reject Oksana if you want to stay alive. Plain and simple.
Eve stalking Villanelle on the internet
Oookay Eve, we get it. You’re way too deep in it. You can tell whoever you want that you are “done” with Villanelle and don’t want to see her ever again, but once you’re all alone that’s what you’re doing 😏
I’m so glad they included this moment because Eve really does seem very cold towards Villanelle without good of a reason so seeing her still check up on Villanelle, even if she’s doing so by stalking her, is a very good sign that she’s still so invested (Kudos to you, Laura!)
Let’s be real here, Villanelle wanted Eve to see those pictures, she made sure as many of them as possible would be uploaded somewhere so Eve could see them... it’s all for show and that’s why Eve let’s out that sigh in the end... like she knows it’s BS, but she can’t help herself not to check up on her 🥺️
Eve & Yusuf
Yeah, I was probably going to be very annoyed seeing them together again, but this time Eve reminded this ass of some serious boundaries, like no staying over, no presents, no nothing. This way we all know that it’s nothing serious or romantic.
The way Eve ripped those Paris tickets so quick even before she knew the actual reason behind their trip there 😭 she literally doesn’t want to do anything with him and I couldn’t love her more
So Helene lives in Paris... what a shocker 🙄
“Or I could just knock on the front door” ― oh, just you wait lol.
That fish tank is getting a suspiciously big amount of screen time...did Eve remember what happened with her and Villanelle there? And then she was like ‘oh lemme just feed the fish so it doesn’t look suss’ I see you Eve.
Letting Go
One honest conversation and now May is suddenly eager to not only forgive Nelle, but also save her? Gurl, you’re in deep
“There’s only one way to uncoil it” ― pls, I literally thought she was going to make out with her or something.. (don’t lie, you thought about it too!)
Villanelle’s reaction to May’s screams is peak comedy lmao (throws me back to 3x04 when Bertha tried real hard to scare the hiccups away) I mean how did no one hear her screaming like that and come and check if she was okay?? She literally sounded like she was being buchered lol
“You did it. She’s totally into you again” ― as if she ever stopped lmao. But really, that’s not what Villanelle wanted...but someone was dooped to fall in love with her.. it’s only natural lol
“You want to spin with me?”; “Are you kidding? Of course I do” ― look, this is one of my fav scenes this episode... the soundtrack they chose for this scene when they were spinning and screaming and just letting go.. it felt very cathartic and Villanelle did look somewhat relieved once on the ground (you should do it more often, gurl)
Eve & Martin
It feels like Eve is still pretty much running on default here by trying to “be careful” and do the right thing by coming to ask Martin for the “second opinion” and as soon as Martin says against it, she brushes it off just like she did back in 2x07; which reminds me Martin did warn Carolyn about Eve’s state and Carolyn ended up ignoring Martin’s recommendations too lol. Bottom line? No one really listens to Martin these days (hopefully Villanelle will in the next episode)
“Well maybe I’m more of a “them” these days than I am a “you”“ ― yup, yup, yup, Eve just straight up confirmed here that she is one of the dangerous ones. And by acting all tough and shit allows her to risk her life just because Martin said there might be, keyword ― might, a chance it will work, so she’d rather take that than try a different approach. Oh, just another reckless decision. It’s Eve guys, she’ll be fine. (or will she...?)
“How’s Villanelle?” ― not Martin asking about her girlfriend 😭 I bet he thinks that’s who Eve is dealing with...maybe? Interesting that he’s asking her that.
Eve mocking Villanelle being a christian one minute only to sincerely ask Martin the next if that’s possible... oh god, is she starting to believe it? Well guess those pictures got her really thinking huh? Villanelle can make it very believable when she wants to, but it never worked on Eve before so the fact that she’s questioning it... yeah Villanelle must really believe that she can change.
“I think reinvention is a form of avoidance” ― well that can be easily applied to both, Villanelle and Eve. For Villanelle, it’s avoiding her true nature, which doesn’t mean she is a cold blooded killer, while Eve struggles to accept her feelings towards Villanelle.
Carolyn & Vlad
“If I were in your position I’d be hooking my nipples up to electrodes”; “I’d forgotten what an awful flirt you are” ― can’t believe I completely missed this exchange during my first watch 😭
The way Vlad made Carolyn push three of her ex-coworkers (I’m assuming?) under the bus yet again only to get on Vlad’s good side. Oh, the things we do when get desperate.
Spilling Vicar’s sinful secrets
“It’s not fair for you to have to keep all his secrets. Jesus would want you to be honest.” ― oh, cause Villanelle would for sure know that 😂 what a polite subtle way into gaslighting May to spill all her daddy’s secrets
Villanelle’s face once the truth was revealed about the Vicar also being a murderer... (indirectly, but still). That’s when she knew they were the same and he wasn’t a saint either.
“Please, you can’t tell anyone”; “Of course not.” ― welp, here comes the disaster we all were expecting 🤡
Warm hangout around the fire (ft. disaster)
*pouts* “Am I Hitler?” ― oh please, you didn’t 😭 the fact that it was Phil who named her Hitler...you’re in for a big big backlash now, dude
What a brilliant writing choice to choose the name “Mary” for both, May’s mother and to convince everyone it’s bible-themed.
“Did I-.. did I say bible-themed? I meant Phil-themed” ― ohhh that lil shit’s so enjoying this lol! Also, it actually sounds more like filth-themed than Phil-themed and I still can’t unhear it anymore 🤣🤣🤣
That shot when both Phil and Villanelle are having a face-off is genius... you can see the fire burning basically in their faces, the tension build up with the score... gosh, that whole scene was a masterpiece!
Also, seeing Villanelle losing her patience the longer Phil tries to guess who she wrote and not once mentioning his dead wife... yeah, he has to be avoiding the topic and thinking about her because he feels guilty about it and well.. Villanelle did what she does best... make a show out of it.
The way Villanelle probably thought she was revealing this nasty truth of a sin, when in reality some of these people already knew what happened with Mary and the car crash... plus sharing such sensitive information about someone is never the right thing to do so... that’s where she gets it wrong again.
Jesus!Villanelle lecture time
“I can’t be mad at you” ― well, duh, when was Villanelle angry with herself? Anyone? At least I don’t remember
“You know, if you hadn’t called him out, I would’ve had to” ― interesting since Jesus!Villanelle is the worst part of Villanelle in disguise telling that she’ll have to do it for her? I think Villanelle did channel her worst side during that scene.
“We can’t have murderers as Vicars”; “You can’t?”; “I didn’t mean you. You’re fine!” ― oh this shit is seriously sending me now 🤣
Facing the music
“What’s the matter? Did someone get murdered?” ― classic Villanelle, cracking the worst types of jokes in the moment and that’s why we all love her 😂
“I knew you was bad inside. I saw it from the beginning” ― oh and here comes the miss “i knew it”, only because Villanelle was suspiciously good doesn’t mean she is the devil... for religious people they are super quick to judge others, despite accepting Phil’s car accident. Like May said... a bunch of hypocrites 🙄
This scene right from the start reminded me of that AA meeting back from 2x06 when the group didn’t buy any of Billie’s BS and her story since she wasn’t being truthful at the time. Guess they were able to pick it up as well? Then again, the fact that she shared such information about Phil doesn’t make her an evil person.
“Nobody cares what you think, Barbara” ― this right here was such a mood™, literally a meme material lol (people are already using it as a meme)
“Whatever he did, it’s in the past. It’s the man he is today we care about.” ― again, what a fucking hypocrite, Barbara... she needs to go ASAP, like I’m upset she didn’t end up being the third victim that night.
“What about the woman I am now?” ― THANK YOU, Villanelle. So that would mean, none of them should care or judge what Villanelle did in the past too, no? Meaning, they shouldn’t judge her for being a killer, since she wasn’t at that time? But of course blame her for calling him out lol.
“You said they’d love me” ― oh honey... you’re in the wrong crowd.
Welcome Home
There is nothing better and cozier than a safe house. Not this time, though.
Carolyn finding the carcass of a rat sends me. What a way to indirectly call her out. Yet again.
“A rat for a rat” ― and she says it with a knowing chuckle. Well at least there is some kind of respect there.
The Calm Before (the dinner)
Zooms into the unfinished steak, only to pick up on Eve’s worried expression. What was it you said about the steak before coming here, Eve? She’s clearly nervous and there is one hell of a reason for that. However, that does not apply when you’re not following a professional psychiatrist’s recommendations.
“You’re not going to die. We are not even going to go near her.” ― well that’s what you think, lol.
The way Eve stole the knife in case she needs to protect herself, because apparently it helped that one time with Villanelle (because she was super into her and Eve actually managed to drop Villanelle’s guard down) and it doesn’t mean it will work the same way with Helene... but at least she’s trying?
“But this way you will die before you even get close” ― I would listen to him, Eve. He does sound like he knows what he’s saying. But what does she end up doing? Exactly the opposite lol
The Good Old Tit for Tat (as Carolyn would put it)
“Dont try and outsmart me. You haven’t got the neurons” ― Carolyn pls 😭 also does she really think she’s the smartest of them all? More like the shadiest of them all lol
So apparently one of the three people she had pushed under the bus just died (she “hangedherself”) so does that mean she was a part of the twelve? Or did Vlad get rid of her? Or possibly both? Is he working for the twelve? Anyone could be at this point.
I don’t think I’ve seen Carolyn that scared and unsettled before... she must think that whoever killed that woman, might be coming after her next? Or is it really the guilt kicking in? (a bunch of people had died before and she didn’t even bat an eye... so I’m going to say she’s seriously fearing for her life here)
The Dangerous Date with French MILF™
The way two professionals had previously warned her not to choose the direct approach when it comes to Helene and Eve still went to knock on her door... well, fuck it. If we’re going down, might just go all in.
Oh god... now that Eve mentioned about cooking the dinner it hit me.. Helene was looking for someone who could “challenge” her while she was making out with that chick... I have a feeling it’s Eve who she’s looking for. Bingo!!
The fact that Eve clearly doesn’t like Shepherd’s pie and yet is about to prepare it is just so... she just can’t get Villanelle out of her mind. It’s true what they said.. no matter what they are doing, even if they are apart... everything they do is in someway connected to one another. Villaneve is truly endgame.
“I’ve never understood women who can’t insert their own fingers inside themselves” ― *Eve immediately cuts herself* THE TIIIMING! I’M SCREAMING!!!!
Not Helene sucking Eve’s injured finger... I did not expect such mad chemistry between these two...I can barely believe they added a scene like that 🥵️
“I also want to cut the head off the monster” ― wait, hold up... why would she want that if she’s a part of the twelve?? What she’s trying to play here? Or maybe she wants to level up? Become the ‘next’ head of the monster? Based on previous season and her introduction she seemed as someone pretty high up to be controlling handlers like Dasha... and now she’s looking for rookies to torture people close to the twelve? Pretty suss to me.
“Oh. So this is what you’re into”; “Does it hurt?”; “Only if I let it” ― when I say this was the sexiest scene in this episode...Eve’s poker face was pretty damn good and I bet that’s what Helene is looking for... a delicious challenge that Eve’s providing... again the chemistry pls... this indeed is a special treat, thank you very much.
“Who’s at the top?”; “I’ll tell you after dessert” ― bitch, what is this, fanfic?? I’LL TAKE IT! (i can totally see this scene out of context meaning something completely different... oh does it give me ideas...)
Not the daughter interrupting such a juicy moment 🙄 they are including the kid quite often in these scenes... makes me think something will happen to her really soon...
Sandra Oh speaking french...pls they are FEEDING us this episode 🥵️
Eve stroking the girl’s hair while telling her the story and keeping eye contact with Helene... yeah that’s one hell of a threat she’s making here lol. I’m actually surprised Helene is allowing Eve so close to her daughter... as if she knows way more about her to feel so “comfortable” with her around her kid
The camera focusing on Eve on her way out of Helene’s home... brilliant directing
“I think she’s the devil”
So what exactly happened here? Did May tell her father that Villanelle tried to drown her? Or was it the fact that she called him out in front of everyone that changed her mind so suddenly? If that’s the case... yeah, May needs to b e gone and does Phil... Villanelle did do them a favor
We all knew this wasn’t going to last, similar to Villanelle’s wedding back in S3, which was never mentioned again lol
The way they shot the whole killing even outside of the tent to leave out all the gory details, but at the same time providing more than enough of information about how it was executed... did I already mention that I love quality television?
Villanelle grabbing Jesus!Villanelle the same way Tatiana grabbed her back in 3x05.. and seeing her realize that and let her go... damn.
“I thought I could do it.”; “Oh baby. You didn’t stand a chance” ― but she can. She doesn’t have to kill, she does have a reason for it though, she doesn’t do it just out of spite...so why does she act as if she can’t help it all out of sudden? In this case it was her dealing with rejection yet again.. and she deals with it by lashing out, being violent, we’ve seen it before.
She does actually make out with herself... I...look, OF COURSE she does, she loves herself too much not to...completely in character and I love the fact that they made it so insane...
The whole crucifying Jesus!Villanelle and “finish the jooob” was genius, if Jodie doesn’t win at least one award for this performance.... istg 🤬
The way I see it is that she didn’t let the worst part of her win, she didn’t finish the job, which proves that she can control it, she doesn’t have to kill. She’s still in control. She always has been. So I see this as a huge victory for her.
Now, do I still want to see more of Jesus!Villanelle? Yes, yes, YES! I’d love to see more of her, but I’m afraid Villanelle put an end to that vision once she left her in the tent and that way closed that chapter. But who knows... can she simply decide not to have visions anymore? I don’t think so... and as bad as it is for our baby... I hope to see that drag Jesus again since they were the best duo so far this season 🙌
So much for this episode! If you managed to reach the end, kudos to you, love 💝
#killing eve#villanelle#eve polastri#villaneve#ke s4#ke 4x02#ke review*#ke*#ke 4x02 review#creation#enjoy guys ♥#i think this is my favorite episode so far!
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
First Impressions
Juice Ortiz x F!Reader
Request by @eversonaive : Could do a fic on the reader meeting Juice when he has the sign stuck to his chest only to find out later he is the club's intelligence officer lol
Part 2 can be found Here
Warnings: language, Juice being an embarrassed lil cutie
Word Count: 2.4k
A/N: I loved writing this. Flustered Juice gives me life lmao. I hope it’s what you had in mind! I peppered in a couple other of our SAMCRO boys because why not?
Join my group-chat here: (X)
SOA Taglist: @adela-topaz-caelon @garbinge @i-just-read-stuff @multiyfandomgirl40 @masterlistforimagines @mijop @chibsytelford @xladymacbethx @kkim120 @toni9 @everyhowlmarksthedead @unicornucopia-fuckers @mayans-sauce @shadow-of-wonder (If you want to be tagged in any of my writing please let me know! xo)
You couldn’t pretend that you weren’t surprised, and a little off-put by the scene in front of you. You looked around, wondering why you felt like you were the only one who saw what you were seeing. Everyone else was walking by, minding their own business, but you couldn’t pretend that you didn’t notice.
Crouching down, you pressed your fingers gently against the side of his neck, and you were rewarded with a fairly steady pulse. Relief flooded through you, glad you weren’t going to have to report a dead body. However, you weren’t quite sure how to handle the scene in front of you.
Gently nudging him, you tried to wake him up. He let out a soft groan but didn’t fully wake up. With a heavy sigh, you shook him a little harder but weren’t able to wake him. Pressing your lips together into a thin line, you patted the side of his face. You saw his brows furrow and twitch and you knew that he was almost awake.
“Hey,” you shook him and patted his cheek again, “you good?”
With a groan and what seemed like more effort than it should’ve taken, he slowly started to open his eyes. Part of you wanted to laugh because he seemed like he was probably going to be alright, but more than anything you were just confused.
“You alright? Looks like you’ve had…a time.”
He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at the state of himself. The fact that he didn’t seem shocked and appalled spoke volumes. With a quiet grunt, he forced himself to his feet.
“Do I have to be worried about you?” you couldn’t help but to look him up and down again. With a chuckle and a shake of his head he reassured you that he was fine, which did little to actually make you feel better, “There somewhere I should be take you?”
He laughed, “No. Don’t worry. Thank you for, uh, waking me up. Way better than getting kicked by the cops,” he shook his head.
“Small miracles,” you had to laugh.
“Yea,” he glanced down at the sign on his chest and you could tell from the look in his eyes that he was weighing the pros and cons of ripping it off right then and there, “I should go. I’m uh,” he gestured to the cardboard, “apparently late for my eight o’clock feeding.”
You smiled and shook your head, “Well that’s unfortunate.”
With a deep breath he pulled the sign from his chest and you both cringed. He cursed under his breath from the pain of it before folding it and tucking it underneath his arm. He gave you a lopsided grin and a small wave before turning and walking in the other direction away from you. You stood there, feeling like you should be offering him a shirt, or something to at least tie around his waist, but he seemed pretty unbothered by it all, so you let him go. You shook your head to yourself as you continued on your way, unable to believe what a weird day you’d already had.
A few days went by and you hadn’t forgotten about your run-in on the street that morning. It was a tough scene to forget. You didn’t want to believe that that was going to be the first and last time you ever saw him. If nothing else, you just wanted some closure on the situation, and you also wanted to know how the hell he ended up like that.
Your mind had wandered back to that situation as you stood outside your car waiting for the tow truck. You knew that your car was on its last leg to begin with, and that you should’ve set about looking for a new one some time ago, but you just kept putting it off. The thought of shopping for one, and then paying for one was overwhelming. You were paying for it in an entirely different way now, though. You knew that fixing whatever was wrong with your car was probably going to cost more than it was worth. So, to distract yourself from thinking about that, you thought about literally anything else as you sat half propped up onto your hood.
You’d gone to Teller-Morrow one other time, maybe twice, since you’d moved just outside of Charming. You didn’t remember anything about it, though—you were in and out quick for an oil change or something equally innocuous. There weren’t a whole lot of options for mechanics to begin with, let alone ones that would also tow. Plus you figured since they were local, it wouldn’t take them too long to get to you.
About twenty minutes later the tow-truck pulled up, and you were a mix of relieved and apprehensive. Two men stepped out, and your first thought was that they couldn’t have carried themselves more differently from each other if they tried. The taller one approached you, adjusting his beanie slightly as he did, while the other scampered around to start hooking the truck up to your car.
“So,” he walked up to you, a small smile on his face for a moment as he looked at you, “what seems to be the problem?”
You chuckled and shook your head as you clocked the name stitched into his work shirt, “Well, it stopped running. That’s about all I know, Opie,” you smiled at him.
He laughed, nodding his head slightly, “Sounds like a pretty serious issue, then.”
“I’d say so.”
He glanced back to make sure that your car had been hooked up alright, “You need to be dropped off somewhere, or you got a ride?”
You sighed, resting your hand on the back of your neck as you thought, “Would I be able to ride back to the shop with you guys?”
He nodded, “Sure thing. Long as you don’t mind Kip staring at you the whole time,” he gestured over to the man who was waiting by the door of the tow truck.
You laughed, “Staring I can handle.”
When they pulled into the lot at the mechanics, Opie got out and instructed Kip to take care of the rest. He looked over to you and gestured to the office, “Gemma will get you all set up. We’ll get it right on the lift and try to figure out what’s going on.”
You nodded, “Thank you, appreciate it.”
You knocked lightly on the door to the office and she called for you to come in. She got you all squared away with your paperwork to get everything started. You let her know that if it ended up being more than a certain amount to just not bother and scrap it, or to give it back and you would take care of that part yourself. You weren’t in a position to be paying more than the car was worth. There was sympathy present in her eyes as she listened to you, nodding along. You hated the feeling of pity but you couldn’t deny that you’d landed yourself into a bit of a hole.
She was walking you back out of the office, “We’ll give you a call when we’ve got some numbers for you, sweetheart.”
“Sounds good. Thank you guys so much.”
“Need us to call you a cab?”
You shook your head, “No, no I’ll be alright. Thank you though.”
You were walking across the lot, pulling out your phone as you did to try and figure out who you were going to call to come and pick you up. There was a sudden influx of noise and voices. And despite the fact that you heard it, you still didn’t look up.
The only thing that snapped you out of your thoughts was the feeling of someone’s shoulder bumping into yours. You looked up and both of you were in the middle of apologizing when your eyes met his. Neither of you could hide the shock on your faces as you took each other in.
He looked a lot different when he wasn’t coming out of a mild coma. And also when he was fully dressed with an MC kutte on. You’d missed out on the fact that he was handsome in the midst of worrying about his well-being the last time you saw him.
“Oh shit,” he laughed, “hey.”
“Uh, hey,” you couldn’t help but to stare at him, “I didn’t…expect to see you here. Or again in general, for that matter.”
Another man in a kutte appeared, draping his arm around the shoulder of the man that you were talking to, “Juicy,” he said, “who’s your friend?”
He wore his nerves on his face, “Um. She’s not, uh, she’s—”
You cut him off to save him the trouble, holding out your hand, “I’m Y/N.”
“Y/N,” he let your name roll off his tongue, “nice to meet you. I’m Jax,” he paused, looking back and forth between you and the man next to him, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, “Sorry to interrupt,” you could see that he was biting back a laugh.
“No, you’re…you’re good,” you reassured him, “Nothing to interrupt. Just, um, a little surprised by,” you gestured to the two of them and to the clubhouse behind them, “all of this.”
“Well then I gotta ask,” Jax continued to stare at Juice who seemed to be getting more and more shy by the second, “how do you know Charming’s favorite Puerto Rican Intelligence Officer?”
You couldn’t stop the laugh that slipped past your lips, “Intelligence Officer?”
Jax nodded, clapping Juice on the back as though he thought he was hyping him up, “For the club, yea. Can find out anything about anyone. Also our resident tech guy.”
You chuckled, unable to lie and say that you weren’t a little impressed, “Impressive. Guess we didn’t have time to get into all that last time we met.”
“Oh?” Jax looked back and forth between the two of you, embarrassment creeping onto Juice’s features.
“Yea, he was running a behind schedule. Had places to be.”
Jax looked over at him, “Where the hell did you have to be that could’ve been more important, bro?”
Juice ran his hands down his face, knowing that he was going to have to cop to it sooner or later, “When we met I was, um…she actually…” he shook his head, “She’s the one who woke me up the other day. Made sure I was alright.”
The entire incident had clearly already faded from Jax’s memory because he looked as lost as he had been before Juice said anything. You smiled, “I made sure he eventually made it to his eight o’clock feeding.”
Recognition flashed across Jax’s face and he laughed, “Jesus. Sorry you had to be a part of that.”
“Sure, her you’ll apologize to,” Juice rolled his eyes.
“She didn’t deserve it,” Jax chuckled and shook his head, “Well it was nice meeting you, Y/N. I’ll leave Juice to try and clean up whatever mess he might’ve made.”
He walked away from the both of you and you could head him laughing to himself as he approached the rest of the guys. You and Juice stood there facing each other, neither one of you really knowing what to say.
You broke the silence, “Won’t lie to you, Juice,” it felt nice to finally be able to address him as something, “over the past few days when I’ve been trying to think about what your life was like for it to land you in that situation, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“You’ve been thinkin’ about me?” he smirked.
You laughed, rolling your eyes, “You made quite the impression,” you looked him in the eyes, “I’m glad you’re alright though.”
He chuckled, “Not the worst thing they’ve ever done to me.”
You smiled and shook your head, “Well that’s a little concerning.”
“Sorry you got, uh, subjected to that,” he shook his head, “wrong place, wrong time.”
You waited for him to meet your gaze and you flashed him a smile, “I wouldn’t quite say that.”
There was a light in his eyes that was so enticing, “Right. Well. I’m glad I got a chance to make a better first impression. Sort of. Maybe,” he laughed. There were a few beats of silence before he spoke up again, “What brings you here anyway?”
You nodded towards the garage, “Car broke down.”
“Shit.”
Your laugh was a hollow, “Yea. Fucking sucks. Hoping they can fix it without bleeding me dry.”
Juice thought hard about it for a few moments, “I’ll take a look at it. I’ll see what I can do, see if I can get you a deal or something.”
“Yea?” you couldn’t hide your relief.
He nodded, “Yea. Least I could do.”
“You’d really be saving my ass.”
He laughed, “Guess that would make us even.”
You chuckled and nodded, “Guess so.”
He paused for a moment, eyes glued to the pavement, “If you want, you could, uh, you could give me your number,” he looked up at you, “and I’ll give you a call when I get it all sorted.”
You smiled, “Alright. Sounds good,” you held out your hand for his phone and quickly added your number to his contacts, “Hope to hear from you soon, Juice.”
“Juan,” he said quietly as he took the phone back from you.
“Hm?”
He looked at you, “Juan. My name is Juan.”
You smiled, “Well, then, Juan, I’ll talk to you soon,” you paused and bit back a laugh, “Try to keep yourself out of sticky situations, alright?”
“Well now at least I have you to call just in case,” he smirked.
“Won’t be able to come and get you until you fix my car,” you chuckled, “So at least be careful for a few days.”
“I think I can do that.”
“Good,” you stepped in and gave him a quick hug, “Thank you, Juan, seriously.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll, I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Looking forward to it,” you flashed him a smile before turning and continuing your way out of the parking lot.
You chanced a look back over your shoulder and saw that he was still standing there staring at you with a smile and a dreamy look on his face. You laughed and shook your head as you turned back around. There was something to be said about memorable first impressions, and something told you that you had landed yourself in an adventure when you met him. You were excited to find out what was in store.
#sons of anarchy#sons of anarchy imagine#soa#soa imagine#juice ortiz#juice ortiz x reader#juice ortiz x you#juice ortiz imagine#juan carlos#juan carlos ortiz#my writing#fanfiction#drabblesmc
217 notes
·
View notes
Text
✦─chapter: 1/? ( ↣ )
✦─wordcount: 1.2k+
✦─genre: angst with a happy ending, fluff, friends to lovers, college/human au
✦─fandom: moominvalley
✦─pairing: snufmin (snufkin x moomin)
✦─summary: as the night, cold air hits my face, i come here because i want to understand. understand you of all people. you've been so good to me, and i feel as if i've been unfair to you. will you help me sort things out?
or: when moomin and snufkin have their first big fight, they find themselves discovering new things about each other.
✦─loosely inspired by the song two slow dancers, by the one and only mitski
✦─read and support on ao3 💕
a/n: waaah, here we are finally. it is i, secret anon who asked @hanekdrawsmoomins if they could write fanfics about their au muahahaha. im quite excited for this, since this is my first time writing like, actual serious fanfics lol. but yeah,,, this one’s going to be a lil too much on the angsty side since ive been on my feels, but i sure do hope you guys enjoy lmao.
