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starbandit · 3 months

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Mr. Rockstar (J.J.K)

Preview: Your black sequined set hugged your body perfectly from what he could see, your appearance alone made his mouth water. If anyone was coming home with him, it would be you.

contains - rockstar!Jungkook, chubby reader, riding, oral (f!receiving), unprotected sex, nipple play, mentions of alcohol, non established relationship MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

word count - 2.5k/ unedited

These shows usually went the same way, a dimly lit club with stuffy air and screaming girls. Jungkook loved the attention, what twenty something year old boy wouldn’t? They would always fawn over the dark sleeve of tattoos that lined his arm while he stood at the bar after his set, boys and girls alike.

The lights beat down on Jungkook, the sweat dripping down his face as he sang into the mic. He couldn’t wait to get off stage, get a drink at the bar, and get back to the hotel. Maybe he would get lucky and take someone home, but based on how his night was already, he had his doubts.

That was, until a black sparkle caught his eye. A smirk painted his face as his eyes traced over the person dancing in the front row. Your black sequined set hugged your body perfectly from what he could see, your appearance alone made his mouth water. If anyone was coming home with him, it would be you.

Once his set ended, he stripped in the changing room, opting for a shirt that wasn’t drenched in his own sweat. He freshened up before leaving, going back out on the club floor to search for you. He spotted you at the bar, giggling with a friend with a drink in your hand.

He stepped to an open spot next to you, flagging down the bartender with a kind smile. Your head turned to look at him and Jungkook could swear you took his breath away.

“Could I buy you a drink?” He leaned down to ask in your ear. His breath tickled the sensitive skin, a shiver running down your spine.

“Hm, usually I’ll play hard to get, but you’re cute, and I want another drink,” You giggled, placing your hand on his chest. “I’ll let you buy me a drink.”

Jungkook smirked at you, watching as you told the bartender what you wanted, followed by him sliding his card into his hand. He turned back to you, admiring the outfit you had picked for the night. The way your arms fell at your sides, the soft skin slightly red from the rough plastic. He wanted to admire the outfit in better lighting, to watch how your curves moved as you slid off your pants, the supple skin that was gently hanging over the top of your pants being freed, the way your breasts would fall as you took off your top.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as you giggled, moving slightly closer to him in the growing crowd. “So, Mr. Rockstar, did you buy me this drink out of the kindness in your heart or were you hoping for something more?” You spoke over the loud music that the DJ had started playing

“To be honest, I was hoping to get you out of that outfit tonight. As amazing as it is, I’d much rather see what you look like without it.” He chuckled and took a sip of his drink.

You smiled up at him. “I might have to take you up on that offer, how about we dance a bit and then you can take me home?” You set your, now finished, drink down on the bar before grabbing Jungkook's hand to pull him to the dance floor.

The two of you danced for a bit, which had turned into mostly sloppy grinding. The sloppy grinding turned into a hot kiss, and Jungkook had to hold himself back from taking you right there on the dance floor.

“Let’s take this somewhere else,” He suggested, pulling you out of the dance floor and towards the double doors next to the stage. He smiled at security and pulled you through, to a much quieter area.

Your tipsy giggles filled the space as Jungkook pulled you towards the back, collecting his personal belongings and texting his manager. As much as he wanted to fuck you backstage, the amount of cameras and people made him slightly anxious.

He led you to a big van with blacked out windows. The driver continued to stare forward as the two of you stumbled in, taking a seat on the long bench in the back.

“Hm… I know you’re hot but are you sure this isn’t a kidnapping?” You let out a nervous giggle as Jungkook brushed your hair out of the way to suck a mark on your neck. The cold metal of his lip ring against your skin made you jump slightly. Your worries flew out of the window as he gently bit down on the skin and immediately soothed the area with a soft lick. The whimper that was torn from your throat was almost embarrassing. Almost.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the hotel, a quick drive full of hot touches and messy giggling. Jungkook tugged you to his room, barely even looking as he scanned the keycard and pushed into the room. He grunted as he pulled away, flopping to sit on the edge of the plush bed in the center of the room. He spread his legs, the tight fabric of his jeans outlining the definition in his thighs and the bulge growing in his pants. You watched as the muscles in his arms rippled as he leaned back to rest on his hands.

“Let me see the outfit,” He bit his lip, the piercing sat in his lip getting caught between his teeth. “Give me a twirl, baby girl.”

You blushed, giving Jungkook a slow turn. His eyes scanned you, how the black fabric sat over your rolls, how the fabric sat tight against your skin. He eyed the stretch marks on the backs of your arms, wondering just where else you had them. Surely they lined your thighs and ass, maybe you even had some on your stomach. His mouth was watering at the thought, he couldn’t wait to feel them under his fingers, under his lips.

“God,” He groaned, his hand moving to rub at his cock through his jeans. “I love it, but I wanna rip it off you.”

You smiled at him, moving closer to straddle him. You moved his hand before sitting down, placing it on your ass as you took a seat. He got the message, gripping and rolling your hips forward as soon as you got settled. You ducked your head down, placing soft kisses to the skin of his neck. Soft whines flew from his throat, egging you on.

You sighed against his throat as his hands unclasped the tight, corset-like material of your top. The material was starting to irritate your skin, leaving lines and slightly red areas where it was the tightest. Jungkook ran his fingers over the sensitive skin, gently teasing the area. He sat back, eyes lowering to admire your body.