HOWEVER, happy ending is promised, so don’t worry about that dsjhgjgdskg
also, if anyone would a tag list to be created, plz tell me in the comments!
finally, i would just like to thank the amazing @iemondropsss for being my beta reader!! i really appreciate it <33
so, with nothing left to say, let’s get right into it >:))
-He's outside, Moomin,- a voice says from behind. -In the hallway.
I turn my head around quickly, alert from the sudden new sound. I relax when I realize it was just Snorkamiden. I make out her face in the middle of the club-like flashing lights. I'm sitting in a chair, decorated with pink and red paper strips. The music is so loud in the gymnasium, I could barely catch what she was saying.
The worried look she's wearing says more than a thousand words. I know who she's talking about, but I choose to appear that I don't.
-Who's outside?- I say as nonchalantly as possible, as I turn my head back to the table and start playing with the plastic cup in front of me. Snorkmaiden sees through my act tho. She always does.
She huffs, changing her expression to one that is not at all amused.
-Stop acting stupid. You know exactly who I'm talking about.
I take the cup and slurp the near nonexistent juice. Why is he even here? Didn't he say that he never wanted to see me again? Is he just playing around? Should I go see him?
Fuck, I really want to see him again--
No. Control yourself, Moomin. You're mad at him, remember?
I stay there, thinking for a while. I feel Mai and Sniff's eyes on me. Sniff is sitting at the same table as me. I know he's worried about me. He's been more nervous than usual, giving shaky looks to Mai from across the dancefloor before we sit down together, trying to find an answer as to what was going on.
-You can't stay like this forever, Moomin. You two will have to talk things out at some point...
-But does it have to be right now?- I turn back to see her again, my eyes pleading with the false hope of putting the confrontation off longer. Snorkmaiden doesn’t seem to change her mind.
We have a quick staring contest before she speaks again.
-He literally came running from his house, you insufferable idiot. Doesn't that mean something to you?
I almost knock my chair over from standing up too fast, and I really hope no one noticed. I don’t need more embarrassing attention than I already have.
-What? How do you even know that?
-It's easy to tell, he's panting like crazy.
I lean against the table’s edge as I try to make sense of what he has done.
What does he think he’s doing? Has he gone out of his mind? Why would he do something so stupid? Go run from his house to here, in this goddamn weather? Is he serious? And what for? Did he...?
I stay paralized at the mere thought of it. No, it can't be. He didn't just…
-Well, maybe... maybe he forgot something in his locker-, I say in a desperate attempt to regain my cool. An attempt that, of course, goes in vain.
-Moomin, we both know he doesn't care about school work, or at least not to that degree. What could he possibly forget at school that would be so important for him to come running like that in the middle of a freezing night?
Her stare wears me down. I don't wanna say it, I don't even want to think about it. I wouldn't like to get my hopes up for nothing. I wouldn't like to get hurt…
But then again, why would he come?
I look down at the floor, meditating for a second. If I go out there, it will be inevitable for us to talk again. I'll have no choice but to listen to what he has to say.
And for some reason, that scares me to death.
Because…
What happens if he actually meant what he said? What if he actually doesn't want to talk to me anymore? I don't think I would be able to handle that.
I sigh heavily. My head is spinning like crazy. He's outside right now. He's right there. And you, sir, need answers, don't you? Once you do this, you'll be able to sleep more peacefully tonight (hopefully).
It really can't be that bad, right? If things go south, we'll just... Well, we'll just stop talking to each other and that’ll be that…
I shake that thought out as fast as it comes. If I think too much I won't be able to get anything done.
I turn my head back up, to see Snorkmaiden anticipating a final decision from me. I catch my breath one last time. Here goes nothing, I guess.
-Where is he, exactly?
I can see her body relax after those words come out. I can even swear I see a small smile tease her face.
-Next to the janitor's room, around the corner.
I adjust my tuxedo, and Mai finally breaks from her static position, placing her hand on my shoulder.
-Good luck.
I nod curtly as my answer and start walking towards the gymnasium's exit, fighting the urge to look back. I hope Mai can take the work of explaining to Sniff what the hell is going on. I feel bad for not being able to tell him myself, but sometimes even I don't know how to decipher these situations myself.
I hear one of the boys of the basketball team call after me before going through the door, but I already nod to the teachers outside in the hallways that I’m just passing through. I quickly explain I'm going to the restroom, and I hope to God the coach doesn't notice that I'm sweating quite a bit.
I don't even know what I'm going to say once I get to him. We haven't talked in a couple of days now. He's good at avoiding people when he sets his mind to it. Who’s even supposed to start the conversation? That is implying he actually did come all this way just to talk to me. Damn, what if we're all wrong and he really just came to pick something up? Ah, this shouldn't be so complicated-
My thoughts stop once I turn around the corner. I stop on my tracks once I hear faint sobs. There appears to be no one at first glance, but then I notice a lump on the floor, right next to the door of the janitor's.
I don't really know how to proceed. But before I can do anything, he notices me. He's wearing his green hoodie's cap tightly over his head when he raises his face. He watches me for a couple more seconds before slowly taking it off, revealing something that oh so breaks my heart.
His eyes are red and swollen, and I realize that this is the first time I’ve ever seen him crying. His eyes are also sporting deep dark circles underneath them, and it looks like he hasn't taken off the hoodie in a while.
He just looks... So weak. So defeated. So hopeless. All I want to do now is go and push his hair away from his eyes and wipe his tears away. I want to hold him and tell him I promise everything will be okay. I have to remind myself that we have to talk first before anyone can be assured that they are loved.
-Moomin...- is all he can say the moment he notices it's me. He looks like he's about to burst into tears again.
Snufkin.
#moomin#moominvalley#moomin college au#moomin human au#snufkin#little my#snorkmaiden#moomin sniff#moominmamma#moominpappa#snufmin#moomin fanfic#snufmin fanfic#moominvalley fanfic#moomintroll#tove jansson#regina scrive
104 notes
·
View notes
Text
Could it be?: Episode 6 fic.
I made my own version of Eldarya ANE's last talk with Lance since I felt that some things were... Missing. Or not completly clear regarding Lance and Erika's past.
The reason why I put my gardienne's name instead of "Erika"? During TO you can decide if you empathize with Lance or not, if you want to understand him or just go with it and try to kill him, and my OC had a bit of hope towards him until the very last moment.
Therefore, whether you liked Lance or not in season one, I thought that it would be more proper to do not use "Erika" this time and give each gardienne more free will.
Any feedback or suggestion is appreciated ❤️ Also, if anyone wants to request anything be my guest lmao, college doesn't start until September and I don't have much to do.
I want to thank the kind @rina-nanashiro that has assisted carefully reading it and pointing my grammar mistakes (English is not my mother tongue woah what a suprise).
I certainly screwed up this time. I was feeling awful. How could I let this happen? Why didn’t I prevent it?
I couldn’t stop thinking about Edgard’s death. The image of the knife in his neck, his blood a wild contrast to the white pristine snow behind him. The only thing I could do before rushing to the ship was stupidly staring at his corpse. Tenjin and his men hurried out and I just let them. I did nothing, again.
I was on the ship’s rail, staring at the ocean like it was the most intriguing and interesting thing I had ever seen. Even the waves seemed to mock me that day. They were calm and peaceful, not like in our first journey when they almost destroyed our ship. Despite it, I would prefer troubled waters that match my mood.
What would I tell Huang Hua, Chrome, Karenn and the rest of the people who expected great things out of me? Am I worthy of a statue when I’m not even capable of saving someone who’s right in front of my eyes? Did I honestly deserve all the praise at the title of “Eldarya’s saviour”? The truth will out and soon all the Eldaryans will realise that I’m nothing but a human with small wings and sparkling powers.
The sound of footsteps interrupted my train of thought. Lance came towards me with a slightly worried expression.
— Are you alright, Kali? You seem pensive.
— Well, we could say so, yes. — I guess he would prefer to say that I seemed pensive instead of a complete failure. Lance sighed and his mien turned serious.
— Actually, you look quite miserable. You’ve barely started these long monologues of yours talking about anything that crosses your mind. — I let a sad chuckle escape my lips. This man could read me like an open book.
— Look, I’m truly sorry we weren’t able to protect Edgard. Really. — I tightened my grip against the rail and turned myself towards the ocean.
— I swore to protect him. To keep him safe, to take him to the HQ. I promised I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. And now he’s dead.
I didn’t dare to turn my head to face him. I didn’t want to see the look in his eyes; pity or annoyance, I just didn’t want to see it. If he pitied me I would feel worse, but if he was angry, I wouldn’t hesitate to argue with him.
— Kali…
— It could have been me! It could have been Mathieu! I was there, I could have helped him.
— Accidents always happen, Kalissandra. This mission turned out to be much more complicated than we initially expected. You weren’t supposed to save his life, you were supposed to assist in the examination of the earth construction.
— But wouldn’t you try to protect one of your kind? — I regretted that the moment I said it. I could feel his jaw tightening even without looking at it. Great Kali, you just have reminded him about the extinction of his whole race.
— I’m sorry I… I didn’t want… I just.... — I couldn’t swallow the lump in my throat, and my eyes already began to burn.
— How’s that I’m supposed to be the saviour of Eldarya when I can’t even help someone that’s in front of my eyes? How can I deserve all that admiration when I can’t even do that! I could have been Edgard, Lance, I could have ended up there just like him and DIE the way he did. He was scared, he didn’t deserve it, he just wanted to try and make a living! And The Oracle knows how many people are still out there! And I’m here, doing ABSOLUTELY nothing!— I could not help but let some sobs run free. It was impossible to remove Edgard’s presence from my mind.
It would not matter how many years have passed nor the many deaths I have witnessed. The cruel truth about life would not ever stop being impressive to me.
Oh dammit, how was I even supposed to be a mighty warrior when I struggled to face death?
I felt a soft grasp on my shoulder, and Lance turned me gently to face him.
— Kali, look at me. — Without any hesitation left, I raised my head to face his deep, ice stare. I was expecting some kind of annoyance, pity or maybe even indifference, but what I found was… Determination.
— You are not him. You were truly lucky you landed right in the HQ, and I know you tend to empathize with anyone, even with the ones who don’t precisely deserve it, — He left my eyes for a brief moment. Was he talking about himself? — but right now, there’s no use in thinking about the “what if”. It has happened, and there’s no chance of going back.
— You have to learn to accept that you can’t save everyone. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, how fast you run or the prowess you have upon your powers, you will never control everything that happens around you.
— The fact that you saved Eldarya doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to be perfect. And as I told you, It’s important to be aware of our capacities, but no one is invincible, not the dragons or the aengels. — His hand came to rest on my face, his thumb brushing away a tear running down my face. Determination never left his eyes, still locked with mine. — You may have become a legend, but you are still a person. — His hand was to leave my face, but I gingerly held his wrist to keep it in place.
— I see how willing you are to help everyone in need and improve every day, even though you have skipped the training of the obsidian guard for three weeks. — I genuinely laughed at that. When I learned that he was my boss I was completely horrified.
— Fine, I promise you’ll see me there in the next one. — I gave the dragon a small smile that he returned eagerly. After a satisfied nod, he spoke to me again.
— Listen… I still wanted to tell you that you were impressive, back there. — His hand began to stroke my cheek with his fingertip. I could feel the warmth gathering in my face. — I already knew you were a precious asset for The Guard, of course…
— But I realise now that you are… More than that. — More than that? More than that in which way?!?! At this point, I’m sure my cheeks were flushed with a crimson red, and he must have noticed too, cause he seemed pretty satisfied with it.
— Well, the last time we were together, we didn’t take much time to talk. — He smiled awkwardly and withdrew his hand.
We stayed in silence, side by side, facing the ocean, for several long minutes. There was something intimate about that moment. Strangely, being beside him was… Calming. After this conversation, I felt great. Much better than these past days.
I believed we finally recognized each other. Of course, not everything was forgiven nor forgotten, I hoped we had a chance to discuss our past but right now… I could finally breathe in peace beside him. I didn’t have to keep my guard up around the dragon anymore.
I mean, he could have let me drown in the depth of the ocean and say that it was an accident. Wait, what am I even saying? That wouldn’t work. He’s not incompetent enough to let anyone drown under his gaze. Fine, I won’t thank him for any of that.
But… He did seem truly concerned about my well-being. He has given me a helping hand several times when no one was looking, and even though that’s not enough to neglect his stubborn personality, and yet…
Suddenly, I was seized with doubt. Something strange was happening between us… My heart was racing like crazy, and a small wave of panic rushed through me. His piercing blue gaze was lost in the horizon, and I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his eyes…
I recognized this feeling. It was very similar to the one I had when we were in memoria, at the forgotten cliff. That time, I still had a small hope that there was something good left in him, and maybe, just maybe, I was right, and this was what I was expecting.
Was it possible..? That he really… That he actually had changed? I couldn’t find the Lance that sunk his claws in his brother’s chest in the Lance that was standing beside me.
I was conflicted. I couldn’t forget the man who inspired my fear, the one I hated and hurt me several times, and at the same time, a new growing feeling was overflowing me.
I shouldn’t, I… It’s Lance! We never got along, and I don’t even think he even wants to, but I was hoping… What was I even hoping for?
I have to get a hold of myself and stop overthinking. I have experienced too many emotions in a few days, and I could always ponder about this with my head over my shoulders.
In the meantime, we were getting close to the HQ, and we would have to face the consequences of our actions in Genkaku.
#eldarya#eldarya new era#eldarya ane#eldarya ne#eldarya lance#lance#lance eldarya#eldarya fanfic#eldarya fic#fic#fanfic#lance fic#Lance fanfic#Lance fanfiction#eldarya fanfiction#my writing#eldarya episode 6#eldarya ANE episode 6#eldarya 6×2
61 notes
·
View notes
Text
how stray kids asks you out <3
skz scenario - all members (individually) x reader
genre: fluff, dating au, angst if you close your left eye
word count: 1.6k (total)
warnings: some cursing, but nothing else :)
a/n: hello, lovelies!! this is my very first (posted) stray kids fic- i hope you all enjoy. it’s nothing major, but i really had fun writing it. if you’ve found me on the explore page, hello! i’m a hot mess. pls validate me by reading what i write.
just kidding.
maybe.
ANYWAYS- please keep in mind that this is written in a totally lighthearted way, and this is 100% fictitious. this is for entertainment purposes only. thank you for reading!
chan:
he is actually so shy about it :’(
but he knows he’s gonna go through with it
cause that’s the kind of person he is
he just wants his emotions to be out in the open
whether the feeling is mutual or not
so he just improvises
he approaches you with completely no context? like he just walks up and starts a convo but you can’t tell why
you think he’s just. being chan
but no
he’s pretty chill, actually
his face is so tho red but he doesn’t know that so don’t say anything
a few minutes in he kinda just snaps because he just couldn’t wait
“y/n-ah, do you wanna- i don’t know, get together sometime? are you free?”
this takes you off guard completely
he misunderstands your reaction *screams*
and he immediately regrets saying anything
but you scramble to reassure him
when you say you’d like to get together, he loses all humility
becomes a total flirt
this flusters you but the two of you have such CHEMISTRY
“so it’s a date?”
“it’s a date.”
minho:
is the type to completely deny his own feelings until the very last minute
plus, tbh
he probably thinks you hate him
so he has a hard time convincing himself to finally ask you out
but when he does...
he just bites the bullet (lmao pray for him)
walks RIGHT THE FUCK UP TO YOU
“y/n.”
when you respond he just kinda:
“will you go out with me?”
you also probably thinks he hates you too (go communication!!)
so you’re just like *surprised pikachu face*
but he just stands there and waits for your response
he’s sweating on the DL
but you kinda just go with it and say yes
he’s hella surprised but doesn’t wanna show his excitement
so he just smirks and is like
“okay. what would you like to do, and when?”
(just because he’s a cocky lil shit doesn’t mean he’s not a gentleman)
but he’s also secretly planning the whole first date in his head
will i hold y/n’s hand? what will they wanna do? should i-
- minho’s brain
(aw)
changbin:
is on the bolder side
(be careful with this one)
(he’s feisty)
he probably let his feelings fester for a long time
so this is overdue
but he spends the whole day shamelessly flirting with you
he finally just asks if you want to grab some food
you don’t even really realize it’s a date until he insists on paying for everything
this makes you all clumsy and embarrassed
but he thinks it’s the cutest shit ever
well now he’s clumsy and embarrassed (sobs)
TECHNICALLY he doesn’t officially ask you out until after this
he pretty much just straight up confesses
the audacity i can’t
“y/n-ah... i really like you- will you let me take you out? on a real date?”
* gesturing to the take out *
he isn’t embarrassed at all
you CANNOT stop looking at his eyes
they’re so genuine and loving that you almost forget to answer
once he gets confirmation he promises to both plan and pay for the whole thing, even as you protest
how are you already in love with this man
hyunjin:
poor hyunjinnie probably spent the last four months trying to decide how to ask you out
he’s been head over heels for you for a while now
and he knows he needs to make his move
(cause, let’s be honest- you’re a catch, and he’s protective. could i make it any more obvious?)
he ends up thinking that just being straightforward is the way to do it
so he spends the whole day just trying to get you alone
this is harder than he anticipated
so finally he just grabs you while you’re in conversation
and goes
“y/n, i’m sorry-it’s important, can i just talk to you a sec?”
you go with him, if not out of pure curiosity
literally the SECOND you’re alone he just swivels around says
“did you know that you are really hard to catch alone?”
and you’re kinda just like:
huh
but he continues
“anyways, i just had a question for you?”
“oh, okay. what is it?”
this is when the nerves hit him
“oh, uh- i guess i was just wondering- if you would go out with me sometime? nothing big, i just-”
you interrupt him without thinking
“yes.”
* cue one completely flustered and w h i p p e d hyunjin *
jisung:
is not shy at ALL
but he wants to make sure you’re comfortable
so he doesn’t make a big deal out of it
he spent a lot of time debating how to do it
but he decides to write a note (so cute)
he waits until you leave the room for a sec
he slips a note into your bag that just says
“date? -jisungie”
with a lil heart next to it
then he panics and just books it
when you find it a bit later you’re initially confused
but then it kinda hits you
you FREAK out and track him down-
only to realize you have no idea what you want to say to him
but he knows you too well
and he just laughs when he sees your face
this makes you laugh too, even though you’re nervous
when the two of you finally recover he’s just
“but really- please? let me take you out.”
you know your face is on fire
so you just nod
but that’s all the confirmation he needs
felix:
king of overthinking
we all know felix has EVERYTHING planned in his head
like, to a T
he’s been very stressed about asking you out, but he also doesn’t want to miss his chance
so he just thinks and thinks and thinks
he just wants it to be perfect for you
he decides to just hang out in the comfort of your home to do it
the two of you are just chilling (y’know. FRIEND THINGS.)
but he is completely in his own head
and you can tell
you get to be a little worried for him, so you just ask:
“hey- are you alright? you seem a little off tonight.”
he turns super pink and tries to play it off
but since you’re a stubborn piece of work, you pry a lil
and he cracks under pressure (I FEEL BAD OMG)
he finally just looks up and snaps:
“y/n- i’m really sorry. i wanted to to this well, and make it cute and romantic and have you fall in love with me in an instant. but you- god, you’re so nerve-wracking!”
you just sit there
completely flabbergasted
he bursts into awkward laughter, and between coughs he’s just like
“y/n, i was gonna ask you out. i’ve loved you for a while now.”
he continues: “but i guess i fucked up, didn’t i...”
you jump and interrupt him
and insist that he was being crazy- what was he doing letting his mind run free with that?
finally, to shut him up, you just lean over and place your lips over his.
seungmin:
is surprisingly confident
but also low-key has no idea what he’s doing
he decides to send you a text
he asks if you want to grab coffee, which you absolutely do
he doesn’t realize until later...
that he didn’t actually specify it was supposed to be a date.
oops.
but he kinda just goes with it, and the two of you maintain good conversation
finally he interrupts you mid-sentence and is like
“y/n, will you answer a question for me?”
you nod, and he continues:
“what is- uh- this- exactly? to you?”
* nodding down at your long empty coffee cups *
you don’t really understand the question (valid)
he kinda just sighs and starts laughing
“well. it was supposed to be a date. i’m just really bad at this.”
you just. cannot believe your ears
he just laughs harder and says
“so. can we try again?”
you start laughing too
and you know that even if it wasn’t the best first date,
you’d felt right at home.
jeongin:
poor baby is SO NERVOUS
he’s spent like,,,,
the last 6 days trying to plan how to finally do this
but he decides to approach you and let it try to come up naturally
you two carry a conversation for a few minutes and then he asks
“so...do you- you know- like anyone?”
your face turns bright red
you can’t stop thinking
does he know oh my god am i that obvious i-
but you end up just looking away and being like
“i mean- i guess?”
he can’t decide how to respond
because on one hand- that person could be him
but on the other hand, it’s more likely that it’s not, and then it would be awkward as hell for him to ask you out
he kinda panics
then against his own will he just goes for it
“y/n-ah. i don’t really know how to say this- but will you let me take you out? i really like you...”
his ears are RED OH BOY
his voice kinda just trails off and you can tell he feels insecure
but when you tell him yes...
he was literally born for this
he gets so excited and doesn’t hide it at all
thank you so much for reading!! p.s. my asks are now open, feel free to send in your requests !
#stray kids imagines#stray kids#skz#skz au#skz imagines#skz scenarios#stray kids scenarios#kpop au#kpop imagines#kpop scenarios#kpop#skz x reader#stray kids x reader#bang chan#lee minho#seo changbin#hwang hyunjin#han jisung#lee felix#kim seungmin#yang jeongin#ateez#ateez scenarios#skz fluff#stray kids fluff#stray kids smut#stray kids fic#willwriteforhugsfics
249 notes
·
View notes
Text
Uppast's Cats Tour Comments: Act 1
note: i'm referring to the cats by their show names, however I may use the actor's name for a specific comment!
Overture
They did this SO well! I definitely missed seeing the cast in the aisles, but they projected the green eyes onto the stage, and it was the perfect amount of creepy/weird/hypnotizing.
I absolutely love the lights slowly being raised while shining all the spotlights, it sets the vibe PERFECTLY
also saying this now: the orchestra was incredible!
Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats
right off the bat, we’ve a super sweet Demestrap moment, with Munkustrap checking on Demeter after the car! It was adorable!
Devon's voice is SO good for Munkustrap, also the man is TALL OH MY GOD
Tugger didn't get his "can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark" line, which I was a little disappointed about. However, Zach as Bill Bailey is absolutely 10/10.
Brianna… the babiest Sillabub… so precious... so small...
There were some Victor and Gus moments, with them either standing near each other or sharing looks/touches, so if anyone ships them, y'all got your rarepair moment!
THE BOOT WAS SO LOUD LMAO
They use the set so well!
The Naming of Cats
creepy, wonderful, everything I want from this number
A handful of the cats got right to the edge of the stage where the lighting was, so they were all glowing, and it was the BEST vibe.
Taylor was staring into my soul during the last verse so now I can say I've been vibe-checked by Coricopat.
Invitation to the Jellicle Ball
Hyla is the PERFECT Victoria!!!!! She's so incredibly graceful, she had the sweetest expression on her face, and ugh it was flawless.
Paul is also just an amazing Mistoffelees.
Munkustrap had literally the sweetest moment with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer and I almost started crying. Right before Jennyanydots' song, when everyone's getting into place, Mungo and Rumple immediately went to Munkustrap and were cuddling his legs, and he gave them pets, and just oh my god T_T
Gumbie Cat
OKAY SO I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE KITTEN SQUAD SO MUCH MY HEART
When everyone's setting up for Jennyanydots' song, after the nuzzles, the lights start to switch, and the kitten squad was trying to catch the lights on the ground while Munkustrap was looking at them with the fondest expression and i swear i cried a little bit over how cute they were.
SKIMBLE LOVES HIS WIFE SO MUCH AND WAS HELPING HER GET THE KITTENS INTO THEIR MICE COSTUMES
Plato, Alonzo, and Mungojerrie were great cockroaches, 10/10
The Gumbie Trio was so good! Their voices sounded amazing together, and they were all just having so much fun!
SO MUCH MAMA JELLY AND SON TUMBLE I FEEL SO HAPPY
I'm going to go more in-depth in my Kitten Squad post!
Rum Tum Tugger
The way Zach said "Who will it be?" was absolutely amazing, i loved it, 10/10 character introduction.
Jennyanydots stomped off when he interrupted her accolades, she was very upset.
Zach and Devon nailed Tugger and Munkustrap's sibling dynamic PERFECTLY, Devon was the best Tired Older Brother Munkus.
Yeah, this number pretty much confirmed Zach as my favorite Tugger.
Mistoffelees and Cassandra did some lounging together in the background on the car.
Chelsea's Bomba is absolutely *chef's kiss*, I adore her
Obviously Tugger and Mistoffelees did their little dance, and it was wonderful. I'm not sure if other shows had Mistoffelees do this, but he went between Tugger's legs at the end of his little solo and Tugger was just vibing.
MY FAVORITE MOMENT THOUGH had to be near the end of the song, Munkustrap was 100% getting into it, and Tugger went over to him and was teasing him, poking him, and it was the cutest brother interaction.
They did have the camera! Zach did some very Tugger poses, and it was great.
Grizabella the Glamour Cat
haha Tugger went to hide behind the metal bars on the furthest side of the stage away from Grizabella, I'm in ✨pain✨
Sillabub goes to touch Grizabella, Grandpa Skimble pulls her back and starts scolding her, I want to hug the baby.
No, but I did really love that moment. It's off to the side, but you can see him giving her a talking to, and she's trying to say something back, but he's very firm.
Mungojerrie egged George on to scratch Grizabella, George sweetie don't be mean.
Taylor has such a perfect voice for Grizabella, and I loved her look!
OKAY SO LAUREN AND CHELSEA'S VOICES
Lauren's voice is so smooth and suave, and Chelsea's voice has a little growl that almost made me pass out, like ma'am i'm in love? But their voices mixed together, as well as how slightly different they are was such a great choice, and I kind of hope that other future productions take note and have two actresses with vastly different vocals for Demeter and Bombalurina.
Bustopher Jones
Mistoffelees and Victoria go to great Bustopher together and it was the cutest thing, they were so excited to see him!
Munkustrap immediately grabbing Mungo and Rumple by the necks and steering the gremlins away from the Very Important Cat.
Tugger was keeping watch so Munkustrap could be silly with everyone else during Bustopher's number, and that's not something I'm forgetting. Usually, obviously, Munkustrap's sort of in the background, standing, watching, and not really interacting. But Tugger switched places, and was up on the scaffolding watching, and it was CUTE!
My Tuggandra crumbs, thank you Zach and Lexy, I'm indebted to you both.
Tugger literally was just lounging on the car during the end of Bustopher's song, just waving his arms around, and I love him.
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer
Elana (Teazer for this show) had the PERFECT Rumple giggle!
They're so silly, I love them
They made the best facial expressions, especially when Mungo "stole" Rumple's pearls.
Very dramatic gremlin twins, jumping all over the place, not caring about anything!
They were so confident at the end of their song when they went to walk off, and immediately went into "oh shit" mode when Munkus, Plato, and Alonzo came out.
Run through the legs of Munkus! See Munkus, this is why you need to not stand with your legs apart when you're attempting to control kittens.
Old Deuteronomy
Saying it again, Devon and Zach are SUCH a good Munkustrap and Tugger.
The babies were so excited to see Old Deut! They could barely contain themselves, and then got cuddles! (Also Tanto was with the kittens and i love that for her, let her be a kitten!! I definitely got "big brother Cori/little sister Tanto" vibes)
Everyone's getting Deut nuzzles!!
Tugger did a VERY dramatic shimmy at his dad, and Deut laughed, and I cried.
Tugger and Munkustrap standing on either side of their dad!!!! He's so proud of them!!
Jellicle Ball
Sillabub was hiding on top of the oven before the Ball, sweet baby T_T
George got to sing with Old Deut!! Happy boy!!
TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS
Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks being the Supervisors!!
There was a really sweet Jellylorum and Alonzo moment (def going to talk more about it in the Alonzo post), but my "Jellylorum is Alonzo, Tumble, and Pounce's Mom" hc is feeling SO VALIDATED TONIGHT
I've said this so many times, but I adore that Plato and Victoria get their own little solo before their Big Solo. It's so sweet, and Hyla and Adam have wonderful chemistry!
Tugger chases Bomba offstage before The Moment, and I love that for them
CUDDLE PILE!!!
Munkustrap and Demeter cuddled together in the corner away from the pile and I want to sob because they were just so sweet, her head was on his shoulder, and he was holding her, and literally everyone in this show has such good chemistry with each other.
Tugger looks up with the psychic twins during Grizabella's reveal, once again making me think that Tugger and Munkustrap have magic like their brother.
OH AND TUGGER DID THE STUPIDEST LITTLE DANCE WHERE HE WAS SHAKING HIS BUTT AND HAVING FUN AND MUNGOJERRIE LAUGHED AT HIM AND THEY HAD A MOMENT AND IT WAS GREAT
Memory
ouch ouch ouch
Jennyanydots blocks the stairs up to Deut's tire so Grizabella can't go to Deut, my heart
steering the babies away from Grizabella even though Silla wants to give her a hug.
Taylor you hurt me in the best way possible
I always get emotional over Grizabella's dance before her song, it's such a telling moment, but unfortunately I don't think everyone understands that it's supposed to be a serious moment and not funny.
Deut sits on his tire the entire song and it's HEARTBREAKING
At the very end, Grizabella does the reaching back, and Deut reaches forward, and if you're sitting in the right spot it looks like they're touching and i'm NOT OKAY
37 notes
·
View notes
Text
somewhere only we know | doyoung (m)
title: somewhere only we know
pairing: elf!doyoung x dryad!reader
genre: fantasy, major angst, fluff, smut, royal!au, 1800s!au
summary: as the Crown Prince faces increasing pressure to select a wife, he finally falls in love over the course of a summer—charmed by the sounds of nature and a mysterious tree nymph.
word count: 32,000+
warnings: major character death, descriptions of death, familial conflict, discrimination/prejudice (both regarding familial lineage and species), classism, physical violence, descriptions of fire, voyeurism (but not in a kink context), strict gender roles/gender stereotypes, sexism/sexist language, some sexual jokes/vulgar language, outdoor sex, fingering, oral (male receiving), unprotected sex (don’t try at home)
a/n: this felt like writing a movie, especially towards the end, and i am TIYADDD. i usually actively avoid writing this many characters/plot points because it gets hard to keep things organized, so this fic was a serious test of my abilities lol... there may or may not be an epilogue after this, but that depends on the audience’s (y’all) interest in one
as always, let’s keep in mind this is just fiction and not a judgment of or truly accurate representation of the personalities of any of the idols depicted in this story.
@constipation08 thank you for the request and fic idea, this has been a wild ass ride lmao 😭
“Why do we have to leave the kingdom?! I was doing just fine right here!”
“Because our parents say we have to,” Mark replies nonchalantly, already growing weary of hearing Donghyuck’s griping about the King and Queen’s decision. The younger male throws himself onto his bed beside Mark, sighing loudly the entire time.
Donghyuck turns over on his back to give Mark a look. “But why do we need to leave to take gentlemen’s lessons? None of us here need to learn how to be gentlemen, we already are. At least, I am.”
“Your behavior is saying otherwise,” Doyoung counters, watching the two younger men from the bedroom’s doorway. “Perhaps it won’t be that bad. You’ll get to get away from the kingdom for a few months. It’s almost like a vacation.”
Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “No vacation I’ve ever heard of involves work.”
“I don’t know, I’m a bit interested,” Mark says. “Everyone says Eupheme has the best gentlemen’s tutors in the country, so maybe it’ll be—”
“Ugh, don’t say fun.” Donghyuck grabs a pillow from the head of the bed and smacks Mark across the face with it, causing the other man to yelp in surprise and topple over. They soon become embroiled in a battle of who can land the most hits with their respective pillows, which eventually evolves into them wrestling each other.
“See, this is why mother and father say you all need etiquette lessons. It’s like everything you learned as kids evaporated as soon as you hit puberty.” Doyoung shakes his head, but he also can’t help but laugh a little at their continual bickering. “You’ll spend a few months in the company of the other princes, too, so it’s not all bad. I really don’t know why you’re complaining.”
“Maybe because he won’t get to see Nayeon while he’s gone,” Mark says this while Donghyuck has him in a headlock, and the younger boy’s grip tightens around his neck.
“Shut up, Mark!”
Doyoung snorts. “Oh, how could I forget?” Nayeon was the daughter of a local lawmaker and someone who Donghyuck had obviously fancied for a while. Nayeon seemed to enjoy his company well enough, and she was undoubtedly within a proper social standing that everyone approved of, should marriage ever come into question. And, perhaps most importantly, she was also of elven blood. Nevertheless, there was talk that her heart had already been captured by another. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe she’ll realize she really is in love with you while you’re gone.”
“Or she’ll enjoy the sweet silence she gets without hearing Donghyuck chatting her ear off at every available moment.” This comment from Mark sends them into another bout of rolling around on the bed, trying to land hits on each other.
“I pity your future wife,” Donghyuck huffs as Mark tries to overtake him. “She’ll get the title of princess in exchange for what? A husband who will be too frightened to peel the sheets back on her first night!”
Doyoung rolls his eyes when he sees the fighting clearly isn’t coming to an end any time soon. Despite that, he certainly isn’t inclined to try to break them up; the last time he got in the middle of one of their scuffles, he ended up with an accidental black eye. The thought of trying to explain to the public what had happened was too embarrassing for words, and he was resigned to stay confined to the castle as it healed.
It would not surprise him if that incident were a part of the equation that finally convinced their parents to send them away for additional royal training. He, for one, isn’t complaining about it.
Doyoung waves his hand and decides to take his leave, quickly tiring of their theatrics. “You two have fun, then. Try not to kill each other; we’re expected to arrive in Eupheme all in one piece.”
They spend the next few days making the necessary preparations to leave for Eupheme—picking out luggage, selecting which outfits to bring, and deciding which guards will accompany them. Their parents have already arranged for them to stay with the King and Queen of Eupheme, who they are long-time friends of, and their three sons, Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung. Once there, Jungwoo, Mark, Donghyuck, and Sicheng will receive gentlemen’s tutoring alongside the younger three men.
Though they have been to Eupheme and the King and Queen’s home in the past as adolescents, their destination this time is a little different, with a new royal castle only just coming to completion a few years back. The King of Eupheme, always one to pull out all the stops with luxury and extravagance, had seen it fit to build a bigger and more attractive castle in the very center of the kingdom. Their old mansion would go to the oldest son and Crown Prince, Jeno, whenever he married.
The King and Queen of Ceres decide to appoint Doyoung as a chaperone for the boys because of his seniority as Crown Prince—and also because he’s the only older brother they’ll even attempt to listen to. Yuta and Jaehyun stay behind to handle other royal affairs and ambassadorial duties in Doyoung’s place. Some members of the Royal Court are far from thrilled by Doyoung’s departure and Yuta’s taking over a portion of his responsibilities in his absence, but they also know better than to air their grievances out in the open where any of the family could hear.
Yuta is initially not too pleased about being left out of the trip, but he knows there are obligations to attend to in Ceres. He also won’t deny that he relishes being given this role to play, feeling like he has obtained some heightened level of importance within the family for the first time in a long time. He tries not to be so conspicuous about how often he thinks about the position of Crown Prince, and what it might be like if he were only a year older and born of the same mother as his brothers. Yuta tends to think of himself as a master actor in maintaining his unfazed façade concerning his lowered station within the family, with no one the wiser. Well, except for the one he can trust.
Jaehyun, on the other hand, is not nearly so chagrined by having to stay as Yuta is. But of course, leaving would mean having to pause his budding romance with the daughter of the Marquess, so he’s more than willing to stay if tasked to do so.
The day of their departure comes fast. Soon, they’re all standing outside the castle as the servants load the men’s things into several of their stagecoaches. The five of them bid their farewells to their parents and two brothers, if a bit over-exaggeratedly.
“I hope you won’t miss me too much when I’m gone,” Donghyuck says, crowding up to Jaehyun and annoying him with kissy faces.
Jaehyun smiles and rolls his eyes. “I don’t think that will be a problem. Try not to torment our cousins too much.” Even with his joking, he gives the younger boy a hug and pets his hair before letting him go off to bother Yuta.
Doyoung is already there talking with Yuta, placing his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Take care of things while I’m gone, yeah? If there’s anyone around here who can do it, it’s you.”
“Of course, brother. I always honor my duties.” Then Yuta smirks. “Don’t let Jaehyun hear you saying that, though.”
Sicheng isn’t happy about being separated from Yuta for a span of months, but he doesn’t complain in front of the others about it. He simply gives his brother a long hug, sighing into his shoulder. “It’ll be fine,” Yuta insists, trying to get Sicheng to wipe the pout off his face. “Look at the bright side of it. When you come back, you’ll finally have some proper manners.” Yuta gently pinches his ear and Sicheng makes a face at that, though his lips quirk up in a small smile.
“Maybe. For their sake, perhaps these lessons won’t go to complete waste.” Sicheng glances at his other brothers as he says this, and he gives Yuta another nod before walking to one of the stagecoaches.
“Do take care of your brothers,” the Queen says to Doyoung, fixing his collar and patting his shoulders like she often did when he was smaller. Then she sighs. “We have not been parted for such a long time in years. Hurry back, my son…and please remember to be patient with them…you know how they can be.”
Doyoung smiles as she pats his cheek, though he feels a little embarrassed at his mother’s fussing over him. “I promise everything will go well, mother. We’ll be back before you know it.”
Sicheng and Mark take one stagecoach while Doyoung, Donghyuck, and Jungwoo take the other; their guards and servants have another two to themselves. After everyone is loaded in, they wave goodbye to the King and Queen as they ride away from the castle and towards a summer ahead in Eupheme.
In the stagecoaches, it takes a journey of nearly three days to reach Eupheme. By then, everyone is more than ready to get some space away from each other. Their stagecoaches are more finely outfitted than the ones used for public travel by the common folk, but that still doesn’t make them pleasant to keep an extended stay in. There’s nothing quite like being stowed up in one small space with your siblings for days to realize the value of alone time.
The castle, they find out as they ride along the path leading to it, sits not too far from a nearby village. Beyond that village, an expansive forest stretches out along the land. As to be expected, new property comes with new people and sights.
The princes had not last visited Eupheme since before the new castle was completed; now, all this newness comes as a welcome surprise. Donghyuck and Jungwoo press their faces up against the stagecoach window to catch glimpses of the village through the trees as they drive past. It’s raining lightly outside, and the waterdrops slide against the windowpanes as they peer out, obscuring their vision slightly.
Doyoung can already see the rapt excitement in their eyes. “Remember we didn’t come here to play in the village all day,” Doyoung tells the others, sighing deeply as he already knows what their plans will be
“Doesn’t mean we won’t, brother,” Jungwoo chuckles, and Donghyuck voices his agreement.
In Sicheng and Mark’s stagecoach, they also look at the scenery with fascination.
“It’s quite different from their old home,” Sicheng remarks. “But prettier.”
Mark presses his palm against the stagecoach’s interior wall, beside the windowpane, and focuses his energy to create a small portal to the outside. He sticks his hand through it to feel the raindrops pattering against his fingers; the air outside is humid and sticky.
“Showboat. You could’ve just opened the window,” Sicheng points out, though he smirks in amusement.
Their cousins’ castle is a grand thing. It’s similar to their own in many ways, but one thing the Euphemian royals have always prided themselves on is their outstanding landscaping. Their front lawn, backyard, and the surrounding fields create a vast world of their own, filled with intricately-shaped hedges, rare flowers, unique stone statues, and even a winding maze of greenery leading to the castle’s front entrance. It was more than enough land for anyone to get lost in for days. One could spend a week just traversing their entire property alone—forget the village and forest.
As their entourage of stagecoaches makes its way through the path to the mansion, the men talk more excitedly with each other, planning the things they hope to do once they get settled in. The King and Queen of Eupheme and their three sons are already standing in front of the castle steps ready to greet them once they arrive.
“Doyoung!” Jeno calls out the prince’s name as soon as he sees his head pop out of the window, and Doyoung waves excitedly to the younger man as he and the others get out.
Once all five men exit the carriage, they bow to the King and Queen.
“It is so good to see you all again after such a long time,” the Queen says, clasping her hands together with a warm smile.
“Surely, you’ve all grown into fine young men.” The King is a big, intimidating man, even for someone of his rank, and the current smile he wears does little to take away from that fact, but the five men return the gesture all the same.
The men get reacquainted with their cousins as the servants unload their things from the stagecoaches.
“You’ve grown up so much. Let me look at you,” Doyoung says, fawning over Jeno as the other men look on and laugh.
“You act worse than a parent,” Jungwoo says, giggling at Jeno’s blushing face.
Sicheng nods his agreement, looking at the two with an embarrassed expression. “Quite obviously—why do you think they picked him to be our chaperone?”
“Come on, we’ll give you a tour around the castle,” Jisung says, excitedly pulling Mark and Donghyuck along with him as he heads for the castle steps.
“I think we’ll be walking around for an entire day.” Donghyuck snickers. “It’s huge.”
Jisung grins, a knowing glance in his eyes. “An entire day? Oh, cousin, that’s just the east wing.”
Unsurprisingly, the group of brothers aren’t immediately unleashed to go exploring in the village.
Their tutors have them settle into a couple weeks of lessons before adding unsupervised free time to their schedules for them to do whatever they please with. It’s not a lot at first—only 30 minutes at a time—but Doyoung knows that’s more than enough time for them to get into trouble, if they so wish.
The men were hardly impressed with being treated like reckless children and would take whatever chance they could to escape the tutors’ watchful eyes, which meant staying on their best behavior and trying to adhere to all their professors’ instructions until they were granted more leniency.
By that point, their instructors were almost being driven crazy by the men’s frequent and not-so-subtle side conversations about what they’d see in the village once they finally got there.
“Alright, here is your first free break of the day. Go on, make use of it. I say, I’ve never seen a bunch of royals so infatuated with what the commoners are doing,” their music tutor exclaims, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t you much rather stay in here where things are clean and predictable and safe—and most importantly, clean?”
“Hmm, no. Clean’s boring!” Donghyuck counters, and he’s the first one to take off and leave the room once he’s gathered all his things. The rest of the men soon trail out of the room after him, with Doyoung heading up the rear. By their parents’ request, he usually sits in on their lessons to make sure they follow their tutors’ orders, or to help them out with whatever questions they have if the teacher is preoccupied with someone else.
“Are you all going to accompany us?” Donghyuck asks Jeno after the older man catches up to him in the hallway.
Jeno gives him a suspicious look. “Accompany you where?”
Donghyuck lowers his voice to prevent Doyoung from overhearing their conversation. “We’re going to visit the village today, see the lay of the land. There’s no time to waste, so if you want to come…”
Jeno shakes his head, a slightly unimpressed look coloring his features. “You go on ahead. If you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it a thousand times before.”
Donghyuck looks at him skeptically, then claps a hand on his back. “Suit yourself!”
It doesn’t take long for Donghyuck to convince Sicheng, Jungwoo, and Mark to use their free time to go to the village with him, and they decide to take the horses to shorten the time it’ll take to get there. They bypass their rooms and head straight outside for the stable, leaving their books and writing utensils sitting in a heap in a corner to avoid wasting any precious time with putting their things away.
While they’re out in the stable, Donghyuck fawns endlessly over the horses. He’s particularly drawn to an all-black one with a shiny coat and an impossibly long mane. Her expressions are almost elven-like, her eyes showing a certain eerie understanding of the words he speaks to her. A large golden label on her stall reads Lily in black curly lettering.
“She’s amazing,” Donghyuck says, gently stroking her muzzle as she peers at him with her huge black eyes. Mark and Jungwoo come over to take a look at the mare, and Mark agrees to Donghyuck’s observation, grinning softly as he brushes his fingers along Lily’s soft coat. Their moment is suddenly disturbed, however, by a voice coming from the stable entrance. The three of them jump a little in surprise.
“Where are you all going?” It’s Doyoung, of course. Donghyuck scoffs and rolls his eyes, trying to ignore his older brother as he keeps petting the horse.
“We’re going out,” Sicheng says, laughing from the other side of the stable as he leads one of the horses out of its stall.
“Obviously, but where?” Doyoung walks further into the stable with the other boys, though he screws up his face at the strong smell of horse and hay. Much like the others, riding horses is an activity he quite fancies, but he doesn’t enjoy the smell of it.
“Leave us for once, brother, please! If you come with us, it’s just going to spoil the mood. Between the tutors and the King and Queen, we have enough overbearing people breathing down our necks.” Mark shushes Donghyuck at that, as if he half expects the King and Queen themselves to come out from the shadows and reprimand them.
Doyoung crosses his arms. “I have no intentions of stopping you, but I’m also not going to let you return here with a herd of angry townspeople on your tail if you do something to set them off.”
“Yes, which means you’ll stop us from doing anything fun,” Sicheng retorts, nearly pouting. He’s used his sad eyes and natural charm on his older brothers to get his way in many situations in the past, but Doyoung isn’t budging this time.
“Doyoung is going to come regardless, can the rest of you just bear with it so we can leave?” Jungwoo says impatiently, leading one of the other horses out and fixing its saddle on. “We don’t have all day to argue.”
“Fine.” Sicheng and Donghyuck aren’t thrilled about the prospect of having their older brother tag along to thwart any mischievous plans they might’ve had. They don’t truly hate it, though; they rarely miss an opportunity to try to get on his nerves if they can, and now is no exception.
After they’ve all picked a steed, they mount their horses and take off to leave the castle.
On the horses, it takes only 5 or 6 minutes to reach the village rather than the 20 minutes they’d spend walking there. When they get there, they are greeted by a sign that reads Arthenia Village. It shows obvious signs of wear, but it looks to have been recently covered with a fresh coat of green paint.
From the first glance, it’s easy to tell that the small town mostly consists of supernatural beings—though they could figure that from the atmosphere alone. The air is thick with magic, and it dances across their skin like static. Fairies and orcs and the occasional elf like themselves walk, ride, or fly through the streets, plus many more beings beyond those. Even a small portion of humans live there, though they blend in almost seamlessly with the others—except for their lack of a magical aura.
Some townspeople stop to watch the men enter the village as they trot down the cobbled streets on their horses, all dressed up in their fineries. In the men’s own eyes, their outfits are quite average for a day of schooling, but the villagers rarely see such luxury in their daily lives.
The townspeople are not really used to interacting with royalty, due to the castle’s inhabitants mostly keeping to their own circles of nobility—and seeing everyone else as beneath them, even if they don’t immediately concede to it. Some villagers are in awe of their entrance, while others look on with expressions of contempt. Donghyuck doesn’t mind the glares, though, and waves excitedly to anyone who’ll wave back.
“I wonder about you sometimes,” Mark says to the younger man, and he narrowly avoids Donghyuck trying to reach out and swipe him off his horse.
They eventually dismount the horses and tie them up at a nearby stall so they can walk around the Market Square. There’s little danger of anyone trying to make off with one of the animals; their saddles decorated with the royal colors and insignia would immediately incriminate any person who’d attempt it. And in any case, a punishment of being sent to the guillotine is more than enough to keep potential thieves away.
Arthenia may be small, but it’s still filled with a distinct culture and a sense of hominess, with people selling their homemade wares and groups of little kids playing and weaving through the streets. A group of girls gathered at a small jewelry shop whisper animatedly among themselves as they watch the men walk by, and they freeze when Doyoung meets their eyes. He waves to them with a warm smile on his face, just as he was taught to do, and they wave back enthusiastically, their free hands covering their mouths to disguise their giggles.
Jungwoo quickly becomes entangled in a game of Horseshoes with a group of adolescents who bet he can’t beat them at their own game. And, despite Sicheng’s earlier complaints, he ends up trailing behind Doyoung for most of their trip, unsure how to interact with the villagers except for following his etiquette training and simply smiling politely at them. If he were in an “I told you so” kind of mood, Doyoung might��ve pointed out the irony of the situation, but he decides to let it be, knowing Sicheng is still trying to adjust.
At the very edge of the village, a small dirt pathway gives way to the same forest they saw on their way to the castle. The expanse of the forest is easier to see when outside of Arthenia itself; it spreads like a thick patch of dark green against the lighter green fields and hills. Up close and personal, though, the forest entrance is thick with foliage, making it hard to see through. The unknown nature of it beckons. Donghyuck catches Mark’s eyes lingering in that direction, and he comes up next to the older man, throwing his arm across his shoulders.
“Is that our next conquest?” he proposes, mischief written across his face. “Want to see what lies there?”
Mark looks back at him, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. “I’m willing if you are.”
A seller at a nearby stall—an elderly orc—overhears their conversation and shakes his head, chuckling as if he’s just heard something utterly ridiculous. “Young men...don’t go in there with bad intentions. The women will drive you out.”
Donghyuck and Mark turn to him with confusion written on their faces. “Women?”
“There are women who live in the trees,” the seller continues. “They protect the trees, protect the forest. Everything there is under their dominion. Before you step foot in there, make sure you’re thinking with your head up top,” he taps a finger against the side of his head, “and not the one between your legs.”
“U-um, that wasn’t—alright.” Mark is openly flustered at being called out, and Donghyuck only laughs, steering Mark away from the stall and back towards the heart of the village.
“Don’t get so discomfited about it, brother. Desires of the flesh are natural for men.” Donghyuck slaps Mark on the chest, and the other coughs a bit at the sudden hit.
“But do you think he said that just to deter us? Or is it true?”
“I’d say there’s only one way to find out.”
Sicheng turns a corner and nearly runs into them, and they both startle at his sudden appearance. “Whatever you’re so eager to find out, it’s not happening today. It’s time to go back already.” He’s no more happy about it than they are, though, rolling his eyes at the prospect of heading back to the mansion when there’s still much to see.
“Already?” Donghyuck questions Sicheng as he starts heading back to the Market Square where their horses are stationed. Sicheng unfolds his pocketwatch and shows him the time, nodding without a word before continuing on. “Ah, shit. We’ll see the forest next time, then. Don’t forget! We’ve got to make haste.”
“Remember what that old man said, though,” Mark says, calling back to Donghyuck as he follows Sicheng. “We aren’t using up all our break time to find lovers or concubines.”
Donghyuck scoffs. “Who do you take me for? No one can find a lover in just 30 minutes, Mark, unless it’s you. Then you’d only need 5 minutes at most.” Then he takes off through the streets as Mark chases after him, threatening to kick his ass once he lays his hands on him.
It’s another week before they can make it out to the village—and therefore, the forest—again, but once the time rolls around, Donghyuck is once again the first out of the castle with Mark on his tail. Jungwoo and Sicheng decide to tag along too, along with Doyoung, which none of them are particularly surprised about.
The villagers’ responses are less awe-struck this time, though some of them still express some surprise at seeing the men come to their little town two weeks in a row. Many of them give friendly waves, though others look on with skepticism as they see the men heading for the woods. They pass by the same elderly orc from last week, who gives them a knowing look; Mark shoots him a nervous smile in return.
Entering the woods on horses requires them to duck their heads a bit to avoid the overhanging foliage threatening to poke them in the eyes or get tangled in their hair. A few of them gripe about this, but they quickly grow captivated with interest as they journey deeper into the terrain and survey the woods.
“This place is nice,” Jungwoo comments. His eyes dart to and fro, though, as if he expects one of the aforementioned women to come out of nowhere and sternly rebuke them for entering their forest abode.
“I can’t wait to see what kind of beautiful women live in this forest,” Donghyuck announces.
“Don’t be so eager, I’m positive none of them would be interested in a kid,” Sicheng scoffs. No sooner do the words leave Sicheng’s lips do a pair of pinecones come falling out of a tall pine tree just a ways above their heads. One only narrowly misses Sicheng, but the other catches Donghyuck on the shoulder.
“Ow! Did you see that?” He grabs his shoulder as if it’s injured and whips his head to look up at the pine’s towering trunk, but there’s no sign of anything other than a few unsuspecting birds.
Doyoung shakes his head. “I wouldn’t say anything else foolish if I were you, brother. Seems like the forest already has something against you.” He laughs to himself, steering his horse away from the others to explore more of the woods.
“It’s not the forest, it’s the women that stall vendor was talking about,” Donghyuck insists, looking over his shoulder for any more falling objects.
“Sure. Next, you will tell us you’re no longer an elf.” Sicheng is less convinced by the presence of the dryads than the other men, but he’s along for the ride anyway. He will at least get to see what all the fuss is about, and even if it’s not true, he’ll have some time away from the castle. Although the King and Queen are as dutifully welcoming as they should be, he can’t shake the feeling of the King’s judgment brewing just underneath the surface. It’s like his aura intentionally closes itself off to the younger man, too haughty and refined to be in the presence of a concubine’s son.