He let out a groan as his hands reached up, gently squeezing your breasts. His thumbs flicked over your nipples, causing your eyes to roll back for a second. He dipped down, taking one of the hardened buds into his mouth. He looked up at you, eyes hooded and pupils blown, while he gently played with your other boob. You whimpered and let your hands fall to his hair, brushing the long locks out of his eyes before gripping the strands at the crown of his head.

His eyes fluttered closed as he let out a small hum, pulling away with a little pop to pay attention to your other breast. You gripped the locks harder, pulling him away when he began to rut up against you. His mouth fell open in a whimper and he bit his lip as you smirked at him.

“Getting a little desperate, are we?” You teased lightly, wiggling a little on his lap.

“Baby, I am going to fucking ruin you.” He growled. Your heart began to race as he wrapped his arms around you and flipped you onto your back, now hovering over you. “Not so tough now, are you?”

You hummed lightly and nodded. “I’ll let you do whatever you want to me, Mr. Rockstar.” You smirked up at him, letting out a little moan as you dragged your hands over the curves of your body.

His hands moved down to your pants in record time, unbuttoning the material and pulling them down, exposing the soft flesh. Jungkook could feel himself growing impossibly harder, soaking a wet spot on the front of his underwear, at the sight. Your supple thighs, the gentle pudge of your belly, god he was weak.

He dipped down, lips making contact with your stomach, kissing down, down, down. His tongue peeked out and gave teasing licks over the stretch marks on your tummy, humming as he pushed your thighs apart. Jungkook could feel his mouth watering as he stared at your skimpy underwear, the fabric soaked.

“Well, these aren’t doing you any good, now are they?” He hooked a finger under the thin fabric and snapped the waist band. “Why don’t I get rid of them for you?”

You gasped as he completely tore the fabric off your body and threw it, giving you no time to react before he dipped down and began feverishly licking at your pussy. A broken moan left your lips and you dug your hands into his hair. The heat of his tongue was just right, hitting every spot perfectly.

You glanced down, catching a glimpse of his eyes. He was staring up at you, eyes dark and glossy. He moaned against you, digging his face deeper into you. His hands gripped your hips, fingertips digging into the skin. You whimpered as you pulled his hair and dropped your head into the pillows. Sin, he was pure sin.

Jungkook continued to eat you out, tongue working absolute miracles on your clit. He was alternating between flicking the sensitive bud and sucking, bringing you close to the edge before switching, leaving just enough time in between to leave you wobbling a few steps back from orgasm. Two tattooed fingers made their way to your entrance, sinking in and immediately finding the spot that makes your vision go black.

His tongue and fingers moved in time together, creating a beautiful symphony of wet sounds and moans. Your orgasm was quickly reapproaching, a fire was lit in your belly and there was no stopping it.

“O-oh fuck- fuck,” You whimpered as your thighs began to shake, hand tightening in Jungkooks locks. You pulled him impossibly closer, thighs squeezing around his head as your orgasm took over. The warmth spread down to your toes, and through your body as you rode it out on his tongue and fingers, hips twitching in search of friction.

Jungkook removed his fingers and quickly placed them in his mouth, cleaning any remaining traces of you from them, before ditching his pants. You watched in awe as his cock bounced, tip glistening with precum and ruby red. He wrapped his hand around it, head falling back to expose his perfect neck as he gave himself a few tugs.

As soon as he crawled back onto the bed, you wasted no time in jumping on top of him. You needed him. You let out a loud groan in unison as you sunk down on him. His cock sat so perfectly inside of you, so warm and hitting every spot perfectly.

You gave him no time to adjust, instead rocking your hips back and forth in a steady motion. Your hands found their way to his chest, fingers gripping the soft material of his t-shirt as you bounced on him. Whimpers sounded around the room, and you weren’t sure if they were from you or Jungkook.

“Take it off,” You pulled at his shirt. “Please, get it off.” You balled the fabric up and began trying to tug it over his head. Jungkook assisted you, working feverishly to get the shirt off. Once the fabric was finally ditched, you couldn't help but admire the man beneath you.

Colorful tattoos decorated his skin, leading to a broad and muscular chest, down to a set of chiseled abs. You groaned and leaned back slightly, gripping Jungkook's thighs as you rocked your hips faster, milking more noises from him. The muscles contracted under your fingers as he rocked up to meet your movements.

Jungkook's hands trailed all over your body, touching and squeezing every inch of exposed skin that he could get his hands on. “I’m fucking obsessed with you.” He grunted out, fingers finding purchase on your hips, gripping the flesh.

You whined in response, your rhythm beginning to slow as you grew tired. Your fingers found their way to his nipples, gently rolling the buds between your fingers. You couldn’t help but smirk at the shiver that snuck its way through his entire body as you played with the sensitive buds.

“Come here,” Jungkook wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his chest. You collapsed forward and caught him in a sloppy kiss. You gasped as he adjusted, placing his feet flat on the bed and began bucking his hips up into you at a fast pace. His hips made contact with your ass with every thrust, a loud smacking noise echoing throughout the room.

You moaned into his mouth with every movement, your tongues sloppily meeting in the middle and caressing each other in the most sinful way. You sucked his bottom lip into your mouth, giving a slight nibble as you pulled away to catch your breath.

You were getting close again, the fire was burning low in your belly and beginning to spread down to your hips. Jungkooks pace was speeding up and getting sloppy, leading you to believe he was in the same boat.

“Gonna, ah fuck-” He groaned. “Gonna fuckin’ fill you up so good.” He dug his nails into your back and wrapped his lips around your collarbone. He sucked a dark purple mark into the skin, giving it a quick bite before pulling off. His hips bucked into you at the perfect angle, stroking your walls just right.