“Let’s just keep on and see what we come across,” Mark says, steering his horse around a fallen log as he traverses further ahead.
Doyoung catches sight of a large oak tree just a little ways off. It doesn’t look much different from the other trees around, save for a hollow hole in its front, but he’s intrigued by it and decides to look more closely. Once he gets over to it, he climbs off his horse and walks up to its large trunk, carefully maneuvering around the thick roots beneath his feet.
Cautiously peeking into the hollow, he sees a nest, but there are no current occupants. He presses one hand against the trunk and feels the grooves and ridges of its texture underneath his palm. It feels old and powerful, and he guesses it must’ve been here for a long time already.
Doyoung hears rustling a few feet above him from the branches, and a few leaves drift down, brushing his face. He expects to see some bird or squirrel when he looks up, maybe the owner of the nest come back to object to his snooping around, but he’s shocked at the sight of a woman.
Doyoung only catches a glimpse of you, for when you notice him looking at you, you gasp and dart further up into the tree’s branches, causing more leaves to fall on the way. Doyoung shields his eyes from them as they come cascading around him, but he fails to get another look. It’s like the tree has enveloped you entirely, hiding you from view.
“That was odd,” he says aloud. So the seller’s words were true after all. He lingers for a while longer, hoping to maybe stay long enough to see you again, but you’ve disappeared. He’s a bit reluctant to leave, but it’s apparent you’re not going to reappear while he’s still around, so he leads his horse away by its reins and looks for the others.
“I saw something,” he says as soon as he spots Donghyuck. “Or someone.”
“Seriously?” Donghyuck’s eyes light up. “What did she look like? Was she pretty? Did you get her name?”
“‘Was she pretty?’ Is that all you can think about?” Doyoung sighs. “I didn’t get anything. I barely saw her. She was among the tree branches one minute and gone the next.” Donghyuck slumps a bit at that, but he’s still determined to see one of the forest’s female inhabitants for himself.
“Hmmm…no matter. There’s many more chances where that came from. We can always return later and see who shows up.”
Their conversation is cut short by a nearby shout from Mark, who’s loudly complaining about his head. Apparently he’s been struck by something much messier than a pinecone—a robin’s egg. “Ugh. What have you fools gotten into?!” Donghyuck calls out, spurring on his horse.
Doyoung mounts his own horse and follows the younger man in search of their brothers. Just before they get out of sight of the oak tree, Doyoung throws a glance backwards, still burning with curiosity. He’s startled to see the same face from earlier staring back at him from the uppermost reaches of the tree, your eyes wide with an inquisitiveness he thinks must mirror his own.
When he blinks, you are gone again.
Even though the other men look at him a bit oddly for it, Doyoung decides to bring a gift the next time they go to the forest.
He doesn’t know much about tree nymphs. He does know, however, that there is a library full of books in the castle; many being history and reference books, no doubt. After visiting the library one day after his brothers’ lessons, he manages to scrape up a little information on tree nymphs—or dryads, as they’re also called—even though he isn’t entirely sure what he’s looking for.
His research tells him the tree nymphs are friends of the gods and goddesses, and history shows that the higher beings have always liked—even demanded for—gifts. So why wouldn’t the women of the forest be the same way? Maybe if he brings a gift, the women will warm up to their presence and realize they aren’t just a bunch of horny travelers. At the very least, maybe they wouldn’t have any more pinecones and eggs thrown at them.
When the brothers get a chance to go to the forest again, Doyoung carries a couple cinnamon scones and a small, bright clementine from their earlier breakfast in his saddlebag. The chef’s scones are the best he’s ever tasted, and he doesn’t think he could ever go back to eating the ones from their cook back home—not that he’d ever say that out loud, though.
Everyone likes food, right? He figures there’s no way to go wrong with this idea, and even if the girl in the oak tree doesn’t like it, maybe one of the other tree nymphs or woodland creatures can eat it.
You aren’t in sight when he stops by the oak tree again. Donghyuck, who’s accompanying Doyoung on his personal quest, watches as he leaves the food in the small tree hollow, keeping it carefully wrapped in its blue and white handkerchief.
“You think she’ll take it?” Donghyuck asks, keeping his voice low. He doesn’t really want you to hear him talking about you if you’re still around somewhere, which could possibly alert you to their presence and scare you off again. But unbeknownst to him, that’s unlikely to happen; dryads always know when someone enters their forest.
“I wouldn’t reject free food,” Doyoung says, laughing quietly. He steps back once he’s finished with his job and looks towards the branches, as if he expects you to appear right then and accept his offering. That won’t likely happen, but he wouldn’t mind seeing what you look like more closely.
“Well, come on then.” Donghyuck waves his hand. “There’s still more to see. We can double back and see if it worked later.”
They hear rustling among the trees as they guide their horses through one of the forest’s many paths, but they don’t see any signs of the dryads. There’s only the occasional forest creature, such as a racoon or squirrel. Mark, Sicheng, and Jungwoo are farther away in another part of the woods, though the two men can hear them talking faintly, their voices carrying on the wind. Sunlight from the midday sun filters through the leaves, turning the landscape into a speckled show of light and shadow.
When Donghyuck and Doyoung get far enough away from the oak tree, they eventually come across a lake that splits the forest in half. It’s not very wide, but if you tried to jump across it you’d almost certainly land in the water instead of on dry land.
There are signs that sprites have recently been near the lake, or quite possibly live within the forest. The ground is littered with half-eaten berries and chewed-on leaves, but that’s not the only clue; that could be the work of any forest animal. Sprites, however, leave a very distinct tinge of magic in places they’ve visited. It’s akin to walking through a spiderweb, or feeling the air change when you go from the hot outdoors to a cold room. Doyoung almost swears he can hear tiny tinkling laughter next to his ear, though it fades away as soon as he turns around.
Donghyuck is more interested in the lake, though, and guides his horse to walk along the edge of the grass where the water begins. “Do you figure we could go swimming in it?” he calls back to Doyoung.
Doyoung scoffs. “Now?”
“Of course not now! Maybe some other day, when we don’t have 20 other things to do.”
“Maybe. The water seems safe enough…” Doyoung peers into the running waters himself, watching a few twigs and stray leaves float past. There aren’t any apparent dangers or concerns, and the water’s shallow enough where you can see the bottom of the lake, but appearances aren’t always as they seem. It’s always essential to be wary in magically-charged places like this forest.
They ride through the woods for a while longer, listening to birds cry out from the trees and sing softer chirps that serve as background music. Despite the forest’s inherent mystery, it’s almost calming at this moment, with the steady hum of wildlife around. It’s like time has been suspended and they’ve been enveloped in a dimension separate from their own, even though they can see familiar signs of life prospering all around them. The contradiction of the forest’s calm and unsettling quality is both strange and wonderful to experience.
By the time their half-hour of exploration starts running out, they circle back to the grand oak tree to see what’s become of Doyoung’s offering. He’s actually a bit surprised to see it gone, handkerchief and all, and he gets off his horse to inspect the tree hollow.
“It worked!” Donghyuck exclaims this a little too loudly and a nearby bird takes off. He flinches reflexively, expecting another pinecone to come hurtling at him from the trees, though none do.
“It did,” Doyoung agrees, pressing his fingers against the wood as he looks into the tree hollow. He’s even more pleased than he expected to be, a small grin playing on his lips. “It did.”
Doyoung leaves more gifts over the next few weeks, which ends up in him actually buying things for your merriment. Many of them are cute and inexpensive little trinkets from the Market Square, like smooth blue moonstones and jagged sharp crystals that the vendors swear have been blessed with witches’ magic, though he often still leaves food.
Even with these regular visits, he’s still yet to catch more than a few glimpses at a time of you. Unbeknownst to him and Donghyuck, these sightings, no matter how sparse they are, are largely due to you throwing them a bone and allowing them to perceive you. At any other time, it would be all too easy to just disappear completely and wait for them to leave after depositing their offerings.
They don’t always see you when they come to the tree, but it happens enough to be worth noting.
Despite this inability to get you to stay, Donghyuck still tries his luck with calling out greetings to your retreating form. These words, no matter how friendly they are, are often swallowed up in the rustling of the leaves.
The same thing happens today. Donghyuck spots your feet peeking out from an uppermost branch, not quite concealed by the leaves, and he rushes out the first thing he can think of to say. “Hey, there—” At the sound of his voice, though, you quickly retreat. “Uh, nice tree-climbing skills? Oh, alright, okay…”
“I don’t think she wants to talk right now,” Doyoung remarks, a smirk on his face as he goes to leave his token for today. This time, it’s another food gift; a pair of peaches and a biscuit with jam.
“That’s fine!” Donghyuck tries not to seem embarrassed about his fruitless greetings. “I’ll just keep greeting her until she does feel like answering. It would be rude not to say hello otherwise! Unlike someone else here. Not very princely of you, huh, brother?”
Donghyuck sticks his tongue out at his brother and spurs his horse to gallop off into the trees, feeling the air whip past his cheeks. In the back of his mind, he himself knows why he keeps calling out to you even if he won’t get an answer, though he doesn’t intend on letting Doyoung know why. Some things are better kept to oneself; he’s had to learn that lesson over time.
He eventually ends up on a small hill in the forest, which is surrounded by tall trees and covered in sparse patches of moss. He hears giggling above him from one of the trees, though when he turns his head to look, there’s nothing there.
Still chagrined from the time he got hit with a pinecone, he keeps his head turned skyward, trying to see if he can spot anything among the tree canopy. However, all he sees is green and more green. He’s about to give up and go about his way when an acorn comes zooming down and hits him square in the forehead.
“Hey!” he shouts, rubbing the sore spot on his head. His exclamation reverberates off the tree trunks and bounces back to him. The echo of it almost overtakes the small set of giggles from just in front of him, but his ear catches them. “Whoever you are, come out!”
Donghyuck’s horse whinnies softly but does nothing else to alert him to where the possible culprit might be hiding, and he sighs heavily. He decides to get off the horse to walk around the area, inspecting it more closely as the wind stirs his hair and tickles his ears. The forest is almost eerily silent the entire time; all Donghyuck can hear is the sound of his own breaths and his boots in the grass.
Suddenly, he yells when a mop of black hair falls on top of his head. The shock of it sends him falling to the ground, dirtying his pants. When he gets enough distance between himself and the strange black hair, he realizes it’s one of the tree nymphs. Not you from the oak tree, though, to his slight disappointment. This one hangs upside down from a thick branch as she looks at him, her eyes playful and bright.
“You’re a cute one, aren’t you?” Her voice sounds like windchimes tinkling in the breeze, light and airy. Donghyuck tries to respond, but he finds himself lost for words after finally facing one of the women who have been an enigma this entire time. When she sees he isn’t responding, she says, “Cat got your tongue?”
“Who...where…?” Donghyuck scrambles to his feet, and the girl rights herself on her tree branch, skittering along the length of it to hide partway behind the tree trunk. She doesn’t appear to actually be shy or apprehensive, though. Her grin tells him that this is all part of her game.
“Hmm. Well, when you figure out what you’d like to say, call for me.” The girl disappears completely behind the tree trunk, and Donghyuck darts behind it, expecting to see her still hiding there. However, there’s nothing but air.
“But I don’t know your name?” Donghyuck calls after her, but there’s only his own voice reflected back to him.
“Don’t know whose name?” Mark’s voice makes Donghyuck turn around in surprise, a blush coloring his cheeks. He hadn’t even heard the older man’s horse come trotting up.
“No one,” he mumbles, shaking his head as he walks back to his horse. “You must be hearing things.”
You and three other dryads sit in a circle in a small clearing one night, talking amongst yourselves, eating berries, and gazing at the moon as it shines directly upon your little spot. Cassia lays her head in your lap, her long black hair splaying across your legs. The other two, Peony and Daphne, cuddle close to each other, their legs entangling as they feed each other berries.
You all only come out like this when you’re sure the forest is free of any unwelcome visitors or sudden drop-ins, so you can enjoy each other’s company in peace and talk without prying ears or eyes. And speak of the devil—the subject soon turns to the men who’ve been gallivanting through the forest as of late.
“We can never have any peace,” Cassia says, though her tone is laced with laughter. “If it isn’t one group of thirsty and untouched men, it’s another.”
“That one man always comes around this area, the one with the long hair. Along with the rest of them…all on their horses, making so much noise and chaos,” Peony complains.
“It’s impossible not to notice their presence. I wish they’d just stay wherever they come from; they make far too much noise out here,” Daphne says, shaking her head. “They must scare away every woodland creature within a 20-foot radius.”
You’re quiet and thoughtful as you listen to the other girls’ complaints. Finally, you decide to chime in. “I don’t know. They do seem a bit mannerless at times, but they’re kind of interesting.”
Peony shrugs. “Not surprised you’d say that. The one with the long hair is always looking up your tree and leaving you gifts.”
“She just doesn’t want the stream of admiration to stop,” Cassia giggles.
You sigh. “I don’t think it’s quite that simple, but whatever you say.”
“Everyone in the world likes attention, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Cassia admits, “especially when it’s coming from someone who isn’t half-bad. This batch of men is by far the most attractive we’ve seen in a while.”
“Hmm, if you say so,” Peony says, and her and Daphne giggle to themselves like they’re in on a joke only the two of them know.
“He must think he’ll get in your good graces if he gives you enough presents,” Daphne adds in. “What say you?”
You tilt your head and think. “Get in my good graces? That depends on what he wants.”
“What he wants?” Peony separates herself from Daphne and crawls over to you, mischief shining in her eyes. “And what do you think he wants?” Her grin doesn’t diminish as she waits for your answer. Daphne smiles and laughs and licks berry juice off her hands as she observes you both.
You stare at the other girl for a long moment, not wanting to laugh but cracking a grin anyway. “I couldn’t possibly know! Maybe you should ask him—or ask the younger one you all have been obsessed with.”
Cassia stretches her arms upwards toward the night sky, crossing her fingers over each other. “Nope. He’s just fun to tease.”
“Fun enough for you to reveal yourself to him,” you point out.
“Say what you will,” she responds. “But at some point, you will probably have to talk to the man. Think carefully. You want to make a good impression on your not-so-secret admirer, don’t you?”
“Maybe,” you say nonchalantly, though you are already thinking of what you might say to him the next time he comes around.
Daphne looks to Cassia, then at you. “Well, just remember this. I wouldn’t waste too much of my good time with him if I were you. We all know elves don’t like us.” The mood shifts a bit at this, with the three of you giving each other unsettled looks as a familiar thought drifts in the back of your minds. It is not uncommon for elves to demean other species, nor is it rare for them to use this perceived superiority to take what they want from others.
Cassia pulls up a handful of grass and throws it at the other girl. “Must you spoil the mood? We’re just having a bit of fun. Besides, these elves obviously don’t object to us if they keep hanging around here unprovoked.”
“I’m trying to look out for the best interest of a fellow dryad,” Daphne protests. “Elven men are very seductive…everything you want them to be until they’re not. But, by all means, do as you please.”
“Like Cassia said, it’s just fun.” You keep your voice nonchalant, though you are already rising to your feet to walk back to your tree. “And thank you for the concern…although I’m not certain it’s warranted.”
The other girls let you walk back alone, knowing you need a bit of time to yourself to think. You wonder what the man’s motive could truly be, and what it means for you. The elves of Arthenia have historically been easy to get along with as they don’t share the views of many others in their race. The same can’t always be said for elven people outside of this small area, though.
You suppose there’s only one way to find out.
One day, Doyoung manages to go out to the forest by himself while his brothers are still busy with their studies.
He plans to leave you something again, maybe hoping to see you fully this time, though he’s also content to just be out in nature and enjoy the scenery if that’s not possible. At least that’s what he tells himself. Fortunately for him, Lady Luck takes his side today.
After getting off his horse, he heads straight for your oak tree with his gift in hand. It’s a small piece of dyed glass that he got from the Market Square, shaped like a maple leaf. It appears to change colors when held up to the light, as if it were a real leaf with the sun shining through its cells.
You’re already sitting on one of the upper branches when he comes to the tree. He stops in his tracks, thinking you might run off again if he comes any closer, but you simply sit and look at him, your knees close to your chest. He thinks about what a precarious position that is to take on a tree branch, but you’re obviously used to keeping your balance up there.
There’s a tense silence. Doyoung’s afraid you might leave, but he’s surprised when you stay put as the seconds tick past, wrapping your arms around your knees and watching him. When he becomes a little more confident that you won’t try to escape, he steps closer, albeit slowly. “Hello,” he says, keeping his voice even and quiet. Like he’s speaking to something vulnerable and scared.
After a few beats of silence, you say, “Hi.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m...Doyoung.”
“Doyoung.” You cock your head, weighing whether you should tell him your name or not, but you eventually do.
“It’s a pretty name,” he says, and he actually means it rather than saying it just to be polite. “Um…” He looks to the glass leaf in his hand, which is cradled in another handkerchief. “I was wondering if I’d ever get to see you in person.”
“I’m always here,” you say.
Doyoung nods and chuckles. “Well...I can’t argue with that.”
“You’re always here, too. With your group of men. Making so much noise that you scare all the creatures in the forest away.”
Doyoung winces. He already knew that they weren’t the quietest mice in the bunch whenever they came to the forest. “I’m...sorry about that. I’ll tell the others to keep it down from now on.”
You nod. “That would be nice. The other girls don’t like the noise.”
“What about you?”
You shrug. “They’re not wrong for being irritated about it.”
“Could this make up for it? At least, for you?” Doyoung pulls away the handkerchief and holds the glass leaf up for you to see. You climb down from your high post to look at it more closely, though you don’t leave the tree entirely; you just balance on one of the lower branches.
“It’s pretty,” you whisper, and Doyoung notices your eyes seem to sparkle a bit more at the sight of the ornament even though your outer demeanor is calm.
“Then I’ll leave it here.” Doyoung tucks it into the small tree hollow where he’s always put the rest of his presents.
“Thank you,” you tell him quietly, and he is surprised to see a slight smile on your face; the first one he’s ever seen from you. He realizes he’s staring at you a little longer than he should and catches himself.
“Ah, y-you’re welcome.”
You nod but don’t say anything more, and Doyoung knows he ought to speak again soon if he doesn’t want to surrender this small opportunity he’s had to talk to you.
“Are there...many of you here?”
“Dryads?”
“Ah, yes...dryads.”
“There are many, yes,” you answer. “Not every tree has a keeper; some are just empty. But many do. We live in our trees.”
“In?” Doyoung realizes this may be referring to something other than just literally living among the branches, which he didn’t think of until now. You nod.
“Maybe it’s a little different from your elven magic.” You glance at his ears and momentarily think of the conversation you had with the other dryads. “But it’s a type of magic all the same.”
“I see…” Doyoung remembers to file that bit of information away so he can tell Donghyuck, who’s been burning to know. The books in the library only provided so many answers, much to their disappointment, with them not having much recorded information on the tree nymph race. Dryads seemed to be a thing of mystery to many, though he could easily guess why.
“You’re not Eupheme-born,” you say abruptly. “Where do you hail from?”
“The kingdom of Ceres,” Doyoung answers. You nod, and he takes this as recognition. “Have you been there before?
You shake your head. “I can’t leave the forest.”
“You can’t? Why?”
“We’re connected to the trees. They keep us alive, and vice versa. If we’re separated over too far of a distance, both will die.”
“That’s grim,” Doyoung says, his eyebrows drawing together. “Don’t you ever want to leave? Go somewhere else? It can’t be happy to be chained to one place forever.”
You raise your eyebrows and laugh, incredulous at his statement. “Chained? The forest is my home. There’s nowhere else I’d ever want to be.”
Doyoung shrugs. “You have a much stronger constitution than me, then. I don’t know that I’d want to be tied to any one place for my entire life.”
You squint your eyes, staring at him carefully. “You’re royalty, aren’t you?” He nods in response. “Enjoy your freedom while it lasts. You can come to this forest however you please and have fun, but you’ll have to have a family sooner or later...something more permanent to tie you to this world.” You slip down from your branch, letting your feet touch the ground, and Doyoung steps back a little to give you space. “Men like to roam and be free and sow their wild oats. They’re more than welcome to do that, but I’ll stay here among the trees.”
He stares at you in wonder, your words repeating in his head as you gingerly take his gift out of the hollow. You turn back to him momentarily, giving him a quick parting smile and a nod before skipping off into the trees.
“A letter came!” Jungwoo holds up a cream-colored envelope that sports their family’s familiar crest on a wax seal on the back. It’s a letter from their parents—their first correspondence since the men have left the castle.
“What does it say?” Mark and Donghyuck crowd around him to persuade him into opening the envelope faster. Before Jungwoo can read it, Sicheng plucks it out of his hand and holds it up to the light, making a show of squinting at the inky black handwriting. “Well? Go on!” Donghyuck prods him.
“Hmm...” Sicheng purses his lips and crinkles his brows as if concentrating hard, then gives them all a sly smile. “It says you’re all kicked off the inheritance and I’m becoming the next Crown Prince.”
Doyoung shakes his head and takes the letter from Sicheng as the younger man laughs. The other three boys balk at his attempt at a joke, and Doyoung knows the atmosphere could easily turn awkward if he doesn’t step in now. “Anyway. Let’s see what it really says, I’m sure they must be missing our presence…”
They all stand around Doyoung as he reads the letter out to them, trying to look over his shoulder as if he can’t read fast enough to satisfy their curiosity.
“Dear boys, we hope Eupheme has been finding you well.
Affairs in Ceres have been running as normal in your absence, thankfully, and Yuta and Jaehyun have been handling their new duties well. They also send their regards and hope to see you back soon.
“There is also important news for our Doyoungie. We are considering a potential match for you—the Duke of Ceres’ daughter, with whom you should already be familiar—and plan to set a meeting as soon as you return at summer’s end. We think you will find her very agreeable...” Doyoung’s voice falters a bit.
“Aw, is our indecisive brother finally going to become a married man this year?” Jungwoo slings his arm around Doyoung’s shoulders, and the older man lets out a puff of air.
“By the beginning of next year, who wants to bet?” Donghyuck snickers. “Girls naturally love you, it won’t take long for you to charm her. Either way, it’s not like you have very much longer to wait.” Mark elbows him in the side and he complains in turn, but not before cuffing Mark over the head.
“...I suppose.” That comment about being a “ladies’ man” might have drawn a laugh or two or even a boast if it were said months ago, but now Doyoung just feels strangely unsettled about it all—the impending courtship and his inevitable marriage. He continues reading the rest of the letter, though if someone were to ask him later, he wouldn’t be able to remember the rest of the words.
“We think you will find her very agreeable and are thrilled for you to get to know each other better. It is nothing to worry yourself over now, but do keep this in mind.
“Boys—remember to keep following all of your tutors’ instructions, and please refrain from making yourselves bothersome. You all are guests, and the King and Queen of Eupheme are being very honorable by hosting you this summer.
“We all send our best regards.”
That night, Doyoung tries his best to fall asleep but is kept awake by the contents of the letter. It’s hard to tear his mind away from what will happen once he returns to Ceres. Though he’d thought he’d be prepared for this, he feels unexpectedly nervous and averse to the idea of yet again courting someone he barely knows for months—and quite possibly marrying them this time around. He doesn’t know how much longer their parents’ patience in allowing him to take his time with finding a partner will last.
It’s proper. It’s tradition. It’s what’s expected of him and his brothers, and he’s been primed for this duty his entire life. Yet, that knowledge does nothing to quell the uncomfortable sensation—dare he call it dread?—creeping upon him.
He watches the clock on the mantle across his bedroom, just above the fireplace. Its little black hands tick by endlessly, counting down the seconds, minutes, hours. When another hour passes and he’s still staring at the clock, Doyoung peels the covers back and decides to leave the castle for a bit. He already knows of a few tucked-away passages he can slip out of that lead to the outside in some way or another, having bribed Jaemin into telling him where they are in case any of his brothers tries to sneak out. How ironic that he’s now using that knowledge for his own gains.
Although he’s not sure if he’ll need it, Doyoung throws on a cloak for good measure before escaping to the outside. He spends a while walking through the castle’s extensive gardens and making sure he’s staying out of sight of the guards, though he feels no sleepier than he did when he first got there. Exasperated, he’s about to turn around and head back for the indoors when the woods beyond Arthenia pop into his mind.
Should he? He’s already outside; what’s the harm in it? Admittedly, the answer is a lot if he’s caught, but he pushes those thoughts away, as his feet are already turning to lead him away from the castle grounds. Doyoung decides he’ll use his glamor for a bit to disguise his face and elven ears once he gets to Arthenia, though there probably won’t be many people awake at this time of night.
Without a horse, the walk to the forest is long. Doyoung doesn’t create any of his light orbs until he’s sure he’s far enough away from the castle to not be spotted by any of the night watch guards. When he thinks it’s safe, he conjures a small ball of burning blue light in his palm, which is enough to illuminate his footsteps.
Doyoung’s boots are wet from the damp grass by the time he reaches the Market Square, and he passes by the rows of houses and outbuildings without a sound. Some lights are still on in some homes, glowing a warm yellow in the dim light of the half moon, while others are pitch black and fade into the surrounding darkness.
The forest looks even more intimidating at night, even with the limited light. He hesitates at the forest entrance for a minute, wondering if it’s safe to go inside. He’s yet to see anything truly dangerous during the daylight hours, but things can be different at night. He didn’t think to possibly bring his bow and arrow from their archery lessons, and there will be no easy escape on horse if something menacing crosses his path. Shaking his head and sighing, he enters anyway and prays to whatever goddess will listen for the best. He’s already walked this far.
Doyoung convinces himself that he’s just going to walk around for a bit, maybe sit at the lake for a while, but after turning in a wide, looping circle, his feet eventually end up leading him to the oak tree. You are already sitting on a low branch when he arrives, as if waiting for his appearance. He notices you’re wearing the moonstone he once left in the tree hollow; somehow it’s been fashioned into a necklace, and he wonders where you got the tools to do that. One of your legs trails off the tree branch you’re perched on, swinging leisurely in the cool night air, and he tries not to stare.
“Y/N,” slips from his lips. “You’re awake at this hour?”
You smirk. “So are you.” Doyoung moves the cloak’s hood away from his face with this free hand, and you study the glowing orb in his other hand. “You’re a Light User...that’s interesting.”