“Fuck, I’m close.” You whimpered, your hands gripping around to find something, anything, to hold on to. You tightened around Jungkook, your ears ringing and vision going black as you released.

A moan ripped through Jungkook as he pressed up one final time, painting your walls with thick, hot, ropes. He gently pushed through both of your releases, hugging your body tight as you both took deep breaths and tried to come down. A thick coat of sweat covered both of you.

You sat back up, his now softening cock still nestled deep in you, and ran a hand through your hair. You glance back down at Jungkook, who is resting beautifully against the plush hotel pillows. His cheeks are flushed, lips pink and swollen, and his eyes are closed. You allow yourself to bask in the moment, silence covering the hotel room.

Jungkook breaks the silence first. “So, after our shower, you wanna grab some dinner?” He cracked an eye open to peak up at you. “My treat.”

“Okay, Mr. Rockstar.” You giggled. “I’ll meet you in there,”

Jungkook watched as you stood up and sauntered off towards the bathroom, hips swaying as you walked. He bit his lip as he watched, and couldn’t seem to get up fast enough when you turned around and beckoned him over.

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook one shot #jungkook smut #jeon jungkook smut #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #bts smut #bts fanfic #bts one shot #jungkook scenario #jungkook imagine #my writing #text #this has also been sitting in my drafts for months #literally started this last year

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7ndipity · 4 months

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False Pretenses

fwb!Jungkook x Reader

Summary: Just how fair does the ‘benefits’ aspect between Friends with Benefits actually extend? Based on this meme.

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: crack to fluff, suggestive moments and ending, swearing, Jk has side by side washer/dryer units cause it’s funnier, reader’s referred to as ‘Ma’am’, not proofread

A/N: Thanks to the lovely anon who requested this! Sorry it took me soo long to get to, I hope you’ll still like it tho! (I’ll also be posting a couple more pieces with this pairing in the next couple weeks, so keep your eyes peeled if you liked this)

Masterlist

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It was the type of text you had gotten more than used to receiving from him over the past few months, smirking down at your phone as you waited for the elevator in his building.

“Need you so bad rn. Come over?❤”

The heart was a new addition, he must be feeling particularly needy today, you thought to yourself as the elevator doors finally opened.

Since the two of you had established this new part of your friendship, it was rare for you to go more than four or five days without receiving some variation of the same short message from him.

You were still slightly surprised by his text, seeing as you had only been over the night before, but you weren’t complaining by any means. Though you may have enjoyed pretending that Jungkook was the needier one in your arrangement, if you were completely honest, you were just as affected by him, finding yourself missing him on the nights you didn’t spend together.

When he opened the door, you noticed he looked a little more disheveled than usual, his hair sticking up all over the place, as if he’d been running his hands through it, a habit you knew he did when he was stressed.

“You got here fast.” He noted, letting you into the apartment.

“Well, your text made it sound kinda urgent, didn’t want to leave you waiting too long.” You said, wandering through into the living room, slowing to a stop as you caught sight of the chaotic state of the space, cleaning supplies and laundry scattered around, furniture moved all out of place.

“What happened in here?” You asked, turning back to Jungkook, who was now avoiding your eyes. “Koo?”

“I lied, I didn’t want sex.” He said guiltily, looking up at you. “I need you to help me clean.”

“I-, what?” You blinked at him, unsure if you heard him correctly.

He slumped back against the counter, looking stressed as he ran his hand through his hair again. ”My parents decided to surprise me by announcing they’re coming to visit tomorrow, but I’ve done nothing but sleep since I got home from tour last week, so the house is a fucking mess and everything’s a disaster and I need help, please.” He pleaded, staring at you.

You immediately began pulling your coat back on, turning back towards the door. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Y/n, please!” He quickly followed after you, catching your sleeve. “I’ll do anything you want! I’ll buy you dinner, I’ll rub your back, I’ll even let you pick what we watch for a month!”

You paused, turning to look back at him with a raised brow. “Even if I want to re-watch ‘Our Beloved Summer’ for a third time?”

He bit lip, trying to fight back a pained grimace before nodding slowly. “Whatever you want.”

You stared at him for a long moment.

“Fine.” You said reluctantly, caving as you saw the genuine desperation in his eyes. You could never say no to him.

“Thank you!” He sang, catching you in a tight hug and spinning you around in a circle. “I promise I’ll make it up to you!”

“Yeah, whatever,” You grumbled as he set you back on your feet. “Where do we start?”

“Laundry room?” He offered. “It’s mostly done, I just need to vacuum behind the machines.”

Do you really think your mom’s gonna look back there?” You raised a brow, following him down the hall.

“She’s very thorough.” He said seriously.

“Fair enough.” You shrugged. “I don’t quite see why I’m necessary for this part though?”

“I was afraid if I tried to clean back there by myself, I’d slip and get stuck or die.”

“So you want me to slip and die behind your washer instead?” You shot him an accusatory look.

“No! I’ll hold onto you and keep you safe,” He smiled reassuringly. “You know, like the buddy system.”

“I thought the buddy system was for camping so you didn’t get lost or eaten by bears?”

“It’s a multi-purpose system!” He said, his earlier agitation starting to flare up again at your teasing. “Are you gonna help me or not?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it, pass me the vacuum.” You relented, boosting yourself up on top of the dryer.

He held onto your hips to keep you balanced as you cleaned, his mind beginning to wander as he stared at your ass, his fingers starting to slowly knead your flesh absent-mindedly.

“Koo.” You warned, shooting him a quick look.

“Right, sorry.” He snapped back to attention, ceasing his movements and focusing back on the task at hand.

You finished up quickly, passing the vacuum attachment back to him and letting him help you down.

“Thank you.” He said.

“You’re welcome.” You answered, looking around expectantly. “What’s next?”

The apartment wasn’t nearly as bad of a mess as he claimed it to be, but it still took both of you several hours of work to get everything back in order, finishing off with laundry and changing all the bedding.

“Why are these sticky?!” You asked, mildly horrified as you helped him strip the sheets off his bed.

“Relax, it’s just caramel sauce.” He said.

You looked up at him confused. “We didn’t use-?”

“No no, that was just me,” He explained quickly. “I had ice cream last night.”

“Without me?!” You said, clutching your chest in feign hurt, making him roll his eyes as he let out a huff of laughter.

“I’ll add that to the list of things I need to make up for, okay?” He said.

“Eh, it’s better than where my mind went.” You said, only half joking as you grabbed the fresh sheets from him and turned back to the bed. “Almost thought you were fucking around behind my back for a second there.”

Facing away from him, you missed the way his expression suddenly turned serious as he looked at you. “I would never.”

It was strange, despite the supposedly ‘casual’ nature of your arrangement, you both found yourselves making little comments like that, words and exchanges that sounded a lot more like things said between a committed couple, rather than just two friends helping each other out till you found something more serious.

“Alright, I think that’s everything.” You said, snapping him out of his thoughts. You had finished making up the bed, even turning down the covers for him.

“Thank you, y/n.” He said gratefully. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“Probably called Hobi.” You smirked, making him snort.

“Now, you promised me food, and if you lie to me twice in the same day, I’m dumping your ass.” You said, earning another laugh from him.

“Alright, whatever you want, just like I said.” He said, leaning down to give you a quick kiss.

“Although, if you wanted, I could make up for my false pretenses from earlier in a different way?” He offered, eyes darkening slightly as his hands drifted over your hips

You lightly shoved his hands away. “Not a chance, Loverboy, I’m way too tired now. You’ll have to try and ‘make it up to me’ some other time.”

“How about tomorrow?” He said, eyes twinkling mischievously, looping his arms around your waist instead to keep you close.

“I thought your parents were coming over tomorrow?” You reminded, raising a brow at him.

“You could come over after.” He suggested. “Hell, you could even come to dinner with us, my parents like getting to meet my friends.”

“Friends?” You looked up at him skeptically.

“Yeah, what?” He laughed, squeezing you lightly.

“Do you let your other friends suck your di-?”

“They don’t need to know the details of our relationship!” He said quickly, his face flushing slightly, making you snicker. “You’re still my friend, one of my best friends actually.” He added, in a soft tone.

The way he said it made your heart twist in a weird way, though you didn’t quite understand why.

“So?” He asked, staring down at you hopefully. “Will you come?”

You chewed your lip, considering. It felt like a really big commitment to meet his family, regardless of what your relationship was, but you tell it would mean a lot to him if you said yes.

“I’ll think about it.” You said finally.

He beamed.

“Thank you!” He said, leaning in to kiss you again, his lips lingering longer this time, tracing over yours lightly, making you shiver.

You pressed closer to him, hooking your arms around his neck as you tilted your head to deepen the kiss, letting your tongue delve into his mouth as his hands grip on your waist tightened.

When you pulled back for air, his pupils were blown wide, eyes almost black as he stared down at you, breathing heavily.

“Take your shirt off.” You ordered, your breaths equally unsteady.

“But I thought you said-?”

“I changed my mind.” You cut him off, tugging at the fabric impatiently. “Shirt off, now.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @bethanysnow @coffeedepressionsoup @main-bangtansmauyeondan @feminympho @a-gayish-unicorn

#jungkook imagine #jungkook scenarios #jungkook smut #jungkook oneshot #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x reader #jungkook drabble #jungkook fluff #fwb!jungkook #bts drabble #bts one shot #bts x y/n #bts x reader #bts scenarios #bts fluff #bts requests #7ndipity

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ventique18 · 1 year

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Edit: this post was made months before Diasomnia release.

- Delusional OC sketches and headcanons: Malleus' mama and papa -

*seduce, not saduce lmao sorry I'm tired

Malleus Draconia never met his parents, but Lilia could vividly remember them as if he only last saw them yesterday. Malleus' father (whose name also happened to be Malleus) was a student of his and had a consistent air of superiority about him-- he walked and talked with such confidence befitting that of the majestic horns that adorned his head like a crown. In dragon anatomy, you see, large, beautifully sculpted horns are a clear indicator of how fertile and desirable its genes were. So there was never a doubt that this man was a natural attractor for many a woman.

... Except nobody ever stuck with him. The prince had a terrible personality. He went on and on, on and on with prattling about anything and everything under the sun (actually mostly about weapons and griffons and philosophy and geography) to the point that ladies thought he was self-centered and was looking for a mirror to marry, rather than a wife. That was not true however. He was simply an excitable boy.

He had reached a record age of three centuries (still wifeless) when he decided that being stuck in Briar Valley was limiting his viewpoint of the world. He had enrolled at an academia overseas, and that was when he met his future bride: Matilda. Upon meeting eyes with her, he had known that it was love at first sight. (It was not. He merely thought having another dragon fae as queen would benefit his country.) And so, relentlessly, day in and day out, he pursued her in order to win her affection.

The lady simply treated him like furniture, however.

Still, everyday he would sit at her table in the library. He would first attempt to flirt with her, but as he noticed how focused she was in drafting her blueprints, he would give up and eventually become engrossed in whatever he was studying. He would scribble down notes and make commentaries to himself about this and that, and to be honest... She found that quite endearing. He had a frivolous mouth, but he was earnest in his pursuit of developing his country.