“I guess it could make for a fun trick at a ball,” he says, and tosses the glowing orb up into the air. He does this a few times until he throws it up one last time and it hovers in the air, as if stuck by an invisible force. Doyoung manipulates the orb with his fingers in a way that causes it to split up into a dozen more bright glowing spheres, all suspended in the air. By now, the entire area around the oak tree is lit up from the light emanating from these numerous orbs.
You laugh softly at this display, reaching out to touch the orb nearest to you and discovering that, despite your hand passing through it, the air still feels oddly warm in the spot where the light glows. “Very pretty. It’s peculiar to see you at this hour, though. Are you even allowed to be out this late?” you ask, your eyes still lingering on the orb.
“No, but…” Doyoung trails off, unsure if he wants to revive that concern. “I couldn’t sleep.”
You finally look back at him, and your face creases slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Doyoung says, and he doesn’t know, really. Getting married was always a part of the plan, as royalty. So why is he doubting it now? Maybe he knows more about why he’s feeling this way than he’ll admit to, but there are things he’s still not even sure of himself at the moment.
You decide not to press the matter for now, especially after seeing his conflicted face. “You don’t have your horse. Was it a long walk?”
He nods and laughs a little, thinking maybe it was a bit ridiculous to walk all the way here in the middle of the night. He still has to walk all the way back, which isn’t an appealing thought. “Nothing like a bit of exercise to tire you out, I guess. Hopefully I’ll sleep better after.”
“You sound like a troubled sleeper. I eat jasmine petals if I have trouble sleeping. You know, there’s a bush of them around here.” It’s an offer for him to partake, if he wants to.
“My mom likes jasmine tea,” Doyoung says, grinning slightly. “Do you often have trouble falling asleep? I would think it would be easier being surrounded by nature like this.”
You slide off the lower branch and land on the grass with a soft thump. “Not always…but I’d rather have an easy remedy than be left without one when I needed it.” Then you move to follow a dirt path leading away from the tree, but not before turning back to look at Doyoung. “Come on, then. I’ll show you the bush.”
Once again, he hesitates like he did just before entering the forest. “Is...it safe?”
You squint at him. “Safe?”
“I mean…there must be other creatures in this forest besides the agreeable woodland variety.”
“Yes…but they mostly live on the far outskirts. And either way, none of the other inhabitants will hurt a dryad. We’re the forest’s keepers. So you’ll be safe if you’re with me.”
Doyoung decides to take your word for it and follows you along the path, his blue orbs trailing after him. He sends some further ahead to light the narrow path so you both can see better, though you already know where the bush is by heart.
Soon, you’re both standing in front of the aforementioned bush, which is laden with white jasmine blooms. They seem to shine unnaturally brightly under the illumination of the blue orbs.
“Take some,” you say, carefully plucking one of the flowers from the bush. You hold it up to his nose so he can smell it, and he does so. The scent envelops him like a warm hug, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say it’s already making him feel better. When you hold the flower out to him, he takes it gingerly. He doesn’t fail to notice the soft blossom’s texture, or the equal softness of your hand.
“Will your friends be okay with this?” Doyoung asks tentatively, holding the flower in his hand with a certain fragility.
“They will. And if they aren't, it can be our secret.” There are no secrets in this forest, really, but you humor him anyway, wanting to do something nice in return for the gifts he’s given you.
Doyoung nods and takes a couple more of the flowers, their leaves included, for the tea. He tucks them safely in the pocket of his pants.
You smile at him once he’s taken what he wants. “You’re quite gentle,” you remark. Doyoung doesn’t expect to hear that from you, and he looks at you quizzically.
“What do you mean?”
“You just appear to be very...cognizant. Many people who’ve come to the forest before don’t give any thought to disturbing the natural balance of things and taking what they want. Not the villagers, but others.”
“I see,” Doyoung nods, feeling his face grow warm. He’s never had that particular attribute associated with him before. Gentle. Men are meant to be strong and brave and fearless; gentleness is for the fairer sex. He doesn’t dislike it, though. Quite the opposite, in fact.
You nod in return. “Well, it’s getting a bit late...later than it already is, anyway. I don’t know how things at your castle work, but you may want to be getting back before someone notices you’re gone. The sun will be rising soon enough.”
Doyoung smiles slightly. “You’re quite right.”
“Would you like me to walk back with you? To keep you safe, you know.” You giggle at this. “I will only go as far as the edge of the forest. But you should be alright beyond that point.”
“That’s fine with me.” Doyoung can’t help but feel a little embarrassed about being on the receiving end of such niceties, thinking that this is the kind of thing he’d be doing for you in any other context. He’s not going to pass up the offer of safety, though—and the opportunity to spend a few more minutes in your company.
You talk in low voices on the way back towards the forest’s opening. Mostly about things in the forest, though Doyoung does mention his brothers once or twice. Secretly, you think it’s a bit endearing how much he cares about them even if they get on his nerves.
“We’re here,” you say once you’re in view of the village again.
“Thank you for walking with me. And thank you for the jasmine.” Doyoung pats his pocket.
You grin and wave. “You’re welcome. Sleep well.”
Doyoung starts walking off but suddenly turns back to you as if there’s something more he wants to say. You raise your eyebrows in question, waiting for him to speak, but after a second, he only smiles—if a bit nervously—and returns your wave.
You shuffle back into the underbrush a bit, though you stay there and watch him walk away until he’s just a speck amongst the backdrop of the village.
Doyoung makes it back home undetected and climbs back into bed feeling tired enough to sleep now, though he also attributes some of his sleepiness to the pleasant smell of jasmine still clinging to him.
When he slumbers, he dreams of a soft hand touching his, ripe with the scent of jasmine flowers.
The days get progressively hotter as the summer months settle in. With their tutors’ increasing lenience thanks to them taking well to their educational and etiquette lessons, the men get more time to themselves to do whatever they wish. The heat encourages them to spend more time outdoors, whether it’s running through the castle’s expansive yards, shooting arrows at targets or some poor stuffed mannequins, or heading to the village—and subsequently, the forest.
One hot day when they have little responsibilities to tend to, Jungwoo comes up with the brilliant idea to head to the lake for a couple hours, perhaps to cool down from the heat by wading in the water for a while. Sicheng, who has grown a bit disenchanted with the forest, decides to spend the day with their three cousins instead.
However, when the men get within shouting distance of the lake, they realize it’s already occupied.
“Wait!” Mark hisses, pulling on the reins of his horse to make it stop. He holds a finger to his lips, and before any of the men can question him, the sound of shouting, laughter, and water splashing drifts to them on the wind. It appears they aren’t the only ones who’ve had the idea of visiting the lake today.
“Oh?” Donghyuck’s eyes widen, and he and Jungwoo waste no time with getting off their own steeds to head for the riverbank.
“Wait, where the hell are you leaving off to?” Doyoung whisper-shouts, but the two pay him no mind as they creep over to a cluster of bushes near the edge of the lake. The shrubs are big enough to conceal them while still providing a few gaps to peek through, and from their new post they spot the dryads farther down the length of the lake, standing in a shallow portion. The women aren’t near enough to spot the men hiding in the bush, but they are still close enough to see clearly from this distance.
“W-what do you see?” Mark asks, his body poised as if he wants to get off his horse and join them too, but he’s still unsure.
“You’ve got to see it for yourself,” Donghyuck snickers, waving the older man over.
Mark looks to Doyoung. Doyoung gives him an incredulous look, and Mark shoots an apologetic one back before dismounting his horse and going over to join his brothers, squeezing in-between them as they crouch on the ground. He sees a group of six dryads playing in the lake, splashing each other with the water. Two more sit on the bank observing the festivities and talking about something they’re holding in their hands, though Mark can’t quite make out what the small objects are.
Donghyuck has only barely seen you during the times he’s gone with Doyoung to deliver your gifts, though he instantly recognizes you as one of the girls standing in the lake. His breath catches a bit as he watches you with water glistening off your skin and your dress clinging to your body.
“Isn’t this a little distasteful?” Mark mutters, his big eyes darting nervously between his brothers. He shifts uncomfortably, looking like he’s ready to make a run for it if need be. “I mean, watching them through the bushes like this…”
“Probably,” Jungwoo replies. “But as long as they don’t notice us…”
Mark almost shouts at feeling a hand come down on his shoulder, and Donghyuck whips his head around when the same happens to him; however, it’s only Doyoung. “You all need to get up right now,” he hisses lowly. “Haven’t you learned anything over the past few months? This is inappropriate—”
“Why are you standing?! Get down before they—”
Before any of them can realize what’s happening, what must be a gallon of lake water splashes down on all four of their heads. Screams of shock ring through the forest, along with a loud round of laughter—coming from both above them and further down the lake.
Mark, Jungwoo, and Donghyuck get to their feet in a rush, looking and feeling very much embarrassed. They look up toward the treetops and see two dryads sitting in the cleft of some of the sturdier branches, openly giggling at them. Jungwoo notices they aren’t holding buckets or any other objects that could’ve explained how they got the water up there in the first place—just a net woven with leaves, which he is certain they couldn’t have been transporting the water in. And yet… “How did you...?”
The women aren’t interested in answering his question, though, and instead disappear into the branches, leaving nothing but a few stray leaves fallen to the ground.
“I think we probably deserved that,” Mark says, sighing and trying to shake some of the water out of his clothes. The rest of the dryads who are still in the water follow the lead of the other two girls, running out of the lake and scattering through the forest, the echoes of their laughter the only evidence that they were ever there. The only ones who stay are you and the two other tree nymphs sitting on the riverbank. Now that everyone is in full view of each other, Mark belatedly realizes that the “objects” the two girls were holding and cooing over are not objects at all, but small sprites.
You step a little closer to the group of men, and the other two girls watch them intently. “If you wanted to play with us, you could just say so. It would benefit you not to be a bunch of cads about it.” You roll your eyes, though you are somewhat amused by seeing them standing there looking soaked and embarrassed.
“O-of course! I tried to tell them, but you know how it is with these kids...we were just leaving, actually.” Doyoung grips Donghyuck and Jungwoo’s collars like he’s about to drag them off like two misbehaving children, and Donghyuck’s face flushes at being treated like a kid in front of you.
“Are you sure about that?” you ask, and Doyoung raises his eyebrows at your question. You lower your hand into the lake water as if you’re only checking its temperature or letting it flow through your fingers—which is why they’re taken off guard when you draw your hand back and send a big splash of water flying in their direction.
Donghyuck is the first to react, pulling away from Doyoung’s grasp and rushing into the water to splash you back. It’s not long before things quickly evolve into another splash battle, with the other boys wading into the lake to join. The other two girls give skeptical glances at first, but they eventually bid goodbye to their sprite friends and jump into the lake, too.
You all spend what feels like hours running through the water and splashing each other, and your two friends take more quickly to the men than you expected. When the hour for them to leave comes rolling around, you are all soaked but smiling.
“We’re never going to hear the end of it,” Mark says, looking down at their wet clothes. Still, there’s no concealing the bright and amused smile coloring his features.
Your two friends wave to the men and quickly slip off back to their trees, though you linger for a while longer as you watch them climb out of the lake and try to wring out their clothes. Doyoung’s the last one left standing in the water with you, and you turn to him.
“Did the flowers help?” you ask.
“The flow—? Oh, the flowers! They worked just as intended, thank you…” Doyoung blushes a little at the memory. As the others head for their horses, Donghyuck hangs back a little to hear the conversation, wanting to be nosy and wondering what flowers you’re referring to.
“I’m glad to hear that,” you reply, smiling and feeling a little proud that your remedy worked—even though you knew it would. “You know, if you ever need anything else, you can just ask…there are a lot of resourceful things here. It’s like living in an apothecary.”
“Well, I’m interested if he isn’t!” Haechan interjects.
You smirk lightly at him while Doyoung shoots him an irritated look. “Sure. I suppose you’ve taken interest in the forest itself and are no longer just looking for a pretty woman to mess around with?”
Donghyuck flushes at your words, and his smile falters a little at being called out on his earlier intentions. Beside him, Doyoung gloats internally, and he bites his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud. “Um…sorry about that.”
“It’s nothing new,” you say matter-of-factly. Then you turn to Doyoung. “Anyways…don’t forget what I said. I’ve gotten used to seeing you around here, so...don’t be a stranger.” You go to leave then, but not before turning back around once more. “And don’t go snooping around. You’re not as stealthy as you think.”
Donghyuck only nods, too embarrassed to respond and unable to justify himself. Both men watch as you walk away, likely back towards your tree. Doyoung turns to the younger man. “Come on, then. Let’s be heading back; maybe our clothes will dry out on the way there.”
After the lake incident, Donghyuck insists on using all his lesson breaks for the next couple of weeks to go with Doyoung whenever he travels to the forest to see you. Donghyuck becomes even more invested in this after knowing that Doyoung had already met you face-to-face after going to the forest by himself. The older man acquiesces, though deep down he’d like to spend more time with you alone—especially with managing to make these visits only once or twice a week. Still, seeing you with his little brother clinging to his side is better than not seeing you at all.
Donghyuck is talkative and lively and inquisitive in your presence, much more willing to learn new things from you than from even the highest-rated tutors in Eupheme. Doyoung finds that particularly ironic, though he doesn’t remark on it. Instead, he listens intently along with Donghyuck as you tell him about the many different kinds of plants within the forest, including what purposes they serve. Doyoung is always reminded of the night you gave him those jasmine flowers, and even now, he stares at your hands as you point out different leaves and subtly wishes he could have any excuse to touch them again.
“These berries are safe to eat, though they look very similar to poisonous Pokeweed berries. That’s why you want to be sure you can tell the difference between them…” You place a few in your palm and hold them out for Donghyuck to see.
Donghyuck—who looks at you like you know everything in the world. You know many things, but not everything; but you’ll continue to let him look at you so admirably, because you find it endearing. He somewhat makes you think of what it might be like to have a younger brother or an amiable male friend. Someone to offer you a different perspective of the world external from the community of women you’ve always lived in.
Could Doyoung be that male friend or curious brother, too? Maybe, but maybe not.
Whenever you turn and speak to Doyoung to keep him included in the conversation, you don’t get that companionable feeling. There’s something much warmer there, something that makes you smile a little wider and causes more interesting facts to pop into your head. You enjoy telling him more about the forest, your home, and you somehow feel like you’d tell him anything he wants to know whenever he looks at you.
You like to see his smile, and the way his eyes grow smaller as he laughs or grins at something you’ve said. You haven’t felt this in a very long time, but if there’s anything to compare it to, it’d be eating warm honey straight from the honeycomb, or breathing in a lungful of jasmine scent before drifting off to sleep.
You don’t dwell on it for too long, simply wanting to experience the emotions as they are rather than spend too much time worrying over what they mean. Nevertheless…your idea of Doyoung is quite different from a friend or brother, indeed.
Although it is a Saturday when Doyoung comes to visit you, the sky is a dark and restless contrast to the day’s liveliness, the clouds looking heavy enough to drag down to Earth. He knows it’ll likely rain soon, which means he should probably stay in the castle and keep dry, but he ventures out to see you anyway. Today is the first time in a while he’s been able to see you without Donghyuck by his side, so he’s taking the opportunity.
You’re not in your tree when he comes. He thinks maybe he might go and look for you, but you’ll know where he is faster than he could find you. It takes a few minutes, but as expected, you appear from the further reaches of the woodland, laughing to yourself and holding a ring of flowers. There’s a similar one on your head made up of purple and white blooms. Doyoung thinks you look something like an angel against the sky’s gloom, with a halo made of blossoms instead of light.
“You’re here now? It’s about to rain,” you say, though your tone shows you’re clearly happy to see him.
He shrugs. “I felt like getting some air...I’m not concerned with a little water, as you probably already know.” I wanted to see you, is what he’d really like to say, but he doesn’t want to jump the gun. You nod in understanding, then hold up the ring of flowers in your hand; it has a few blue ones reminiscent of Doyoung’s light orbs. You offer the flower crown up to him, and he bends so you can place it on his head.
“Now you look like a true prince,” you say, smiling in satisfaction at your masterpiece. “I’ve never seen you with a crown until now. That’s a shame.”
“It is a shame.” Doyoung brings a hand up to feel the petals of one of the flowers between his fingers, and he grins. “I’m quite handsome in one.”
“Oh, my prince!” You start prancing around Doyoung and his horse like a fairy, or maybe like a young maiden at a fancy ball, brushing your hand along the animal’s shiny coat as you do. “It’s such an honor for you to grace our forest with your elegant visage.” You finally stop in front of him with a curtsy, though you have to take a moment to readjust your flower crown when it almost flies off at the sudden stop. “What can I have the pleasure of doing for you today?”
Though he laughs at your acting, he’s also a little awestruck for a moment, taken away by your cuteness and humor. Doyoung realizes there’s an awkward silence settling between you as he’s yet to say anything, and he finally stutters out, “There was something I...w-wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?” You come out of your curtsy and stand straight in front of him, all ears open for whatever he’s about to say.
“Well, it’s…” It’s a lot scarier to say what you want when you’re standing in front of someone and not just practicing in front of the vanity mirror. Doyoung is still piecing the words together when a few drops of rain hit his cheek. He doesn’t think much of it at first, but the droplets become impossible to ignore when they suddenly come hammering down without pretense, as if the gods have given word for the heavens’ floodgates to open.
“Come on!” You start running and Doyoung has no choice but to follow, tugging his horse along with him. It doesn’t take long for you to lead him to a small cave he’s never seen before. To his defense, that’s likely because the opening of it is partially obscured by hanging vines and other vegetation. It’s tall enough for someone of Doyoung’s height to stand in comfortably, which he’s relieved by. He doesn’t consider himself to be one of the more uptight royals like many others he knows, but he also wouldn’t be thrilled by the idea of sitting down in a cold, dirty cave in the rain. Even with your haste, though, you’re both quite wet by now.
Though the cave is spacious enough for you two, it becomes apparent that both of you and the horse won’t fit. Instead, Doyoung guides the animal to take shelter nearby under a willow tree with overhanging branches.
The cave is not very deep at all, only extending a few feet backwards. Perhaps that’s reassuring, at least for Doyoung, because there won’t be any disgruntled animals popping out to protest against their space being invaded.
“Well, that was interesting.” You chuckle as you squeeze water out of the hem of your dress.
“Suppose I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.” Doyoung does the same for the ends of his hair, though he knows it will be a while before it gets acceptably dry.
You laugh and nod. “You said you wanted to tell me something. What was it?” you ask.
Doyoung pauses and looks at you carefully, with rainwater dripping off his chin and darkening his clothes. He looks very serious, which is something you haven’t really seen before. It makes concern rise in your stomach, thinking maybe he has some bad news to deliver.
However, you’ve mistaken the intensity in his eyes for somberness when it’s something else entirely.
“I...love you.”
You regard him with wide eyes, feeling a little taken aback. The rain pours noisily in the background, but you’ve heard him loud and clear.
“I know we have only known each other for a few months,” he continues, “but I love you. I want to be with you.”
You’re surprised that he feels this strongly about you already, but it’s also true that you’ve felt yourself falling for him in the past few months, with his thoughtful gifts and kind smile and soft voice. You release a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, lips parting minutely. He catches the small movement of your mouth, like he notices everything about you—whether you acknowledged it before or not.
Doyoung takes your hand. Though his palm is wet from the rain, you don’t care about that. “I think about you when I’m not here in the forest…and when I’m overseeing my brothers’ lessons. I dream about you when I sleep at night. Every time I get another gift for you, it’s because I want to see you smile so brightly like that again, because of me. I never want to know a day without you.”
You know Eupheme isn’t his home, that he has to leave someday. You know elves don't generally think kindly of dryads, viewing you all as frivolous and foolish and loose; and even if him and his brothers don’t, there’s no telling what the rest of his family thinks. You also know that even without those two things standing in the way, he’s still a prince who’ll need to be married to a suitable bride at some point. All of those things make you nervous. There are many obstacles before you, but you allow yourself to forget them momentarily as you stand in this cave with him.
You bring Doyoung’s hand up to your lips and kiss his knuckles softly, taking what warmth you can despite his cool skin. You hold his hand tightly, like it might be taken away from you otherwise. “Doyoung…you have charmed me unlike anyone else.”
You bring that hand closer and place it over your racing heart, and he seems a bit hesitant at first because of the proximity to your breast, but he doesn’t move. Instead, he readily responds to the kiss you give him afterwards, drinking in your warmth as a balm for the sudden cool air. For a while, there’s only the sound of rain coming down and your lips connecting with each other’s.
You don’t know how long you kiss each other, but there’s nothing else you can do in this small cave, so you continue without thought to the outside circumstances. Even after your lips part, you huddle close together. You close your eyes in Doyoung’s embrace, listening to the sound of his heartbeat and breathing underneath your ears and basking in the fullness of your own heart.
When the rain finally stops, Doyoung has to leave. The sun will be setting soon; the downpour went on longer than either of you anticipated.
“I promise I’ll come back soon,” he says, clinging to your hand with both of his.
“You always do.” You already trust him more than you can say.
Doyoung nods to your words, smiling somewhat bashfully. He steps out of the cave and lets your hand slip from his. But before he can get more than a few feet away, he turns around and comes back to kiss you once more on the lips, his fingertips on your face like he can’t believe you’re real.
You laugh once you separate from each other. “The sun’s getting low, and the others will question you. Go on now.”
Doyoung keeps to his word and makes his way out after fetching his horse, but he keeps glancing back to you until he’s completely disappeared among the brush.
You feel like your mind has been filled with soft moss, all airy and soft and tangled together with unending thoughts. You walk back to your tree feeling as if you could float there instead, enjoying the damp grass under your feet.
The time slips by blissfully.
Doyoung keeps coming out to see you during his free time each week, as he has done since he’s been in Eupheme, though sometimes he’s able to manage more than just one or two visits. On those weeks when he comes out more often, whether it be at night or during the day, you hold him especially tightly, enjoying the extra time with him and wanting to live inside of it—to freeze a moment in time and keep it close to your chest for as long as possible.
“I wish you could see the castle,” Doyoung says this low and close to your ear like he’s telling you a secret. He lies on his side beside you in the grass, playing with your fingers. A gap in the treetops lets a lopsided circle of sunlight shine down on your faces, warming you both from the inside out. “Walk through the maze of land...or see the stable.”
You hum softly. “Hmm...I’m sure it’s nice.” Doyoung laughs, knowing you’re not interested in any place else other than your forest; you can’t hide the neutral note in your tone, though he knows it isn’t towards him.
“Or I could live out here with you.” He strokes the pad of his thumb along the length of your ring finger, and you don’t fail to notice this.
You turn to him, full on grinning now. “I thought you said you’d never want to be tied to one place. Remember?”
Doyoung grins sheepishly along with you. “Maybe I changed my mind.”
“Mmm, how indecisive you are…if you stay with me here, you can’t ever leave.” You pluck a tiny blue flower from the ground and brush it against his lips, tracing the shape of his cupid’s bow with it. “Make your choice wisely.”
Doyoung purses his lips against the small flower, as if giving it a kiss, and does the same with your fingers as they ghost across his mouth. “I’ve chosen already, princess.”
You lean in to kiss him, and he meets you halfway. The little blue flower slips from your hand. You don’t know if there could ever be a more perfect moment, kissing him like this with the warmth of the sun on your back and your ears full of the sounds of birds chirping and insects purring—and, in the very distance, the lake water running.
You don’t get to bask in the moment for too long, though, before something is interrupting you; and it’s not one of the other women like you might’ve expected.
There’s a rustling and a crash in the bushes, and you whip your head towards the noise, but it’s only a deer—or maybe some other creature—running off. You catch a few glimpses of its brown coat before it becomes obscured by the leaves. You still keep your gaze turned towards the bushes. Though there is nothing else there, you still get the odd sensation of being watched, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.
“What’s wrong?” Doyoung whispers, his index finger touching your cheek. He glances at the source of the noise, but his eyes stay mostly focused on you.
“I know it’s odd, but…have you ever felt like you were being watched? Even though nothing’s there?” you ask slowly. “I’ve…sort of felt like this a few other times when we were together.”
Doyoung looks suspicious for a moment, though he eventually shakes his head. “No, I...not really.” He sits up to look at the same space you’re staring at, but he doesn’t see anything more than you do. “If someone else were out here besides the other dryads and the animals, wouldn’t you already know?”
“I suppose that is true,” you say, though you still look towards the bush, trying to see if there’s something you’re somehow not spotting. The sense that you have a pair of eyes at your back still doesn’t go away, even when Doyoung finally pulls you away from the spot to walk further into the woods.
In the middle of August, the Archduke of Eupheme holds a ball. He has been renown for his exorbitant parties for many years, and although he couches this party in the excuse of making the Crown Prince and his brothers feel a bit more at home in the kingdom, everyone knows it’s really just a reason to get drunk and have some fun. No one would dare complain, though; after all, who’d pass up the chance to attend? To rub elbows with handsome men and women and forget more pressing worries for a while?
The King and Queen of Eupheme see it as a good way for the young men to show off their newly acquired social etiquette they’ve been sharpening during their lessons—and possibly mingle with noble women. Similarly, none of the brothers will object to the latter idea. Except for maybe Doyoung.
“Cheer up! I’ve never seen you look so unsettled when going to a party,” Jungwoo says, pinching Doyoung’s cheek. They’re all loaded into their separate stagecoaches, with Jungwoo, Doyoung, Jaemin, and Mark in one and the other boys inside another behind them.
“I’m fine,” Doyoung insists, waving away the concern and plastering a hesitant smile on his face. He can already guess what’s in store for tonight.
The ride to the Archduke’s place is shorter than Doyoung expected. It’s been a long time since they last visited the Archduke’s mansion, and he swears he remembers the journey being longer than this. He sucks in a deep breath as he steps out of the stagecoach. The mansion looms large up ahead, obviously not quite as big as the King and Queen’s castle, but extravagant enough to be of note. Its stone interior glows with rows of brightly burning torches decorating either side of its grand entryway.
The Archduke’s large ballroom is filled to the brim with high-ranking officials and other nobility, with everyone mingling together in a big glittering clump of bodies and puffy dresses and long hair. There’s no other race but elves there, which is usually expected at royal balls like these; other species are often relegated to roles of servant, cleaner, waiter, and so on.
There’s a notable stir when the King and Queen and the eight men enter, and the room parts down the middle to make room for them.
The men wave and smile and mingle like they’ve been taught to, though some revel in it a bit more than others. They’re quickly embraced by the crowd, and the Archduke and Archduchess come to greet them. A young woman walks slightly behind them, her brown hair pinned up in an elaborate updo, wisps of hair clinging around her elven ears. Doyoung remembers her as their daughter and only child, who was never allowed to play in the yard with them as children because “such rowdy behavior wasn’t fitting for a lady of her sensibilities,” as her mother used to say.