She had been secretly watching him, and one fateful day, she accidentally let out a giggle. A secretive acknowledgment of his presence. And of course, sharp as his draconic ears were, he returned her gaze and happened upon her beautiful smile.

That was when he realized that the words he sang to her-- the "you're lovely as blooming flowers in the spring", "your voice is as melodious as a crystal bell in winter"-- were all very, very true. The next words he had uttered were finally taken straight from his heart, and then for the very first time since they met, she had replied to him with lips upturned in an elegant crescent.

The following year, when he returned to Briar Valley for the holidays, his mother Maleficia almost squealed in pleasant surprise that her son had brought home a lovely bride. It was a blur after that. Lilia could recall how the castle seemed to have turned upside down with how lively it had suddenly gotten; secretive dates, a wedding, a coronation, pregnancy woes, and... a sudden despair.

The couple had created life, but paid for it with their lives.

Whenever Lilia was recalling this story to the toddler he was tucking under the covers, he would come to a sudden halt. Little Malleus would ask why, but he would just shake his head and ruffle the boy's hair.

"I was just thinking how great a king and queen your father and mother had been. They were strong, and brave, and kind..."

"Will I grow great like them, too?"

Lilia paused and gazed into the boy's eyes. Then, with a smile, he stroked his tuft of hair and patted him to sleep.

"Of course, dear. Now sleep. A future king needs to be strong and healthy to be great. You won't grow up without sleep!"

They were gone too early. Far too early; they never even saw what their child looked like beneath the shells.

For now, he would burn every moment of this boy's tiny smiles in his memory, so that he could recall in detail every moment of this child's beautiful life when he finally reunites with his old friends.

#there's zero lore on briar valley and so i did it myself #twisted wonderland #twst oc #malleus draconia #lilia vanrouge

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toomanystoriessolittletime · 1 year

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Safe

Summary: “You can’t keep punishing yourself for what happened twenty years ago. It was not your fault. You are allowed to move on. You are allowed to care for other people And no matter how much you tell yourself that she’s only Cargo. You care for her.”

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem. reader

Wordcount: 1.3k

Warnings: G

Warnings: !spoilers for episode 6 of TLOU!, established relationship, mostly fluff, domestic fluff I would almost say, little angst, talking about feelings, comfort, some touching, mention of periods

follow @toomanystoriessolittletime-fics to get notified for new fic updates

It was almost scary how normal everything in Jackson was. The old normal, not the new normal.

The moment you had seen the fully decorated christmas tree you felt like you were in the twilight zone.

You had arrived earlier with Joel and Ellie on horseback, almost making Joel laugh as you sang “Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson, Look out, Jackson town,” against his ear, fully intending to bully him into singing the Johnny Cash song at some point when you found a guitar for him.

If you were honest you would have never thought you actually would find Tommy. Then again you should know better by now.

Joel Miller could not be stopped once he set his mind towards something.

You had given them space.

Time for them to catch up and talk.

Something in Joel had changed after Kansas City. More than once you had caught him staring at Ellie when he thought nobody was watching.

You knew why.

This was not just a job anymore or a promise to fulfil.

He was starting to care.

Years ago when you had come into his life, it had been the same. Once he realised that he was starting to feel something for you.

It had taken almost a year for him to admit that he had feelings for you too.

Joel was afraid.

Afraid of catching feelings.

Afraid of letting himself care for people.

Afraid of moving on.

The first time he had spoken about Sarah was almost four years after you had met him.

You had made the mistake of asking about his watch, genuinely curious. He had looked at you like he had been shot before uttering an excuse under his breath and leaving your then shared apartment.

He came home after curfew, smelling of liquor.

And then he started to talk.

Joel and you…

He was your person.

He was the one thing that kept you going in this fucked up world.

The one person who made you feel safe, no matter what was happening around you.

The man you, against all odds, had fallen in love with while the world was ending.

And you were the one person he allowed himself to be fully himself with. He let you see the good and the bad.

It’s why you knew that it would only be a matter of time he would do or say something stupid.

The house was quiet when you finished your shower. You had said goodnight to Ellie before you went to the master bedroom, getting out of your filthy clothes and allowing yourself to just soak under the hot water.

Maria had spent the whole day showing you around and providing new clothes. She even offered to give you a haircut.

You did not like the way she talked about Joel. She knew only one side of the story, but you had chosen to not start an argument only hours after getting to safety.

For the first time in six years you shaved, using the razor you had found under the sink.

You felt like in the twilight zone as you pulled the big, surprisingly fluffy towel around your body, grabbing the bottle of shea butter you had almost cried as you spotted it and walked back into the bedroom.

You sat down on the bed with a sigh, closing your eyes.

Tonight would probably be the first night since leaving the QZ you might get a full night of sleep.

Pulling the towel down you opened the bottle to start and rub the lotion into your skin.

The familiar scent invaded your nose, making you remember better days when your biggest problem was deciding what takeout to order while you watched the newest episode of Friends.

Fuck, you never found out how it ended.

Chuckling to yourself you shook your head, slowly working your hands up your body.

You jumped when you heard voices all of the sudden, your eyes flying around the room to spot the closest gun before you noticed who it was.

Joel and Ellie.

You could not make out what they were saying but it did not sound like a pleasant talk. Setting the bottle of lotion on the bedside table you grabbed the towel to walk back to the bathroom to hang it up to dry.

You put on an old tshirt to sleep, switching off the lights just when the door to the bedroom opened and Joel stepped in.