“I’m sure you all remember Eunomia,” the Archduke says, encouraging the young woman to come to the front. The brothers all nod in acknowledgement, answering her curtsy with their own bows.
“You’ve grown even prettier since we were young,” Jungwoo says, smiling politely. The girl smiles timidly back to him.
“Thank you. You’ve become quite handsome yourself.”
“We’re so glad that we could be graced with the presence of the Crown Prince of Ceres tonight,” the Archduke continues. “We’ve all been looking forward to your appearance since we got word of your family visiting Eupheme. The timing, especially, is quite extraordinary, as we’ve been vetting possible suitors for our Eunomia.” It’s everything just short of an actual proposition to marry his daughter, and Doyoung’s lips twitch as a thousand different thoughts flit through his mind.
Doyoung bows his head slightly in acknowledgement of their statement and schools his expression into something neutral and amiable. “Extraordinary timing, indeed.”
It’s not long before the music is rising to a grand swell again. The other boys part ways to search for dance partners in the crowd, and Doyoung already knows what’s expected of him. He holds his hand out to Eunomia. “Would you like to dance?”
She nods and takes his hand. Doyoung leads her onto the main dancefloor beside a few other individuals who have already coupled up. A relatively fast tune carries their feet across the floor like the wind.
Eunomia is pretty, nice, and quiet. She’s too shy to meet Doyoung’s eyes directly—no doubt as a result of her parents’ training—and she lets him lead the conversation the same way he leads their dance. She would make the perfect wife to any other man but him.
Doyoung might have been more willing to pursue something with her if this gathering had happened a year before or even a few months ago, before their visit to Eupheme. Now, he only feels uninterested at best—and burdened at worst—about it all. He’s uncomfortable with the way her hand sweats in his palm, and with how fragile she feels in his hold. His mind keeps drifting back to the forest, though he tries to be present in the here and now.
The next few dances go similarly. Though his brothers and cousins seem to be enjoying themselves with the number of pretty women they have at their behest, Doyoung doesn’t feel the same. He ends up approached by various noblemen throughout the night, all holding some prestigious rank or another and seeking to introduce him to their daughters and insinuate a dance. And of course, being the gentleman and prince he is, how can he say no?
Each of the women is unique in their own way, but still not quite enough to hold his attention for long. He’s already made his mind up about who he wants, though you can’t be with him here now—or anywhere but the forest, really. This knowledge is equal parts comforting and disagreeable. He finally has an answer to the question about whether he’d ever find someone to love, though it turns out he cannot even be with you in an easy, convenient way.
By the time the night ends and the royals are on their way back to the castle, Doyoung is rather tightly wound. His mind swarms with thoughts of everything that occurred earlier in the evening and how annoyed and restless it all made him. Increasingly, he’s beginning to feel like he’s up against a wall that he just can’t surmount. He almost yearns for the days when he unquestioningly accepted his duty and actually received some enjoyment from his courtships, but he’d never truly want to go back. Not if it meant not knowing you.
“Are you okay? You seem upset,” Mark says hesitantly, noticing Doyoung’s tensed jaw as he keeps his face turned towards the window, looking out at the nightscape. Doyoung only gives his brother a quick glance before nodding curtly.
“I’m quite alright.” It’s a lie, but Doyoung doesn’t feel like trying to explain his mood at the moment. Though it’s easy enough for them to guess why Doyoung’s visits to the forest have been so much more frequent over the past month or so—and subsequently, why his mood is so sour now—it remains an open secret.
Jaemin settles back in his cushioned seat, grinning slightly to himself before looking up at Doyoung. “Your name must be on many a lady’s dance card tonight, Doyoung. I suspect every woman at the party had a turn, if not the Archduchess herself.” Mark elbows him in the side, but the younger man doesn’t think anything of it.
“I suppose so.” Doyoung rubs his finger over his lower lip. “But maybe you should be more concerned that the competition is diminishing your chances.” Mark and Jungwoo chuckle at that.
“Not to worry. When the time comes, the only choice they’ll have is me.” The younger two laugh even more enthusiastically, and Doyoung only shakes his head, grinning slightly despite himself.
Once everyone is settled in for the night, Doyoung waits in his bed for an hour to be safe and then decides to sneak out to see you. Once again, he doesn’t bother with visiting the stable to take the horse, nor does he try to make himself look “presentable,” tired of being princely for the night. The only thing he does is pull on his pants and shoes and button up his shirt halfway before losing his patience and yanking his cloak on.
He uses his glamor to momentarily disguise himself as he passes through Arthenia, though the few stragglers outside don’t pay him much mind.
“Y/N?” Doyoung calls out your name, slipping his cloak to the ground once he gets to your familiar oak tree. He soon hears and sees the fluttering of tree leaves as you descend from the canopy and touch the ground, alighting from the branches as gracefully as if you’ve been doing it your entire life—which you have.
“My, sir. Here at this hour again? What could b—” You don’t get to finish your sentence before Doyoung is gathering you up in his arms and kissing you hard, his forearms wrapped tight around your waist. He picks you up off the ground and you let yourself be lifted, toes barely grazing the grass.
It’s a long moment before you can regain your breath. You look at him incredulously as he sets you back on the grass, pressing his forehead to yours.
“What...what’s got you in such a state?”
“Love,” he mumbles, pressing another kiss to your lips. You laugh at that, holding his flushed face in your hands.
“It’s a pleasant thing, isn’t it? But really, what is it? You seem tense.”
“I am tense,” Doyoung says, though he keeps his lips close to yours. He’s not really in the mood to go into detail about the evening and disturb what’s currently unfolding between you. “It’s just...royal niceties. They can become quite tiring.”
“That’s a pity,” you reply, though you pause in your next thought when his lips find your jawline and press against it firmly. This is the most intimate contact you’ve had since you met, or since he confessed to you, and it ignites a burning flame in your chest. “Maybe there is something that can help you with that.”
Doyoung pulls back to look you in the eyes, wondering if you’re insinuating exactly what he thinks. You step away from him and tug on his hand, pulling him away from the tree. “I’ll show you.”
You both walk along a section of the forest that Doyoung isn’t familiar with, and he conjures some light orbs to illuminate the pathway. You spend a long time walking—so long that he’s almost afraid he won’t be able to find his way back out. Or maybe he’ll encounter one of those unfriendly creatures that you previously mentioned lives on the outskirts. Wherever you’re taking him is farther than he’s ventured before.
You finally stop when you get near the west edge of the forest. The trees are slightly sparser here, and there’s a path through the middle that trails off onto the bottom of a steep hill. The hill marks the end of the forest and flattens out onto a field of tall grass. He catches glimpses of the grass swaying in the breeze under the moonlight and the light of his own orbs.
That’s far from the most eye-catching thing here, though. Another lake sits before you two, though it’s much smaller than the other one—more like a pond—and forms a nearly perfect circle.
You walk along the grassy bank and pull Doyoung along with you, and he’s surprised to feel heat coming from the water as he gets nearer to it. It’s not a burning hotness, but a comfortable warmth.
“Shall we swim?” You look at Doyoung over your shoulder, letting go of his hand to tug at one strap of your dress. He nods, watching wordlessly as you peel your dress off in front of him. His throat tightens to see you’re wearing nothing underneath. Standing nude underneath the combined glow of the moon and his own blue light makes you look positively ethereal, and Doyoung mentally imprints this image in his mind, filing it away as a permanent memory.
He watches as you step off the grassy bank and get into the pond, the black water lapping at your legs as you wade further into it. He’s still standing and simply observing you as you turn around to look at him and lift your arms out of the water, like you’re asking for a hug. “Are you going to leave me all alone in here?” You give him your best pleading eyes, and it doesn’t take long for him to strip his clothes off and come in after you.
He dips underneath the water’s surface and swims around you, and you giggle as you can just barely make out his form under the water. You can only spot the ripples he leaves behind.
Doyoung’s head pops above the water on the farther side of the pond, with his long black hair sticking to his face and covering his shoulders. It makes his ears stand out more, and you laugh. You swim over to him and he pulls you into him when you’re close enough, your naked bodies molding themselves to each other. You’re about to say something, but his lips quickly envelop yours and you forget any words you formerly had. You kiss for a while in the lake’s warm water, with the full moon and Doyoung’s lights serving as your only illumination.
You haven’t done much else but kiss so far, but you can still feel something hard and warm pressing into your stomach. Doyoung’s lips separate from yours to travel to your neck, pressing against your pulse point and softly sucking the skin there.
You pull away to look at him, your body feeling strangely light and hot all at the same time. “Maybe we should get out of the water,” you say, smiling coyly.
Doyoung nods and scoops you up, carrying you out of the lake and setting you down on the unnaturally soft grass surrounding the waters. It feels almost like a cotton blanket underneath you.
You’re both fully exposed in front of each other now, though you don’t really feel embarrassed about it. Doyoung’s hands are warm as he cups the sides of your face and nudges his nose against yours, teasing you momentarily with the promise of his lips before actually kissing you again.
You like feeling his hair underneath your palm, all wet and slick beneath your fingertips, and you run your fingers through the strands. They coil around his neck and shoulders like little snakes, or maybe vines on a climbing plant.
His member stands against his stomach, already leaking precum from the press of your lips and the warmth of your body against his. You reach out to touch him, tracing your fingertip against a vein and feeling the stickiness of the precum, and Doyoung sighs against your lips. His hands come to your inner thighs, pushing them a bit further apart so he can dip his fingers between them and feel you wet and warm for him.
You gasp sharply when he slides a finger into you. He reaches deeply inside you, his palm rubbing against your clit as he fingers you, and it makes you spread your legs wider and push your hips closer into his touch. You wrap your fingers around him, and you enjoy the pulse of his cock in your hand as you stroke him.
Doyoung soon slips another finger into you, stretching you out more for him, and you moan as he does. You press your mouth against the base of this throat and his collarbones, feeling the firmness of them as you lightly drag your teeth over them. As if by luck, he shifts his fingers a certain way and brushes against that sweet spot that has you leaning further into his body and moaning hotly against his neck.
“Doyoung…” you sigh. He gives you an answering moan as your fingertips slide over his tip, purposely lingering at the slit. Your lips brush against each other’s, not quite kissing but making some semblance of the motion. Despite how good you’re feeling now, with his hand working you up to an inescapable high, you decide you need to have more of him; you need to get as close as possible. “Doyoung, please.”
“What do you need?” he asks, his voice unbearably gentle and breathy in your ear.
“You.” You take your hand away from him to guide his body on top of yours, parting your legs to invite him in-between. You are less preoccupied with foreplay at the moment and just want him inside you, which he has no complaints about.
The firm press of him inside you is unlike anything you’ve felt in the recent past. It’s not like dryads go their entire lives without sexual pleasure—of course, there’s always self-pleasure and the company of other women, and even the occasional agreeable male visitor who comes into the forest—but it’s been a long time since you’ve experienced it delivered by another person’s body. It’s almost strange, but also good and familiar, if only a little painful at first.
You try to breathe evenly as Doyoung seats himself inside you, his hands stroking you so adoringly that it makes you lose your bearings. Him leaning forward to kiss you only takes more of your breath.
“Is this good for you?” he asks quietly. You’re not quite sure what part of it he’s referring to—him inside you or his hands strumming along your breasts and clit—but you nod enthusiastically. Everything he’s doing feels undeniably good. Just when you think it could not get any better, he pulls out a bit and starts thrusting into you. His pace is slow, allowing you to adjust, but it’s enough to make you cry out loud, gripping his slick shoulders for support.
Doyoung brings himself close to kiss your lips again, grinning against your mouth. “Shhh, my princess. If you’re too loud, you’ll wake all the others.”
You nod against his wet forehead, breathing heavily, though it’s a bit hard to keep yourself quiet as he fills your body over and over again. You press your thighs tight against his hips, feeling the muscles in his body flex as he thrusts into you. His movements create a slick sound between you, and the lewd quality of it entices you more.
While one of his hands slides slick and slow across your clit, you grasp the other and bring it up to your lips, kissing his fingers like you did the day he told you he loved you, and then nibbling on them, sucking them into your mouth. Doyoung twitches inside you when your mouth tightens around his fingers, and he groans into the night air. You’re reluctant to let his hand go, but you do it so he can leverage himself enough to dip his head lower and give more attention to your breasts, drawing his tongue across the round firmness of them and catching your nipples in his mouth.
He angles himself a bit differently so he can find your spot again and concentrates on repeatedly pushing into that sensitive part of you. His attentions bring you to your climax soon, and you can barely quiet yourself as you come around him. The pleasure seems never-ending, like it’s pouring into you from a bottomless well, and small tears bead at the corners of your eyes. Doyoung cups your face and kisses your tears away, and you hold the back of his head as he does.
When Doyoung gets close, he slips himself from inside you and thrusts in between the tight space of your thighs, his tip rubbing across your stomach. He comes soon after doing this, his seed pooling on your skin, some of it running into the grass.
You both lie in the grass after the aftermath, with Doyoung pulling you so you can lay your body on top of his. His heartbeat is still fast; you hear it hammering in his chest as you rest your head against his breast. You close your eyes and let the sound of it calm your own restless body.
After a few long moments of listening to the insects and night creatures making their midnight songs, you stir from your position on his chest and draw yourself up. “Doyoung…” you murmur, straddling either side of his waist so you’re hovering over him. You press your lips against his and he responds with a slow kiss. You can practically feel how satisfied he is as his lips push against yours, like a drunken sprite who’s gotten into a cup of ale.
You depart from his lips and trail your mouth over the rest of his body until you’re level with his softened cock. It jumps a bit when you grasp it, and Doyoung groans softly; his voice increases slightly when you press your lips to it, still tasting the remnants of his salty release and your own pleasure. His hand comes to hold the back of your head as you take him into your mouth, licking the shaft and feeling his balls in your other hand.
Though he was the one who’d hushed you earlier, now he has to choke back his own moans as you suck him and stroke your tongue around his tip.
You draw your mouth away from him, and a trail of spit follows your lips. “Does this feel good, my prince?” you ask, still stroking him languidly to keep his pleasure stoked. You know it does, but you want to hear it from his mouth anyway.
“So good.” He makes a noise between a whimper and a groan, and it travels straight to the apex of your thighs. His stomach tenses with his strained breaths as you take him back into your mouth, focusing your attention on the leaking slit.
His thighs tremble when he gets closer, and as much as you’d like to have him come in your mouth and drip over your chin, you decide to pull away and straddle your legs around his waist again. Doyoung whines needily, though his complaints are quickly forgotten when your sex slides over his slick shaft. He waits with bated breath as you grab the base of his member and line him up with your entrance, pushing him into you as you sink down on him. Feeling him part your walls makes your legs shake a little, and you readjust your posture so you can maintain your stability.
You seat yourself fully on top of Doyoung and let him press himself up into you as you push back down on him, your hands scraping for purchase on his chest. In this position, you can control the pace and ride him just so that his tip is pressing into your most sensitive spot.
Eventually, you lean forward with your mouth covering his. Another orgasm approaches you fast, and you pant against his lips as you search for that release again. “I love you,” you moan softly, trying to muffle your sounds with the touch of his lips.
Doyoung’s hands roam your body, coming up to palm your breasts and thumb at your nipples. “I adore you,” he whispers.
This time you both come within moments of each other, moaning into each other’s mouths. Doyoung pushes himself into you until you’re leaking over him once more, and then he hurriedly pulls out and comes across your thigh, leaving trails of white dripping down your skin.
Doyoung knows he’ll need to get up and get dressed at some point—and begin the long trek back to the castle—but he doesn’t think about that right now. He just pulls you closer and enjoys the warm stickiness of your bodies together, the lukewarm breeze stirring his hair, and the gentle grass tickling his skin.
“You don’t seem like yourself lately.”
Jungwoo brings this up to Donghyuck during one of their archery lessons as they sit beside each other underneath the sun. The younger man was noticeably not as concentrated or effortless as he’d usually be, and many of his arrows ended up being off-mark, if not missing their targets entirely.
Currently, they both sit in the grass after their instructor called for a break earlier, stating that they needed some time to cool off and pull it together—Donghyuck in particular.
“I’m fine,” Donghyuck grumbles, sighing deeply and closing his eyes. If he could close his ears, too, he would. Unfortunately for him, his brother doesn’t take that as a sign to stop talking.
“That’s doubtful. Really, what’s chafing you? I know all the lessons can be annoying, but there is nothing we can do about that for now.” The younger man doesn’t answer at all this time, but Jungwoo continues on. “I know Doyoung isn’t with us during our breaks as often as he was before, but isn’t that a good thing? He can’t tell us what to do all the time.”
Donghyuck groans, wiping his hands over his face at the mention of their older brother. Jungwoo perks up at this. “Oh? Is it something with Doyoung that’s bothering you? What is it?”
Donghyuck is quiet for a moment longer. When it’s clear Jungwoo won’t leave the matter alone, he turns to face his brother fully, looking at him more closely. He hesitates for a moment before finally saying, “What would you do if you wanted something you couldn’t have?”
Jungwoo thinks for a moment. “I don’t know. It depends on what it is. Maybe the logical answer would be to just give it up and stop indulging a fruitless case.”
Donghyuck sighs, hanging his head. “Of course. But what if...alright, what if it was a person? Someone you’re particularly fond of. And…they just make you feel as if…if they looked at you once, you wouldn’t hesitate to hand them anything they could ever want. Then would you give up on them so easily?”
Jungwoo’s eyes widen, and Donghyuck thinks he must’ve said too much. Before he can speak to try to defuse the situation, Jungwoo says, “Don’t tell me you’re still upset about Nayeon. I’m sorry Donghyuck, but—”
“Ugh,” Donghyuck pushes himself to his feet, taking up his bow and arrow again and walking off to one of the targets farther away from Jungwoo. “Nevermind.”
After Donghyuck gives a few more unsuccessful tries, the instructor decides to dismiss them early and encourages Donghyuck to keep his head clear for their next session. “I am well aware of what you’re capable of, Donghyuck, and I know you understand your own abilities. Just look at it as simply having an off day, but do try to keep your concentration next time.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies, already feeling drained even though they’re only halfway through the day. The walk back to the castle with Jungwoo is quiet, though crossing the ample landscape gives him plenty of time to think to himself. What you’re capable of...Yes. What is he capable of?
Maybe there was still a way to alter the course.
“You’re particularly quiet today,” you remark, studying Doyoung’s face. You’re both sitting in the small clearing where you and the other dryads often gather at night, only it’s daytime now and the other girls are off doing their own things. Deeper among the woods, you can hear their laughter from a distance.
Doyoung came to visit you with a solemn look, and though you can tell he is still glad to see you, there’s also a tinge of disquiet beneath it.
A strong gust blows some strands of hair into his face, and you brush them away before he can do it himself. He turns his head and stares at you as you do, his eyes big and imploring and brewing with a distress you can’t place. “Actually, you seem to be a bit different since...that night,” you continue. Your face warms at the thought of your first time together, and how Doyoung took you in the grass and whispered sweet adoration to you. “Is something wrong?”
Doyoung’s lips part like he wants to speak, though he remains silent for a few moments more. Then he says something that nearly makes your heart stop, the words coming slow off his tongue. “I want to give up my title.”
“Your title? As Crown Prince? How can you do that?”
“I could do it,” he says, his voice still low. “There’s no law against it. It might be...dishonorable. No, it would certainly not be…” He pauses, then abandons whatever he was about to say. “But there’s no law to stop me.”
“But why? I thought you liked being royalty, at least to some degree. Your station in life affords you many things others don’t have.”
“It doesn’t afford me you.” He grasps your hand where it lies in the grass. “We can’t be together if I’m still Crown Prince. If I walk away, though...”
You’re also quiet now, unsure how to respond to a declaration like this. For Doyoung to give up his royal title for you...it’s a much bigger implication than you think he’s really considering.
“But, the throne...you’re the heir, and it just…” You’re almost desperate to come up with at least 100 reasons why he can’t do it, though you aren’t sure why. Maybe you��re too afraid to hope it could be possible, even if it’s the slightest chance.
“I have six other brothers. Any one of them could...” Doyoung falters, remembering Yuta’s and Sicheng’s controversial parentage, and then sighs but tries to remain hopeful. You look at him with wrinkled brows, worry crowding your heart. You sigh and rest your head on his shoulder, looping his arm with yours.
“I don’t know if they’d ever agree to it,” you say it almost inaudibly.
“There’s no way to know if we don’t try…” Doyoung replies, hugging you tightly to him. “I don’t care about giving up my title.”
You shake your head. “There are so many other things to consider, Doyoung.”
Doyoung knows you’re worried and doubtful, but he holds you close to him and kisses your temple and tries not to think about those things. He only wants to think about all the good things the future could hold for you.
A small grin appears on his face as he wills his mind to drift elsewhere. “How many children would you like to have?” Doyoung asks suddenly. You give him an incredulous look, though there is a grin of your own slowly taking over your lips.
“I don’t know. Maybe I don’t want children.” You roll your eyes and laugh. “As long as I’ve been on this Earth, I’d have them by now if I wanted them.”
“Then it’d be just the two of us forever?” Doyoung pulls you so you’re both lying down and entangles himself with you, his head on your chest. He listens to your heart, a steady rhythm that lulls him into a sense of sleepiness. “That’s fine with me.”
You feel a tug at your heart, like the chambers are contracting in pain. “Yes, an eternity together.”
Despite your many doubts and questions, you have a warm dream that night. One of you and Doyoung living in the forest together, running through the hills, jumping across creeks, and enjoying each other’s company to your heart’s content.
Donghyuck knocks on the door of the King’s sitting room, his palms sweating as he waits for a response. Sicheng stands beside him, quiet and waiting to see if the man will respond. The King of Eupheme may be a long-term friend of their father’s, but Donghyuck can’t help the slight fear he feels whenever he’s in the man’s presence. Something about him has always been a little colder, more unforgiving, and more unyielding than their own father is.
“Who is it?” The man’s voice booms from behind the door.
“It...it’s Donghyuck and Sicheng, Your Highness.” Donghyuck’s voice wavers a bit as he speaks, and he tries to suppress the tremors in his speech. “We’re here for our...meeting.”
“Come in, then.”
Donghyuck turns the doorknob and enters the room, closing the heavy door behind him and his brother.
“Well, then. What is the pressing matter you have to inform me of?” The King raises one eyebrow, looking skeptical about whether Donghyuck has anything to report or not, though he waits patiently for the boy’s response.
The elven King’s presence seems impossibly heavier in this singular room, filling every corner of the space and physically weighing down the Earth’s gravity. Donghyuck almost doesn’t know what to do with himself in response to this force. Sicheng is less affected by it—or better at hiding it—though his face creases minutely. Donghyuck ends up speaking without thinking clearly about what he practiced prior.
“D…Doyoung is courting a dryad.”
“A...what, boy?” The King slowly leans forward, his sharp eyebrows drawing together, one hand coming up to stroke his long beard. They both know that he knows full well what a dryad is, but he seems unable to comprehend what Donghyuck has just blurted out. Or maybe he thinks the younger man is lying.
“A-a dryad, Your Highness. He’s been using his assigned free time—and sneaking out at night—every week to see her, in the forest beyond Arthenia. H…he’s even thinking of asking to be relieved from his title to be with her.” Donghyuck feels sweat gathering on the back of his neck, as if he’s the one about to be punished.
The King’s brows furrow even more, though this time his eyes hold a hint of rising anger. He leans back in his seat again, holding Donghyuck and Sicheng with a hard stare. “These are quite damning claims to make. Where is your proof?” Before either one can respond, the King continues on. “He will doubtless be questioned, but I would think that both of you have ample reason to try to sabotage the Crown Prince—especially you.” He directs his gaze to Sicheng at this, and Sicheng’s face falters. “A whore’s son will always believe he’s owed more than he’s worth.”
Disgust and hatred rises up in Sicheng’s chest at being regarded like this—always as less than his half-brothers—though he tries not to let his rage show. His jaw clenches as he speaks, keeping his tone measured, and it takes him a long moment to force out a proper response. “We indeed have proof…Your Highness.”
“If you’ll allow us, we need a mirror, Your Highness,” Donghyuck adds.
Still with a skeptical look on his face, the King waves his hand towards a small round mirror hanging on the east wall, sitting formerly unacknowledged despite all its ornate trappings. Sicheng walks over and takes it off the wall, coming back to stand in front of the King with it. Donghyuck comes up behind Sicheng and lays a hand on the back of the older man’s neck, pressing his index and middle finger where his brain stem would be. Donghyuck closes his eyes and concentrates, while Sicheng keeps his own eyes open, staring into the depths of the mirror and his own reflection.
In the mirror image, his eyes turn a foggy gray. Donghyuck’s memories flood into his mind as if they were his own, experienced with his own five senses; he can almost smell the forest grass and feel the sun burning his skin. Sicheng then takes his right hand and presses his fingertips against the mirror, forcing it to bend to his power and replicate what he’s seeing in his mind’s eye.
When the image becomes steady, Sicheng holds the mirror up to the King and lets him see what it displays; you and Doyoung lying in the grass together, with you dragging a tiny blue flower across his lips. Doyoung tilting his head up to accept your kiss. You looking straight ahead, trying to figure out why you sense a disturbance in the forest, only to see a deer—and missing the invisible form of Donghyuck staring at you and your lover from the bushes. Your conversation is hard to hear, consisting of mostly vague echoes, as if you were speaking underwater—channeling sounds is harder than conjuring up images—but there’s no need for words to understand what’s going on.
The King’s eyes are a windstorm of emotions at this point, a close rival to the actual stormy gray of Sicheng’s eyes as he reveals the memory. He is silent for an excruciatingly long moment. Still, he continually strokes his beard in a repetitive motion, though his gaze displays the true anger burning beneath the surface.
“And where is Doyoung right now?” he finally asks, after it seems like an eon has passed. Then he waves his hand sharply towards the mirror. “I’ve seen enough of that.”
“He has no duties to attend to as of right now, so he must’ve gone to the forest,” Sicheng responds. Donghyuck takes his hand away from his neck then, stepping back in a jerky motion as he tries to regain some of the energy spent from transferring the memory. Likewise, the mirror image fades once Sicheng takes his hand away from the glass, and the normal brown of his irises bleeds back into his eyes. “To see her again, no doubt.”