He closed the door behind him, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath.

You sucked your bottom lip in.

“Hey,” you whispered. His eyes opened, finding yours. You could see tears in them.

“Hey,” he mumbled.

“Are you…” you started to ask but he shook his head and walked past you into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

You suppressed a sigh, deciding to give him space as you climbed into the most comfortable bed you had laid in in years, pulling the covers over you, falling asleep within minutes.

You woke up when Joel got into bed behind you. His nose nuzzled into your neck, kissing your shoulder softly, as his arm pulled you against his chest.

You allowed yourself to melt into his warm embrace, putting your hand over his that laid on your stomach.

“I asked Tommy to take her to the Fireflies,” he said. You closed your eyes.

“Joel…”

“I’m old. I’m tired and I’m… I’m fucking scared. I can’t….” he took a shuddering breath and your heart broke. Carefully you turned around, your hand coming to rest on his cheek.

“Look at me baby,” you said and his eyes opened, finding yours in the soft light that came from the lamp on the bedside table.

“She’s not Sarah,” you whispered. He tensed, like everytime someone mentioned her.

“You can’t keep punishing yourself for what happened twenty years ago. It was not your fault. You are allowed to move on. You are allowed to care for other people And no matter how much you tell yourself that she’s only Cargo. You care for her.”

He sighed, his arm around you tightening to pull you even closer.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said quietly.

“The heart wants, what the heart wants,” you smiled.

You kissed his nose, the corner of his lips twitching upwards.

“You should apologise to her,” you said.

“How do you…?”

“Joel, I’ve been dealing with your moods for almost six years. You probably said something you didn’t mean. I learned to deal with it, but she’s fourteen. And she has no one but you.”

And she’s on her period, but you chose to not tell him that.

“She has you too,” he whispered.

“Yeah, but I did not piss her off,” you smiled softly and he groaned and closed his eyes. You let your hand run through his wet hair, making him hum.

“You smell good,” he said, his nose nuzzling against your throat.

“I am so stealing that lotion when we leave,” you smiled and he chuckled.

“Shaved too. I feel like 2003 all over again,” you closed your eyes.

“You shaved?” he asked and you opened one eye.

“Jep,” you grinned, closing your eye again. You felt his hand run down your legs, his rough hand brushing over your smooth skin. You made a mental note to make him put lotion on his hands in the morning.

“Everywhere?”

“Mhh,” you nodded, feeling his hand go up your inner thigh.

“Joel?” you asked, feeling his fingers brushing over your trimmed pussy.

He hummed.

“Sleep,” you mumbled, feeling his body shake in a silent chuckle. He kissed you softly, pulling the covers up to both your noses.

“I love you,” you whispered just before you fell asleep, missing how he whispered those same three words into your skin.

#my fic #Joel Miller #Joel Miller x fem. reader #Pedro Pascal #tlou #fanfiction #fanfic #fan fiction #the last of us hbo #the last of us

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cixl-writes · 1 year

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nepenthe — kim minji

SYPNOSIS — `` | minji loves her job, really she does! it just gets too much sometimes. luckily for her, you're there to become her escape.

PAIRING — `` | kim minji x non-idol!fem reader

REQUESTED — `` | yes

GENRE — `` | fluff fluff fluff

minji was stressed.

that much was obvious to everyone who she encountered today. from the seemingly permanent frown on her features to the way her body seemed so tensed, it was all too obvious.

her members didn't wanted to make her explode or snap and remained cautious around her— hell even pham hanni didn't dare to try and push kim minji's buttons! she was grateful, of course, but she felt bad if she was being honest.

she knows that it wasn't their fault, and the thought made her feel more guilty.

still, minji just wanted the horrendous day to end.

the girl trudged up to the stairs of her girlfriend's condominium, eyes shutting close from time to time and shoulders sagged down after the day. she just wanted to rest in your arms, and using that as a motivation, minji fastened her pace.

the idol paused when she reached her door, hand busily opening her phone and frowning at the screen that greeted her. '3:18 am', it showed.

something tells her that her beloved is now asleep and she'll just feel even more guilty if she ever wakes her up.

debating in her mind whether or not she was going to continue, she didn't notice the door opening and lo and behold, l/n y/n coming out of it. it was until y/n spoke up did she even noticed.

"hm? hey min, what are you doing just standing outside like that?" y/n showcased a smile, albeit a bit sleepy yet it remained mostly happy at the sight of her favorite person in the world.

"come on in, i just finished cooking you some late night dinner— or early breakfast, at this time."

kim minji mustered up a real, genuine smile for the first time.

"lifesaver~" she sang playfully before entering the neat condominium, kicking her shoes off. y/n only laughed, "i know that you'll probably get off your schedule late, so i'm prepared."

the l/n wrapped her arms around the kim's waist, chin resting on her shoulder. "how was your day, love?" she urged the girl to start ranting, eyes lovingly watching her from her shoulder.

minji started to finally let her feelings out, heart and shoulder slowly becoming light.

"—and then, i got scolded because i was the 'leader'!" y/n hums as she guided her lover to take a seat in the kitchen.

"that's horrible, what happened next?" she quipped and pushed the other to eat for now, chin resting on her fist as she attentively listened to the rant.

"what happened next is—" that routine continued to repeat until they were both settled at the bed, minji freshly out of the shoulder but still not done with her rant about her day.

the idol sat on the soft cushion in the floor, letting her girlfriend gently dry her air as she continued to talk her heart off. "—then, the producer wanted me to do this and that like i'm one of his employee; i mean, what the hell?!"

"wow, what a bastard."

"right?!"

minji huffed with an angry pout, crossing her arms in front of her chest like a child. y/n placed a few pats on her head with an amused chuckle. "rest now, min. you deserve it after such a long day."

the kim, who had her head leaned against the other's thigh, felt her eyes drooping down— a sign that she actually needed that much deserved rest.

the l/n once again guided her girlfriend to the bed before she could doze off in the floor, tucking her in and kissing her forehead right after.

"sleep well, min. you deserve it..."

NOTE — `` | this is the best i could do after hellish weeks </3

#newjeans imagines #newjeans #newjeans minji #minji x reader #minji imagines

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offbrandkyoya · 1 year

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21 oh

previous | masterlist | next

cw: panic attack, physical/verbal abuse

The day has arrived. After many practices, sweats, and of dehydration, it was time. Scaramouche’s first performance. He acts all tough, but he really is nervous. It's been so long since he sang that he didn’t know if he could do it. Thankfully, Venti reassured him that he’d do just fine. He was starting to warm up to the members. A little bit, though.

He can hear the crowds chanting their names. "Are they always this loud?" He asked as one of the assistants fixed his makeup. "Unfortunately." Heizou responds with a sigh. "It's a pain, but you’ll get used to it." Kazuha adds in, and Xiao nods in agreement. Now, everything was fine, but Scaramouche noticed Aether’s quietness. He wasn’t good at comforting, so all he did was watch. "Alright boys, you’re on." The manager walks up to them. She says to Scaramouche, "Good luck." She says with a smile until she turns to the rest. "Don’t drag him down." "Yes, ma’am." The boys went onstage, Venti first, and headed straight to their positions. The crowd cheers.

"Good morning, everyone! It's been a while, huh?!" Venti yells, and the fans respond with a shout. "We’re back, but with a new friend! Let's see what he’s made of! But first, I’m your number one cutie, Venti!" He points at himself, and someone shouts, "I LOVE YOU, VENTI!" He chuckled and blew a kiss, then cupped his face. "I love you more!" The fans squealed in delight. Xiao steps up and says, "Hello, hello." He was interrupted by loud cheers, louder than Venti’s. "I am Xiao; please enjoy today as we put our whole heart into this." More cheers erupted, and Scaramouche could’ve sworn he heard someone tell Xiao to take his shirt off. Next was Kazuha, who waved as everyone shouted his name. "Hi, I am Kazuha, the cat man." He did a cat pose, and Scaramouche held his laugh. "I love you all and thank you for the support. I’m glad you’re here!" More cheers followed, and Kazuha continued to wave at them all until Aether stepped up. "Hi hi!" They all squealed and called his name. "It is me, Aether! Hope you enjoy the show, my cuties!" He made a heart sign, and they all screamed like little girls. "Hey, hey, hey!" Heizou shouts as he points to the fans. "Hey, hey, hey!" They responded. He laughs, "It’s me, Heizou! Thank you for coming to our show, and I hope you stick around the whole day!" He pumps up his fist, and the fans do it in return. Lastly, it was Scaramouche's turn.

He rehearsed this a lot, but he felt so embarrassed. He took a step forward and cleared his throat. "Uh, hi, I am Scaramouche. Its a pleasure meeting you all, and…" His cheeks turned red. "And being able to see your cute faces in person." The crowd went wild, and he heard them ask for his hand in marriage. "Please enjoy." He says with a small smile, and they go to their respective positions. Scaramouche was tasked with starting off with a surprise new song they wrote, but he was nervous as hell. The music started playing as he gripped his microphone. He started to sing, but he sounded uncertain. The quietness from the fans wasn’t helping, and it made him even more anxious.

He was starting to regret doing this until he looked down at the front. His heart skipped a beat as he saw your face. You were all sweaty and panting, so he assumed you just got here in a hurry. You made eye contact and smiled. He stared at you for the longest time before smiling back and starting to sing with confidence. The fans were surprised by the sudden change but began to cheer as they enjoyed the sound of his voice. You cheered as well, clapping your hands to the beat. You were so proud of him.

The show continued with ease. They performed new and old songs, but mostly old. You were enjoying every minute of it, as you couldn’t help but feel like a mother watching their child succeed. Your eyes were mostly on Scaramouche, though. He was so dreamy and beautiful. You really were in love with that man. To be honest, you thought it was just a silly crush, but no, Scaramouche was different. He was truly special. You blushed whenever you guys locked eye contact. Sometimes, he’d wink, and you couldn’t help but faint since you knew it was directed towards you. Scaramouche was so different on stage that it was kind of attractive.

It was nearing the end, with the sky getting dark. They were singing the second-to-last song, and you could tell they were exhausted. You wished they’d have longer breaks, but unfortunately their manager wouldn’t allow that. Still, you put in a whole lot of cheer to give them a boost. Everything was going well until Scaramouche froze. His singing got quiet, and he stopped, staring off into the distance. He gasped and started shaking. His grip tightened as his eyes shook at whatever he was seeing. His breath was shaky, and he started to sweat. The crowd started to whisper, and the boys stopped what they were doing, but the music still played. You watched from below as Scaramouche lost it.

He hung his head low as he tried to balance himself. He felt himself start to hyperventilate, and his head was spinning like crazy. The voices of his members were hard for him to hear as he wanted to leave. He wanted to run far, far, far away. Venti tried talking to him, but Scaramouche wouldn’t respond. The others tried as well, but nothing worked. Venti held his breath as he turned to his audience and said, "I’m so sorry, please wait for a moment as we try to fix things." He leads Scaramouche out of the stage to the back as the murmurs of the fans grow louder. You, extremely worried, shoved yourself through the crowd. "Excuse me, please." Almost all of them didn’t let you through, and that frustrated you. Guess you had to find another way.