The King nods, pressing his fingers together into a steeple, his thick rings glinting in the light of the room. “Just as you say, the matter is quite grave. The King and Queen of Ceres will have to be notified immediately...and it will be handled accordingly.”
Donghyuck and Sicheng nod to the King’s statement, shooting each other looks out of the corners of their eyes. Donghyuck feels a small sense of triumph at knowing his brother will likely be sent back to Ceres soon—or at least, forbidden to see you anymore—even if he knows deep within that he shouldn’t be reveling in Doyoung’s impending heartbreak like this.
“Unfortunately, it also cannot be forgotten that you two, and all your other brothers, withheld this information for months.” The King blinks slowly. “I must also assume that my sons have been swept up in concealing this utter nonsense, to some degree. Those transgressions will be dealt with accordingly as well.” He draws the last sentence out to emphasize his claim, though the men have already heard him clearly. The tiny smirks they allowed themselves to show quickly fade.
Donghyuck feels as if he’s just had a bucket of cold water poured down his back, and Sicheng’s fists curl tightly around the mirror.
Donghyuck is the first to respond, bowing his head. “A-as necessary, Your Highness.” Sicheng lowers his own head after the younger does, though with noticeable reluctance.
The King waves his hand as a signal for the two men to leave, though he still looks thoughtful for reasons neither of them could guess. “You are both dismissed.”
Sicheng is fuming once they leave the sitting room, though Donghyuck’s anxiety manifests itself as tense silence, which is a true rarity for him.
“Look what your impulsiveness has gotten us into this time,” Sicheng gripes once they’re far enough away to not be heard. Donghyuck reawakens at that and shoots his brother daggers with his gaze.
“I didn’t think we’d get punished, too! And if you thought it was such a bad idea, you should’ve never agreed to it!”
Sicheng shakes his head, scoffing. “It’s neither here nor there anymore. Whatever comes of this had better be worth it.”
“You’d better hope,” Donghyuck continues. “Like we don’t know you’d sell us all out to have Yuta, your favorite brother, as the Crown Prince instead of Doyoung.”
Sicheng whips back around to Donghyuck. “I’d think he’d deserve it more than any of you ingrates who’ve had everything handed to you. You could never even imagine what it’s like to have to fight and scrape for an iota of respect among your own family.”
Donghyuck wants to scream something childish and hurtful back at him, but he’s lost on what to say. They all know Sicheng and Yuta have always been a bit separate from the rest of them despite their best efforts to make them feel included, but he hadn’t realized Sicheng felt quite this forsaken. The King’s earlier words certainly don’t help. Donghyuck has enough conscience left to feel guilty, though he refuses to acknowledge that aloud now.
When Sicheng sees that Donghyuck doesn’t have a response, he nods in vindication and stomps off.
After Doyoung returns to the castle that afternoon, the atmosphere in the castle is notably more tense. It’s as if storm clouds have gathered in the rafters, waiting for the perfect time to rain down hell. He senses this acutely, though he can’t quite understand the reasoning for it.
Donghyuck is uncharacteristically quiet today, and Sicheng is similarly reserved. Jeno, Jisung, and Jaemin conduct their business as usual, though there is a certain stiffness to their auras; the kind of careful and cautious demeanor you learn to adopt when living under the constant presence of a ticking timebomb. Mark and Jungwoo, who accompanied Doyoung on his visit to Arthenia and the forest, remain just as clueless as him about what’s wrong, though they also feel uncomfortable underneath the weight of the tension.
The air stays this way for hours, including during their nightly dinner. The Queen and King don’t do or say anything out of the ordinary, though Doyoung can feel the King’s eyes on him as he eats. The sensation of being watched makes his stomach curl into a ball, and his heart kicks up like a drum at the thought that pops into his mind. Maybe he’s been found out? But how? He’s been as careful as he knows how to be. He doesn’t truly believe any of his brothers would tell, and his cousins have been too disinterested in the affair to go stirring up trouble behind it.
Their three cousins eat quietly with their eyes glued to their plates, wondering what could be the cause of their father’s anger this time. They’ve known him long enough to pick up on the telltale signs of his rage, even when not openly expressed.
It’s nothing short of a relief when dinner is finally over, though Doyoung’s blood turns to lead when he hears the King’s deep voice booming from behind him. “Doyoung. Come with me.” The other men shoot him varying looks as they file out of the dining room, though none of them say a word. Donghyuck throws him a concerned glance in an attempt to remain unsuspecting, though there is a slight unsteadiness in his step.
By the time he gets to the King’s sitting room, Doyoung’s heart is beating overtime. He stands in front of the older man with his spine ramrod straight and his lips tucked into a thin line. The King doesn’t even acknowledge his presence for a few moments, simply stroking his beard and looking at some spot in the distance. Doyoung can’t decide if this is worse than being pinned under his gaze or not, though he quickly gets his answer when the King finally looks at him.
“Do you understand your position as Crown Prince?” This is not what he expected to hear first, though it fails to ease his anxiety.
“Of course, Your Highness. It’s a high honor, and one that requires a certain discipline.”
“Then why have you allowed yourself to become quite so undisciplined in your activities?”
Doyoung doesn’t know how to respond to this at first. He blinks rapidly and sweat breaks out over his skin. “Activities?” he stammers out, his mouth drying up.
“You’ve allowed yourself to be enamored by a woman who is so low she must live in the forest like an animal and forage for food. And you think this behavior is becoming of a man of your station?”
The room appears to spin. If his heart was hammering before, now it stops momentarily. Doyoung feels like he’s just smashed into a stone wall head-on. “Your Highness...I…”
“Have you lain with this creature?”
“Sh-she’s not...I…”
“Have you? Do not lie.”
Doyoung thinks of your hands on him and feels sick at such an intimate moment being forced out into the open like this, in such a cruel manner. “Y…yes.”
The King shakes his head, his frown deepening even more, if that’s possible. “And is there any chance that she could be with child now?”
Doyoung can’t remember ever feeling this humiliated, flayed open for all to see. “No. I was...careful.” The King pauses for a moment, like he doesn’t quite believe Doyoung’s claim. He doesn’t ask any further questions about it, though, and Doyoung doesn’t know whether to be concerned or relieved about that.
“Understand that you are infinitely lucky that you are not a woman, Doyoung, and can remain relatively unsullied by such acts. Nevertheless, I would’ve thought your father would’ve raised more diligent sons than this.” The King leans forward, and it seems like the Earth itself shifts with this movement.
“Then let one of the others have my title,” Doyoung blurts out, finally finding his voice again. “Yuta or Jaehyun. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
“Yuta isn’t getting anything,” the King spits. “Do you mean to make a complete mockery of your family? Your kingdom? To have a bastard sitting on the throne? Your father is a noble man, but laying with whores has resulted in the two biggest mistakes of his life.”
Doyoung’s head swims, and he has to bite back the first response that rises to his mind. “Your Highness, you’re correct in noting that I’ve made a grave error. Perhaps I’m truly not suited for the role. Don’t you think having my title transferred would be the best way to remedy that? Jaehyun is fit to be the Crown Prince. He can take my title, and I—”
“And you can do what? Live in the forest with the rest of the dregs?” The King draws himself up in his chair, and the action reminds Doyoung of a big brown bear attempting to intimidate a trespasser in its territory. His muscles turn rigid with fear. “It would behoove you to abandon this insane talk if you don’t wish to make the consequences worse for yourself. I’m not your father, boy, but as long as he’s left you under my care, I won’t entertain such dishonor on his behalf. ”
Doyoung wants to continue protesting but also knows that, just like you told him, this appears to be a fruitless case. He lowers his head as his stomach twists and his body tenses up further with the fear of what will come next.
“As you can expect, there will be no more visits to the village or the forest, if you can exercise no more self-control than this.”
Doyoung blinks rapidly, though there are no tears coming. “Will you send me away?”
“That would only draw more attention, which is the last thing we need to do. You are simply to remain in the castle until it’s time for you all to return to Ceres. Barring any more royal events, you will not be going anywhere further than the front lawn.”
Doyoung says nothing to this. To speak or nod would feel like sealing his own fate, though it’s already been chosen for him.
“You are lucky, Doyoung. Remember that. It is easier than you think for all of this to be forgotten, swept under the rug, so you can return to your homeland with your title and dignity intact. See—we do not even need to let your mother and father know. In a year from now, you will be wed, and this will be nothing but a regretful—if vague—memory.”
Still, Doyoung does not respond, his tongue heavy and immobile.
“You are your family’s honor. The consequences will not be as harsh for you...as long as you obey.” The King’s body relaxes now, as if all the day’s tension has suddenly unwound itself, though this is more of a false sense of security than any true calm. “Is that understood?”
Doyoung’s throat burns. It seems like he’s being pressed in on all sides. Not answering the King is not an option. Not seeing you again is not an option, either, if he wishes to preserve any iota of happiness on this Earth. Here it comes, now—the wetness gathering in his eyes and the tightening of his chest.
“I understand, Your Highness.”
It has only been a few days since Doyoung last saw you, but this alone feels like centuries to him, especially with the King’s order trailing him like a cement block tied to his leg.
He doesn’t intend on following it, regardless of the consequences. Maybe he’s not thinking straight anymore, but nothing else matters as much as you to him now.
There isn’t any way to easily get to you, though, considering the guards that have been stationed outside his room every night. And the other guards who follow him around the castle nearly 24/7 now. His glamors only grant him enough leeway to disguise his face, which is no use in making it out of his doorway undetected.
The stress of it all nearly makes him physically sick.
His brothers and cousins are not guarded quite so constantly as he, but they are similarly forbidden from leaving the castle—lest they try to report back to you with a message from Doyoung, or something similar.
Doyoung still does not know how the King found out and has had no free opportunity to question his brothers and cousins about it. In the back of his mind, though, the idea that he could’ve been betrayed lives constantly among his thoughts. Thinking on it for too long makes the back of his mouth taste sour, but he can’t help the festering sense of distrust he feels towards everyone around him.
Frayed and at his wit’s end, Doyoung finally thinks of an idea after an entire week of missing your presence. It’s a lot to ask for and may not work, but he needs to at least try it once before ruling it out. He has to be careful about it, of course, to avoid being found out by any of the watchful guards. Still, he manages to write a note during an etiquette lesson with his brothers, when the guards are standing outside the room. It’s easy enough to disguise his pen’s movements as him simply taking notes.
When the instructor looks down to read something from his book—squinting harshly even in his glasses, for his lack of sight—Doyoung slips the piece of paper to Mark. Mark gives him a questioning glance, though he says nothing. He only opens the note towards the end of the lesson, which is probably for the best because he makes a startled noise after reading it. Thankfully, it goes unnoticed by the instructor who is too busy listening to Sicheng answer a question he just asked him. Mark’s eyes burn into the side of Doyoung’s face, though the older man only gives him a sparing glance and returns his attention to his papers.
Mark and Doyoung don’t get to talk formally until their next set of archery lessons. Only one of Doyoung’s guards is present that day, and he hangs back far enough outside of the archery range that it’d be difficult to hear their conversation, especially with them talking in low tones. Doyoung is the first one to initiate once their archery teacher becomes preoccupied with showing Jungwoo and Jaemin the technique for a trick shot.
He glances over at Mark after letting his arrow fly, then turns slightly toward him as he grabs another from his quiver. “Mark.”
The younger man’s eyes widen a bit at hearing his name called. “What?” he answers full-voiced, which causes Doyoung to give him a glare. Catching onto what’s going on, Mark throws an anxious glance behind them to the guard and to his left to the instructor, but no one pays him any mind.
“The note.”
Mark makes a face as if he’s been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to, then quickly tries to relax his expression. “Doyoung, I don’t think…is this really a good idea?”
“I need to see her, Mark,” Doyoung hisses.
Mark’s eyebrows crease. He takes a moment to shoot his arrow at the target, not wanting to come off as suspicious to the others by just standing there. “I’ve never created a portal like…between Donghyuck’s room and mine, back at our castle? Yes, that’s perfectly fine. But from here all the way to the forest? That’s…” The younger man shakes his head, biting his lip.
“You have to try,” Doyoung begs. “Practice it or something. All you need to do is create one to get to my room, and then to the forest. I don’t care if it takes you a while, as long as I can see her again before we have to go back.” He does care, but at this point, he figures it’s better to have something than nothing.
Mark gives Doyoung a long look, shakes his head again, and then nods. “Okay. Okay. I’ll try. But I can’t guarantee anything.”
Doyoung presses his lips together and nods. His eyes are desperate, though he tries not to be. “It’s okay. Just try, Mark.”
Mark spends the next few days in the library in-between lessons. Though he hasn’t taken much interest in this part of the castle before now, he finds himself pouring through old, dusty books in search of something that can help him find a way to create a long-distance portal.
One of the books he finds describes simply just concentrating all your energy into your hands and putting it forth to open up a rip in space—which he is already capable of, but that doesn’t help him with projecting it out further. Another contains a weird chanting verse that he tries to pronounce, to no avail. Even if it did work, he wouldn’t know how to say it.
However, he eventually happens upon something that catches his eye.
“The Root Chakra serves as the foundation of your body and soul. Only when you are firmly grounded in your current body, space, and time can you begin to manipulate other spaces in time…whether it concerns generating long-range portals through space manipulation or even accessing different moments in history.”
“Opening the Root Chakra, huh?” Mark laughs to himself quietly and shakes his head. Despite being a magic user since birth, along with the rest of his brothers, this is the first time he’s heard anything of the sort. But it’s better later than never to learn.
Perhaps he’s more invested in this scheme than he should be, for both his and his brother’s sakes, but he also knows that he hasn’t seen Doyoung so fulfilled and joyful since discovering the forest. If his efforts can make a bit of difference in Doyoung’s current sunken mood, Mark is willing to try.
Therefore, he sets to work on “opening” this purported Chakra, keeping his practice to late-night hours to ensure he won’t be walked in on by anyone else. He feels a bit awkward at first, maybe even a little foolish, with “meditating” and trying to reach out to some strange energy inside himself. He’s never had to put much thought into creating portals before; it’s just something that happens as he wills it. He never considered that there might be more to the practice—that he’d need to tap into some kind of extra energy to improve his skills. He thinks back to the magic crystals in the marketplace and wonders if they’d be any help in this situation, though there’s no way of finding out.
Mark practices opening portals within the floor, knowing his room is above an empty guest room, as it’s too risky to try any of the walls; Jisung and Jungwoo sleep in the rooms on either side of him. He is soon able to make his portals wider than before—where they used to be the width of only his palms—which allows him to peer more clearly into the empty room below, though he still hasn’t tried to conjure anything farther away than that.
Once he feels he has more control over his energy, Mark soon begins experimenting with visualization, a technique the book cites for conjuring up long-distance locations. Allowing his energy to concentrate in his hands, he places his palms just above the floor of his room and pictures a place he’s fairly familiar with by now—the library. If it goes as planned, he’ll have created a portal to the library; if not…who knows what will be on the other side.
He feels the energy flow through his body, from his core, up his back, across his shoulders, and down his arms…it gathers in his palms and fingertips and triggers a small rip in time, which he gradually coaxes open wider, all the while visualizing the library as clearly as he can. Mark pushes the portal open a bit wider still and opens his eyes slightly to see if it’s worked. He’s dismayed, however, when he still sees the empty guest room sitting below him. A heavy sigh leaves his body, and it pushes the rest of his energy out with it; the portal closes with a silent snap.
Guess he’ll just have to try again.
The next few tries work similarly, and on those nights, he often ends up climbing into bed feeling discouraged and sapped of strength and wondering if he’ll ever get it, or if any of this is worth it. He keeps at it, though, for Doyoung’s benefit. And also partly because he’s curious to see what he’s capable of; now that he’s opened these floodgates, he needs to see how far he can push himself.
The first real hint of success takes him by surprise. It doesn’t happen quite as cleanly or perfectly as the book says, but something happens. When Mark opens his eyes that time, he’s still looking at the guest room—but now there appears to be a faint afterimage of the library merged with it, as if someone had tried to paint two different pictures at once. It’s not a complete location shift by any means, and he doesn’t try to go into the portal—afraid he might somehow get stuck between two realities—but it’s a start.
Improving on that start requires a little more time. More hours of meditating, reading, pushing his energy out and expanding it, visualizing. The afterimage begins growing clearer all the while.
On one blessed night, Mark opens his eyes, and the library itself is sitting below him. Not a faint representation of it, merged with some other room of the castle, but the actual library. He’s so surprised that he almost closes the portal by accident and has to steady his concentration to keep the energy flowing. Carefully, he sticks one hand through it. Then the other. It is still hard to keep the entrance open without physically guiding it with his hands, but he can manage it for a minute or two.
He looks at the long distance beneath him to the floor, with nothing but a lounge sofa to break his landing. Sweat breaks out on his skin, but he takes a moment to steel himself and take a deep breath. Then, he jumps through the portal feet-first, bouncing clumsily onto the sofa and tumbling onto the floor. Just as quick as he can right himself, he hurries behind the sofa to hide, afraid he might’ve alerted one of the guards with his rough landing. The portal has already closed above him with the loss of directed energy.
Mark waits for what feels like forever, his legs burning from holding the crouch, but no one comes. When he’s positive it’s safe, he places his hands on the floor and this time tries to create a portal back to his room. The spacetime-rip flickers briefly as if it won’t work, and a surge of panic rises in him, but soon it displays the sight of his bed and the nightstands on either side. A sigh of relief leaves him, and he jumps through the portal as smoothly as he can, landing on his bed this time.
Now, he is ready. He hopes.
The end of September—and the end of their stay in Eupheme—approaches. By that time, it has been weeks since you and Doyoung have seen each other. The one bright spot, though, lies with Mark.
Mark passes Doyoung a note during another of their etiquette lessons. The older man doesn’t wait to open it, though he keeps a watchful eye on the instructor as he does.
I think I’ve done it. Let’s try tonight.
Doyoung sucks in a breath and slowly lets it back out. Then, he crumbles the piece of paper up and shoves it into the pocket of his pants. He gives Mark a small nod, and Mark returns it before facing the teacher again as if nothing has happened.
Even though Doyoung had already given Mark instructions for how to create the portal, he is a bit unsure what to expect that night. He sits on the edge of his bed fully clothed, his hands clasped nervously together as his eyes dart all around the room, wondering where Mark will show up at.
He soon gets his answer when a teal ring of light manifests itself on the east wall of his room. It remains small only for a few moments before widening out enough to accommodate Mark’s form as he steps through it. Mark himself looks a bit shocked at what he’s just accomplished, even though he’s been doing it for a good amount of time now. Doyoung leaps up from the bed, about to speak, though he winces and remembers they still need to be mindful of the guards outside his door.
“You really did it,” Doyoung whispers, watching in awe as Mark closes the portal to his own room behind him.
“I did,” Mark affirms, and he can’t help but grin a little. However, his smile slips. “There is one thing, though.”
Doyoung’s stomach drops, and he can only imagine what this caveat will be. “What is it?”
“Well, once I’ve created the portal, I’ll have to keep it open,” Mark says. “Otherwise, I won’t know when you’re coming back…since we can’t communicate. But…I’ll only be able to keep energy flowing into it for about 15 minutes, maybe less, so…”
“…so make it quick. Right?” Doyoung replies. He is not surprised. Not because of any lack in Mark’s abilities, but more because this just seems to be the kind of luck that’s afflicted him as of late. Mark nods sheepishly.
“Just…be aware of the time,” Mark says, giving Doyoung an apologetic look. The older man only nods silently and steps back as he lets the younger do his work. Mark walks over to the wall he just came from and places his palms against it, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and concentrating. He holds the image of the forest entrance in his mind’s eye and shifts the power out from his hands and to the wall, opening up a gap in space as the portal widens.
Doyoung’s heart rate picks up as he sees that familiar forest entrance forming in front of him, still crowded with overgrowth and greenery. He steps over to Mark to see it closer, and he can even feel the cool night air brushing past his skin as he peers in.
Mark opens his eyes and nods for Doyoung to go on, and the older gives him a nervous smile. “Thank you.”
Indeed, the forest on the other side is the exact same one he’s been visiting for the entire summer. The same dirt underneath his feet, the same trees crowding each other in. For that reason, he doesn’t waste any more time with rushing inside, heading straight for the oak tree.
There’s an indignant sentence waiting on your lips when you hear Doyoung crashing into your forest late that night, not having seen him in weeks. You’re hurt, but you also realize there must be something serious going on back at the castle if it’s taken him this long to get back to you. However, the words die when you see the pure anguish on his face as he bursts out of the vegetation.
You slip out of the oak tree to meet him on the ground, and he scoops you in his arms like he did all those weeks ago, though this passion is now charged with fear. “Doyoung, what’s happened? What’s the matter? What has kept you so long?” you ask worriedly, taking his face in your hands.
Doyoung holds you close and simply buries his face in the front of your dress for a long moment, breathing in your scent and absorbing the warmth of your skin. Though you are terrified and confused, you wait for him to calm himself enough to speak to you.
“I can’t anymore,” he says, his voice low and broken. Your heart drops at this.
“Can’t what?” you ask, though you already know the answer.
“The King has forbidden me to come here—I shouldn’t be here now, but Mark...Y/N, I’m so sorry.”
You hold Doyoung tighter against you, as if you could both become one being if you concentrated hard enough—wished hard enough. Your head throbs with the hurt of it, and your heart feels as if it’s being cleaved in two. You don’t say anything for a while, biting your lip so hard that it nearly bleeds.
“I tried.” He presses his forehead to yours. “Forgive me. I tried.”
“There’s no one to blame,” you argue, breathless from the vise pinching your heart and lungs. “I think we both knew how this would end…”
“I don’t want it to be this way. Y/N, forgive me. I should’ve never told you anything…perhaps if I’d kept my feelings to myself, we wouldn’t be in this mess now. You could live happily as you were, and I—”
“Don’t. Please don’t. I wouldn’t trade our time together for any living being…not even the gods.” You shake your head as tears begin to slip down your cheeks. Doyoung tries to wipe them away, though tears of his own escape without his permission. “It may be selfish, but…I-I just ask that…p-please don’t forget about me when you leave and start your own family.”
Doyoung takes a deep, shuddering breath and presses your head into his chest. “I could never,” he whispers.
He thinks he’s safe in your arms, and you safe in his. That’s what he’d like to believe, as you sit here together in the forest for the last time. Unbeknownst to him, something in the castle stirs and then bursts to life, violent and red-hot with rage.
Mark, on the other side of the portal, waits. He feels his energy weakening the longer he holds it open, but he does so anyway as nervous sweat gathers on his temples. He wants to call out to Doyoung to somehow warn him of the time limit, but remembers that the guards will hear it if he does. So he remains silent and waits impatiently as the end of the 15 minutes approaches.
However, he can’t wait any longer as the time ticks past. His magic flickers once, as does the portal, before disappearing completely. Mark nearly keels over at the loss of energy and has to catch himself as quietly as possible, bracing his shaking hands against the floor. He pushes himself up a bit and sits on his knees. He thinks desperately to himself, I should make another portal, but he doesn’t have enough energy for that at the moment.
The next move he makes is a costly one.
He reaches into his pants pocket for his pocketwatch, which he remembered to bring with him. He intends to see how far it is past the time they’d agreed Doyoung would come back, and how long it might take him to regain enough strength for another portal, but his shaky hands cause him to drop the small watch. He tries to grab the chain, but the movement is too sudden and clumsy and causes the watch to bounce even farther away from him, skittering clear off the rug and onto the hardwood floor.
Mark swears all his organs stop functioning at once when he hears a knock on the door. It’s quiet at first, and the silence is deafening. He thinks about scurrying up into the bed and lying there to pretend like he’s Doyoung, still asleep and not out in the forest, but his legs are locked with fear and lingering weakness. The second knock is more forceful, and the guard doesn’t wait for much longer before jamming his key in the lock and swinging the door open.
Mark whips his head around, and they both stare at each other dumbstruck for a moment. The guard’s gaze lingers at Mark in confusion, then quickly sweeps over to the empty bed. His eyebrows draw into a furious expression. “Where is the Crown Prince?”
Doyoung’s heart squeezes painfully at the thought of returning to Ceres without you, his brothers going on with their lives as normal despite his own secret heartache—and it’s only then that he realizes he’s lost track of the time. He jerks away from your arms, looking around frantically. “Wait—Mark.”
“Mark?” you repeat, confused.
“I…he made a portal so I could get here, but I was supposed to…shit. Come on.” Doyoung takes your hand and you both rush to the forest entrance. When you get there, though, there’s no portal and no Mark. Doyoung’s grip around your hand tightens.
Though you aren’t totally sure what’s going on, a sudden dread overcomes you. “What happened to it?”
“He probably had to close it, but…I’m sure he’ll open it again once he gets his energy back.” Doyoung’s voice is uncertain, though, like he’s trying to convince you both. You look at the side of his face and try not to voice your fears, but as you both stand there waiting to see if the portal will reappear, it becomes apparent that something has went wrong with the plan.
“Explain yourself.”
“Your Highness…I…um…” Mark’s mouth is too dry for him to properly form words, and his legs shake where he stands. Not because of having his energy sapped—because of the King’s overbearing presence. The King stands in front of him, not even bothering to go to his desk this time, and Mark has to crane his neck a bit to look at him, though he can’t meet his eyes. “It was just…”
“I won’t ask again.”
Mark shakes his head and pulls at his hair, silently begging Doyoung for forgiveness in his mind. Still, he doesn’t say anything to give his brother up, keeping his eyes averted more out of fear than deference. “Please, Your Highness…I just…”
When the King sees that Mark won’t give a direct answer, he scoffs in disgust, sweeps the younger man out of the way, and heads for the door. Though Mark only moves a few inches, he feels like he might as well have been thrown clear across the room. The King speaks to one of Doyoung’s guards, who was standing just behind Mark. “Call the rest of the guards. I’ve exhausted my patience on the matter; these lecherous whores cannot be allowed to continue defiling my kingdom.”
“Wh-what does that mean?” Mark’s small voice is lost to the air as the King leaves the room without a glance backwards. The guard goes to enact his order, while the other one grips Mark tightly by the upper arm and drags him out of the sitting room. “N-no, wait, what’s about to happen?”
The guard yanks Mark’s arm in a gesture that calls for the questioning to come to an end. “Best keep quiet, boy. You and the Crown Prince have gotten yourself into enough shit tonight.” Then he chuckles. “One of these days, he was bound to find out that everyone won’t keep coddling him and wiping his ass. About to lose his title over some pussy. Quite sad, isn’t it?”
The guard’s words—and the realization that none of them have ever really cared about Doyoung’s wellbeing beyond being his hired watchdogs—sets Mark off. “Shut the fuck up!” Mark spits in his eye and stomps on the man’s foot at the same time, and the guard curses and lets him go for a split second. Mark doesn’t wait. He takes off down the hall, unsure where he’s going but knowing the castle is big enough to lose the guard—as long as he doesn’t run into anyone else.
He just needs to get somewhere where he can have enough time to create another portal.
“This can’t be good…” you finally say. You and Doyoung must have a death grip on each other’s hands right now, but neither of you are willing to pull away.
Doyoung shakes his head slowly. “No…it’s been too long. Maybe I-I should go back. Maybe if I go back willingly now…” He trails off, not knowing what could come at the end of that sentence.
“Doyoung, no. I…please don’t leave me.” You feel mentally torn between sending him away and knowing this is the last time you’ll see him versus having him stay here with you, if only for a few minutes more. At this point, you’re not sure what the right answer is anymore.
“They might come looking for me, Y/N, and I don’t want them coming here disturbing the forest—"
“Stay! You can hide somewhere, I…as the keepers of the forest, we’ve been handling ourselves against intruders for years. We can protect ourselves—and you. If they come, you can hide out here until they leave. Please, stay.”
Doyoung cannot say no to you or your pleading eyes. He nods. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen after all this—if he wants to go back to the castle, or if he’ll even be allowed to return. He doesn’t know what they’ll do to him in retaliation, and even the vague idea of it frightens him. Having his title removed is one thing, but the King of Eupheme is far more vindictive than that.
You and Doyoung only make it to the small cave you’d hidden in on that rainy day before you hear the distinct sound of another pair of feet crashing through the woods. You both whip your heads around, though you also grab Doyoung’s arm and pull him under the cover of the willow tree. Your mind is racing a mile a minute, and you are too frantic to be able to sense who this new person is; though the question is quickly answered by a sharp whisper.
“Doyoung! Doyoung?”
“It’s Mark,” Doyoung hisses, his eyes widening. He slips between the tree branches and softly calls Mark’s name. In another few moments, the younger man is standing under the tree with you both.
“What happened?!” Doyoung asks, holding onto the younger boy’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Doyoung.” This is all Mark can say, and the words roll off his tongue repeatedly. He hangs his head. “The King knows, and he’s sent the guards to come here—I don’t know what he’s going to do, but—please believe me. It doesn’t sound good. He’s done being reasoned with.”
You and Doyoung look at each other with trepidation gripping your chests, realizing the stakes are much higher than you anticipated. This does not sound like just another case of “unwelcome intruders,” but “unwelcome intruders with bloodlust on their minds.”
“But—I can create another portal. I’m sorry, the last time, I just—but I can make one now. Come with us, please.” The last sentence is directed at you, and you shake your head.
“And go where? They’ll still be waiting for me at the castle. Are you suggesting we run away from Eupheme?” Doyoung’s voice is not reprimanding, but more incredulous than anything else.
Mark’s hands shake at the idea of turning his back on his family, which is something he’s never had to consider before—not even in the slightest sense. Things have gotten much more out of hand than he could’ve predicted.
You shake your head again, your hand slipping from Doyoung’s. “Just…I’ll stay here and help the others. You should go.”
“Y/N, I...” Doyoung’s throat tightens as he tries to speak, but his thoughts are disrupted by a quickly mounting commotion. The sound of hooves beating in the distance, though getting increasingly closer. The shouts of men who are ready to wage a battle, with fire racing through their veins.
Though most of Arthenia is asleep at this time of night, the noise of the horses’ hooves and the soldiers’ shouts is enough to begin waking the townspeople up out of their beds. Faces press against windows and peep out of doorways to see what’s happening.
The villagers are terrified when they see a group of soldiers adorned in the royal insignia and riding on horses enter Arthenia with lit torches in their hands, thinking their homes are about to be destroyed. However, they become even more confused and frantic when they quickly realize this band of men is paying their properties no mind and heading straight in the direction of the forest instead.
Some of Arthenia’s magic-wielders rush from their homes to try to put a stop to the men once they understand the situation, and the orcs and ogres meet them with brute force alone. The guards are met with a fight fiercer than they expected, even with their torches and daggers, not realizing the villagers could be so battle-hardy.
The King watches the battle ensuing in Arthenia from a hilly vantage point above the small town. The guards have failed to make much more headway against the villagers, who are gradually inching them back towards the village entrance. Shaking his head in disgust, the King pulls on his horse’s reins. “If you want something done, do it yourself.”
Some of the townspeople notice the King’s appearance just before he rides into the village. A few of them falter and cower in fear, finding the nearest exit point and taking their leave. Some others, incensed at their town being threatened and generally filled with rage at the King’s lack of fair leadership, decide to charge him head-on. They’re quickly extinguished, though, when the King conjures a great sphere of fire in his hands and whips it across them without a second thought.
He does the same to any other Arthenians who attempt to challenge him as he cuts a path through the village, uncaring of the land and homes he sets on fire as he does. A couple of the guards hop back on their steeds and follow him to his ultimate destination.
The King drives forward into the foliage. The women of the forest are armed with their own heavy rocks and sharpened arrows and daggers dipped in poisonous berry juice, though their weapons can barely leave their hands before everything is suddenly being enveloped in a wide swath of fire, meted out by the King’s hand. He leaves a path clear for himself and the guards in the middle, but the trees on either side are sent up in a blaze.
The two guards remain in single file behind him to use his fire as a shield and avoid the sharp rocks and poison-dipped darts zooming past their heads. Perhaps they’ve underestimated these tree-dwellers; already, there have been a few scrapes that were too close for comfort with the jagged edge of a rock or two. The guards light up as much greenery as they can as they go, using their torches to ignite leaves and low-hanging branches.
All around them, there are the sounds of Arthenians and dryads screaming in tandem as their homes go up in flames. A few nymphs lie fallen among the grass, unmoving as their tree homes burn up in the night.
The King, who has had the foresight to bring his shield, keeps it steady in front of him as he blasts fireballs out from behind it, lighting up one group of trees after another. He doesn’t know which one belongs to you, but he is willing to burn down the entire forest to find out. His movements are wilder than they’d normally be, which says a lot even for him, who has previously had no trouble slashing down anyone who stood in his way during battle—even if they were innocents.
“Doyoung!” The King shouts, and he whips up a great blanket of fire. He sends it careening up towards the sky like a shooting star, and it lands high among the tree canopy, heavy and far-reaching enough to burn treetops several feet in every direction. The guards become a bit wary at this, as the flames blaze above their heads and send sparks and burning debris flying down. “Doyoung!” His voice shakes the leaves like thunder. “If you do not wish to burn alive with these forest dregs, show yourself now!”
Doyoung’s spine stiffens as he hears his name echoing through the woods. It comes from a distance behind you all but is still too close for reassurance. If you stay in this spot for another few minutes, the King or one of his guards could be right on top of your heads.
“Come on!” Doyoung pulls your hand tightly as he helps you up the edge of a steep grassy incline, Mark supporting you from below. Though you’d be able to make it up there any other time by yourself, you don’t dare deny the help now. Your whole body feels like a live wire of fear and panic; the forest burns around you, and the encroaching smoke threatens to choke all three of you to death. Most of all, you feel devastated to see what’s happening around you, being essentially powerless to stop it. Nothing of this degree has ever befallen your home before; even the rare small blaze could be easily enough snuffed out. But not when the flames are being stoked and encouraged like this—building upon each other to see which can reach the tallest tree or the farthest edge of the forest.
After you reach solid ground, Doyoung drags Mark up behind you. There’s no time to pause after all three of you are on the ground; Doyoung grips your hand again and Mark follows behind the two of you as you run.
“The tree, the tree, the tree…” These words spill from your lips in a frenzy. Though your tree hasn’t been touched by the flames yet, it’s only a matter of time with the forest rapidly catching on fire. You can still feel the deep anguish of every other tree in the forest as their trunks catch fire, their leaves shrivel up, and the water evaporates from their root systems. Their silent screams and the shouts of your fellow dryads ring in your head loud enough to make you fear that your skull will split.
“Where are we going?” Mark asks, covering his nose with his sleeve and coughing profusely at the smoke all around.
“Out of the forest!” Doyoung shouts back. He doesn’t really know where to go except for the edge of the woods, and you aren’t in a state to tell him where to head. Deep down, he knows you want to turn back and go to your tree. The oak tree lives innately in you and you inside of it, and it calls you to come back, but the path is too dangerous; returning to it would only speed up what appears to be progressively inevitable. The King and his guards are somewhere in the forest behind you all, and turning back would only land you right in their hands or in the tendrils of the fire.
One of the guards feels a tinge of nervousness grow as the fire rages on around them, and he decides to try to reach out to the King. “Your Highness! I will go in search of Doyoung. Perhaps we should fetch him now before some danger befalls him; the fire is spreading exponentially.” The King gives him a signal to depart, though his eyes still burn just as brightly as the flames do.
The guard separates from the King to cut a path diagonally through the woods, going off to find Doyoung. The Crown Prince may have disobeyed the King—which is as good as committing treason against the kingdom—but it would still not look favorable for him to have died in a fire started at the King’s hands. However, the King is too far engulfed in the whirlwind of his own rage to consider these things more deeply.
The other guard stays by the King’s side, though his horse nervously shifts in place at the flames all around. The two men come to a stop in a wide and messy half-circle of fire, their backs to the flames as they watch the woods ahead for any signs of approaching creatures—or Doyoung himself.
Unbeknownst to the King, your oak tree sits only a few feet away in a yet-untouched portion of greenery.
A few leaves suddenly fall off a tree up ahead—too sudden to merely be caused by the wind—and this makes the King whip his head around and raise his hand to unleash more fire. Nothing appears from that spot, however, and the leaves remain as still as they were before. That moment of hesitancy costs him.
A small poison-tipped dart shoots from the leaves, catapulted by the force of a sudden, expertly-timed breath through a wooden blowgun. It lands squarely in the King’s open palm, which still faces the tree. A shout bursts from his throat in response, and it is only then that the guard realizes what’s just happened.
“Your Highness—!”
The shock and pain of the sudden assault causes the King to strike out in delayed anger, sending a wave of fire at the row of trees ahead of him—and a little further beyond, your oak tree in its small, grassy clearing. The dart burns up in his palm as he does, but its sharp point has already broken his skin. His reaction, though hampered by a few seconds, doesn’t afford Cassia much time to do anything but watch as a wall of feverish red and orange overtakes her, but her last few thoughts linger with you—where you might be within the forest right now, and if she could see you again in some faraway afterlife.
You’ve always known you would die when your tree finally did, but you weren’t sure what you expected it to feel like.
Certainly, not this kind of great reckoning—a sensation of every living element simultaneously being drained from your body. It feels like the core essence of your being has been cracked like an egg and is now flowing out endlessly, laid to waste in the grass. The sudden weakness that eclipses you makes it so that you can barely move your legs to continue running, and you collapse to the ground.
Mark nearly trips over your fallen form, but he quickly finds his voice and screams for Doyoung. The older man is already turning around, however, at feeling your hand slip from his. He rushes to you immediately, his eyes growing wide as he tucks his hands under you and scoops you into his arms.
“Y/N, I’m sorry, please! Y/N, please, no!”
“Doyoung…”
“No. No! I’m begging...please, stay with me.”
Tears spill from his eyes in an endless torrent. You would like to touch his face at least once more, and you are infinitely glad—if not also heartbroken—when he grabs your hand and holds it to his cheek. His tears wet your skin, running down your palm.
“I…I already told you not to forget me, so please…”
“Y/N, I’ve got to get you out of here…” Doyoung says desperately, and he struggles to make it to his feet. His legs tremble too much to support him, though, and his shoes slide in the leaves and dirt underfoot. Mark stumbles backwards, his back hitting a tree trunk as his muscles tense in horror at the scene in front of him.
“D-don’t. Leave me here.” Even saying this much feels like a massive effort.
“What?”
“Th-the forest and I are one in the same. I live and die here. Please…do this one thing for me, Doyoung.” You look at him imploringly with as much strength as you can summon despite your eyes growing heavier. Beyond the smoke, the cloudiness of your own tears, and the pull of death, it’s becoming harder to see; his features blur amid your surroundings.
Doyoung is quiet for a moment, though he slowly nods, gripping your hand tightly. He lowers his forehead to yours, and through the smoke and fire, he swears he can still smell the scent of jasmine. “I love you, Y/N.”
“My prince…” The corners of your mouth rise in a tiny smile. “I love you.”
The Crown Prince keeps his forehead against yours, his tears raining down on your cheeks long after you’ve gone limp in his arms.
Mark slumps to the ground, feeling as if his stomach will turn itself inside out, his heart hammering in his chest. He tries to breathe evenly, though his chest tightens painfully from the attempt. Eventually, he buries his face in his hands, trying to physically shut out the ache. He’s not sure how much time passes like that, with him and his brother immobilized on the ground, but he does know they need to leave, soon, as the air around them grows more stifling.
“Doyoung…D-Doyoung, we need to…w-we should…” Mark’s voice cracks, coming out weak in the roar of the noise around them. He coughs again, then shuffles to his feet, leaning on the tree for support.
Doyoung looks up at him without a word, his face streaked with tears and dirt. Then, slowly, he unravels himself from you and lays your body gently on the ground. He shuns his cloak to cover you with it, though part of him desires to stay here and perish with you instead of leaving only a portion of himself behind.
Him and Mark travel a few more yards through the woods, and though he’s never seen this part of the landscape before, he can guess they might be nearing the edge of the forest. The trees have begun thinning out here like they did at the small circular lake.
“Wait—" Mark calls out. Doyoung doesn’t bother looking back at Mark, but he can hear it too. The sound of horse hooves increases in volume, and they soon see one of the guards riding towards them, torch still in hand.
“Crown Prince! Prince Mark!” he shouts. “Come with me immediately!”
Doyoung looks frantically towards the ground. A sizeable rock catches his eye, bigger than the palm of his hand, and he picks it up. Without a second thought, he launches it at the guard’s face. It catches the guard on the left side of his face with a sickening pop, causing him to yell out in pain and fall from his horse. His torch falls from his grasp, starting yet another small fire where it lands.
With its rider gone, the horse slows its pace, though it does not stop. Doyoung catches it by the reins and is able to bring it to a pause long enough for him and Mark to get on. Everything else falls away from him as he guides them towards the forest’s outskirts; he barely feels the wind whipping past them, the lingering smoke stinging his eyes, or even the sturdy animal racing underneath him. He has a brief thought about what happened to those dangerous animals you said live on the outskirts, as there are none here now, but he reasons that maybe they’ve already made their own escape.
The sky is turning lighter now from the approaching dawn. When they finally breach the last row of trees in the woods, they come out onto an expansive field, only broken up by stray trees here and there and other landforms. On the far horizon, another town looms against the sky, though it’s much bigger than Arthenia.
Doyoung signals for the horse to stop, and both he and Mark sit there for a few long moments. Mark sucks in a few deep breaths, as if he were the one running this entire time.
“W-what…what now?”
Doyoung doesn’t answer at first. Then, quietly, he asks, “Are you coming?”
Mark doesn’t know where his brother intends to go, but he wordlessly understands that it isn’t back to the castle. Or even Ceres. He swallows against the lump in his throat.
“I…I have to see the others.” He means their brothers. He means their parents back in Ceres, if he is even allowed to live. He is not sure what the King will do to him once he returns—if he’ll be tried for treason. Still, his chest burns with the desire to see his siblings at least once more.
Maybe that’s how he justifies it.
He’s not entirely sure why he refuses Doyoung in this moment, even when he thinks back on it years from now. Maybe he is too ashamed of the guilt—of feeling like it was all his fault. (If he hadn’t dropped the stopwatch…) He doesn’t want to serve as that constant reminder for his brother.
“Can you get back, then?” Doyoung asks. Mark realizes he’s referring to creating another portal, and he nods, though somewhat hesitantly.
“Y…yeah. I can.” He swallows again and hesitates for another moment. Then, Mark dismounts from the horse and looks up at Doyoung. “Where…where will you go?”
If the older man has already planned his route, he doesn’t disclose it. He simply looks at Mark with an expression that can only be described as pitiable, broken. His eyes are red-rimmed and his skin is ashen. “Goodbye, Mark.”
Mark stares at his retreating back as he leads the horse away and across the field. The space between them stretches out into forever, with a million unsaid thoughts and emotions falling in the gap.
Behind him, the forest continues to burn, taking all life with it. In front of him, Doyoung’s form turns into a speck against the endless green. It is a long time before Mark leaves that spot in the grass.
In the castle, Donghyuck slumps against his window as he watches smoke rising in the far distance, already knowing where it’s coming from. Like a mirror image of his older brother, tear tracks make their way down his face as he buries his head in his arms.
“What have I done?”
#doyoung fic#doyoung scenarios#doyoung imagines#doyoung smut#doyoung fluff#doyoung angst#kim doyoung#nct#nct 127#nct scenarios#nct fic#nct imagines#nct smut#nct fluff#nct angst#nct 127 scenarios#nct 127 imagines#nct 127 smut#nct 127 fluff#nct 127 angst#nct 127 fic#ambw#ambw fic#ambw kpop#ambw scenarios#ambw imagines
294 notes
·
View notes
Text
It is You, it is Me, it is Us
Anon asked: Hi! Can I request “ Person A: “....You have far too much faith in me.” Person B: “And you have far too little.” with Angel Reyes? Thank you!
A/N: Hi there! This is my first time writing for Angel so I'm a little nervous, but I got this request and loved it so much I quickly had to wrtie this at work today lmao. Anyway, I don't have an Angel Reyes tag list yet so if you want to be on it please comment or send an ask. I hope you guys like this :) Have a nice weekend!
WARNING: mention of vomiting, a little angst, lot of fluff, that’s all I guess
Angel always could count on you, he knew that.
He always tried to keep you away from the club business, never really wanted to talk about it to you, he wanted to spare you, and he was afraid he’d get you into danger if you knew everything.
But there was one point, a breaking point to Angel when he realised he only can count on you.
EZ’s betrayal, and that Felipe took his little brother’s side, completely broke Angel.
You were clueless when he came home, you had your own little secret that you kept from him, didn’t know how to tell him yet.
A baby.
You figured it out two weeks ago that you were pregnant, and you were scared how Angel would react to this, so you didn’t tell him yet.
You wanted to tell him that night when he came home, broken and angry, and hurt.
Your heart broke when you saw how defeated he was, and again, you couldn’t make yourself to tell him, since you tried to pour some life back into him.
That night he told you everything that he was keeping from you, breaking down and needing someone to be there for him, telling him he wasn’t alone.
You grabbed his hand, and your heart clenched when Angel looked at you with his teary eyes.
You swallowed hard before you said anything.
“I’m here for you Angel, and with you.” You squeezed his hand “You can always count on me, no matter what. We are a family, and I’m always here. No matter what!”
You take his face in your hands as you continue “I know you’re hurt right now, and you have every right to be. And you have to let yourself to feel this hurt, the anger. This house, and me, is your safe place, okay? You don’t have to hide any of your emotions, afraid that I’ll judge you for it. You know I would never. It’s okay to feel pain, to feel hurt, and ask someone to help you with it.” You gently wipe a tear off his cheek with your thumb “This is our safe place. You’re safe with me.” A small smile tugs the corner of your lips from your next sentence “And I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone hurt you, ever. I’m gonna protect you, no matter what. I don’t care that you’re a giant compared to me,” Angel chuckles “I’m still going to protect you.
“That’s supposed to be my job.” Angel tells you.
You nod “You do the physical protecting, and I do the emotional. As a team.”
Angel looks at you for a very long moment, his eyes are skimming over your face.
“You mean everything to me, I hope you know that.” He whispers as he pulls you closer, wrapping his arms around you, holding you as close as possible.
“Please never forget that.” You mutter against his chest, your secret is making your chest heavy.
A little bit over a week has passed some that night, and you still haven’t told Angel that you’re pregnant.
One morning, you were laying in bed with him, he was still asleep, his head was resting on your chest, mouth open and slightly drooling on you, his tattooed arm was thrown around your belly, legs tangled together.
Softly, careful not to wake him, you were running your fingers through his hair, when a sudden nausea hit you, and you could feel that you have to be in the bathroom in seconds.
“Oh god.” You whisper before you push Angel off of you, waking him, then you rush to the bathroom before you throw up.
When Angel realised something was wrong, he rushed to the bathroom after you, squatting down next to you as he rubbed your back while you emptied your stomach into the toilet.
“You shouldn’t see this.” You mutter.
“You saw me in worse states after parties.” Angel chuckled.
“Yeah, I’m afraid this isn't a hangover.”
“Then what? Food poisoning? It seemed like you enjoyed the food last night.”
“Angel, please can you get me a glass of water.” Is all you say.
“Shit, yeah!” He quickly gets up from the floor and goes to the kitchen to get you a glass of cold water.
You gratefully take the glass from him and take a few sips in silence.
You drank most of the water slowly, Angel was by your side the whole time, rubbing your back softly.
“I’m gonna brush my teeth.” You mutter, and Angel leaves you alone while you get yourself together.
There’s no way of avoiding this anymore.
After a quick shower, and brushing your teeth, you slightly felt better, until you stepped out of the bathroom and the strong smell of coffee hit your nose, and you can’t help but make a disgusted face.
“What is this smell?” You ask Angel as you walk into the kitchen.
“Coffee.” He says simply.
“What? You love coffee, especially the smell of it.” He states when he sees your disgusted expression.
You take a deep breath. It’s now or never.
“Angel, I have to tell you something.” You say nervously.
Angel, seeing your serious expression, furrows his brows as he walks closer to you.
“What’s wrong, mi dulce?” He places his big hand on the side of your face, his palm covers the most of your cheek.
You take another deep breath, then close your eyes before you whisper “I’m pregnant.”
You don’t open your eyes as you wait for Angel’s reaction, but your eyes snap open when you hear laughing.
“Yeah, that’s really funny Y/N.”
You keep looking at him, as serious as you can to prove that you’re not joking.
Does he really think that you’re joking?
Angel is still smiling and shaking his head, but when he looks at you again, his smile fades.
“Wait, are you serious?”
“Do you really think I would joke with something like this?” You snap “This has been killing me in the past few weeks! I’m constantly terrified of your reaction, that you’ll leave me, and you think I’m joking?!”
Angel opens his mouth to say something, but he stops when he sees tears rolling down your cheeks.
“I wanted to tell you that night you came home and told me about EZ’s betrayal. I couldn’t make myself to do it, I was afraid it would break you even more.” You cry. “I’m so terrified, Angel, ever since I know it. We never talked about this, I have no idea what’s your opinion about this, I’m afraid you’ll think that I’m baby trapping you.” You sob “I’m confused, afraid, and all alone in this.”
“You’re not alone!” Angel says firmly “Shit, I certainly wasn’t expecting this. I never imagined myself as a family type, as a father, but fuck, I also never imagined myself being so fucking in love with a woman, but here we are.” Angel takes your face in his hands. “Did we plan this? No. Am I terrified? Absolutely. But in no way, I’ll leave you, or force you into something that you don’t want.” The whole time your eyes are fixed on Angel’s chest, not meeting his eyes as you cry.
“Look at me, my love, please.” Angel asks you softly.
You look up at him.
“We are in no way ready for this, but the fact that we will have a mini us, the perfect mix of both of us, running around here in a few months makes me excited.” Angel smiles, and you can’t help but smile too.
“And if you’ll stay with me, I can promise you that I’ll keep knocking you up.” He winks, and you can’t help, but snort at his words.
“Let’s wait and see how we can handle one baby, at first.”
You’re six months pregnant now.
Things were going easier than you thought they’ll go, and You and Angel were incredibly happy about your baby.
But you couldn’t ignore the fact that something was bothering Angel, you didn’t ask what is it, you’re almost sure that it’s club business, and if he wants to tell you, he will.
But you couldn’t ignore the mean thoughts in your brain, saying that he’s distant because he hates the sight of you, he hates the fact that you’re getting bigger and bigger, and he can’t look at you anymore, and he’s probably with one of Vicky’s girls.
These thoughts made you break down in painful sobs.
One night, you’re laying in bed, on your back, watching something on tv when Angel comes home.
You hear him take his Kutte off, his shoes, as he slowly walks towards the bedroom that you share.
“You should be sleeping.” He says when he sees you being awake.
“I’m not sleepy. Hormones you know.”
“I’m gonna take a shower quickly.” Angel says before he disappears in the bathroom.
You turn off the tv while you wait for him.
After like 5 minutes, Angel comes out of the bathroom, wearing only a loose black boxer that he loves to sleep in.
He lays down next to you, turning towards you, drinking in the sight of you.
Placing a hand on your round belly he whispers “You’re so beautiful.”
It’s your turn now to turn your head towards him so you can look at him.
“And here I thought you hated the sight of me.” You whisper, voice so small you’re not sure that Angel heard you.
But he did.
His head snapped up with a confused, and somehow offended expression.
“Why the fuck you’d say that?”
“I can see that something is wrong. And I’m getting bigger, and bigger…”
“Stop right there!” Angel says forcefully. “You really think that’s the reason?”
You don’t reply.
Angel licks his lips, he’s no longer looking you in the eyes, but it’s fixed on your round belly.
“I’m afraid I’ll fuck it up.” He confesses “I’m afraid that I’ll be a horrible father, and our child will hate me. All I can think about is that I will fuck it up.”
“Angel.” You whisper “You won’t fuck this up. Not as long as I’m here and we do this together.”
“You can’t know that.” He shakes his head.
“Yes, I can. Because I know you Angel Reyes. You might fuck things up, but who doesn’t?!? Everyone makes mistakes, but the only thing important is that we learn from them. And you do, my love. You’re going to be the most amazing father. And you know why?”
Angel shakes his head.
“Because you have a big heart. And when you love someone, you give everything you have to them, you love them more than anything, and you would do anything for them. I know it’s true, because I feel it everyday.”
“You have far too much faith in me” Angel whispers.
“And you have far too little.” You reply “You have to start believing in yourself, mi Angelito.”
“You’re going to be an amazing father, and this little one is lucky to have you as their dad.”
Angel moves closer to you, placing a hand on your belly as he kisses you lovingly.
“Thank you. For everything.” Angel whispers against your lips.
“Always, my Angel. Always.
251 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
worksofbarry
Works of Barry
magmarise-blog
𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓼.
livefastdriveyoung
Live Fast, Drive Young
mattmoorewrites
Matt Moore Writes
aphofficial
APH Music