Xiao and Heizou helped Scaramouche sit down, and Venti kneeled in front of him. "Hey, take deep breaths, yeah?" Scaramouche still wasn't responsive and continued to tremble. Xiao kneeled next to him. "Scaramouche, whatever it is that made you nervous, it’s over. It’s just us." Scaramouche wanted to believe those words so bad, but his mind kept saying otherwise. ‘She’s still here.’ The boys heard yelling, and that's when you arrived. "Scara!" You rushed to his side, and the guys noticed a cup in your hands. Scaramouche flinched at the sound of your voice. "Y-Yn?" He musters out. You nod, "It’s me. I don’t know what happened, but listen to my voice and our voices." You showed him the cup of water. "Here."

He looked at it and noticed your hands shaking. His heart started to hurt. ‘I made them worry.’ Slowly, his hands reached for the cup, and he took a small sip. "Thank you." You smiled and said, "Of course." "OH MY GOD!" It was their manager, barging into the scene. She immediately stormed towards Venti. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Your eyes widen, but Venti is unfazed. "YOU MADE HIM NERVOUS ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE! I TOLD YOU TO TAKE CARE OF HIM, AND LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" "Ma’am, it wasn’t any of our faults." Scaramouche-" "SCARAMOUCHE WAS FINE UNTIL HE WAS IN YOUR CARE!" "That’s not true-" Suddenly, she slapped him, leaving a huge red mark on his left cheek.

You gasped as your hands gripped Scaramouche's chair. "God! You’re such a worthless leader! If you weren’t connected to Zhongli, I would’ve had you gone from the very beginning!" Venti looked down, lifeless. "I’m sorry. I’ll do better." "I’m getting tired of your pathetic excuses, Venti!" Kazuha went in between them. "Ma’am, we’ll make it up to you, we promise. We’re terribly sorry for causing Scaramouche trouble." She scowled. "Tomorrow, everyone but Scaramouche, will skip breakfast, lunch, and everything for dance practice." "Yes ma’am-" "That’s not fair!" You stood up abruptly, standing in front of Scaramouche protectively.

She furrowed her brows. "You again?! You’re always messing things up!" "Venti didn’t deserve that! You should be the one apologizing!" She started to walk towards you. "You have no right talking back to me." Xiao felt anger boil inside him as he went to your aid but stopped. "Don’t." Scaramouche spoke up. The manager froze. "W-What?" He looked up at her with a glare. "Don't, or I’m quitting." He then went and held your hand. You could feel his fingers tremble, and you soothed them for comfort. She backed away from you and the others with a growl. "Go home. This concert is cancelled." Then she walked away, leaving you all behind. Once she was gone, you frantically turned to Venti. "Venti! Are you okay?!" He looked up and smiled at you. "Don’t worry about me. I’m fine."

He then went and ruffled Scaramouche's hair. "Let’s head out. We’re all exhausted from this fiasco." You were still upset, but you nodded. "Okay. I can give you all a ride." "We appreciate that." Xiao says with a small smile. They all headed to your car, which, thankfully, was out of sight so no fans would bother you all. "I’m sorry there's no space for us to fit." "It’s fine." Venti says, "Scaramouche, you can sit next to Yn." He smirked since the two of you were still holding hands. Scaramouche didn’t get that and just nodded. "Thanks". The rest squeezed themselves in the back, and you dropped them off at their place one by one.

It was Aether’s stop, and when he was going to leave, you remembered the talk. "Wait! Aether!" He turned to you, confused. "Yn?" "You wanted to talk after the concert. We can talk about it outside." He simply smiled. "No, it's okay." You frowned. "Are you sure?" He nods, "Yeah, it wasn’t that important anyway." He smiled once more and closed the door, heading to his doorstep. You faced the road a bit upset. Though you smiled and turned to Scaramouche. "It’s just us now. Where do you live?" "No." You blinked, a bit startled. "N-No?" "I…" He looked down sadly. "I don’t feel like going home right now." You frowned but smiled once again. "Okay, we can stay at my place." He looked up at you. "Are you sure?"

“It’s okay! It’s just me anyway." "Okay." And so you headed towards your place in silence.

- WE REACHED 400+ FOLLOWERS YIPPEE!!!!!

- HEY! I promise we’ll know what’s aethers deal soon trust 🤞

- second part is also a written post it’ll take me a while though so pls bare w me 🙏🙏

- ngl ur aether theories make me giggle because only I know what’s up w him 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

🏷️ @sakiimeo @coquettemaiden @rmiyuki @kur44pika @theblueblub @jxxji0309 @dreamsofminnie @ohmyfinggod @redactedhimbo @kunisbeloved @akagism2 @sketcheeee @aeongiies @thefandomcrow @beriiov @thenightsflower @yukiipc @scaraapologist @scarletttcroww @samyayaya @crucnhice @monaypo1 @feiherp @myaaones @warcelia @hangecanweholdhands @yuminako @valiryyz @screechingxiaolover @tiddieshakeshownu @ilovechuuyaa @d4y-dr3am3r

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my-rose-tinted-glasses · 6 months

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Rose Recaps 2023 - Thailand

Ok. Let me just get this out of the way. If there were awards for "started of great but forgot what it was about by the end" Thailand would win them all. No other country can touch them. So when I was going through my list of watched Thai Bls there weren't all that many to choose as favourites. but I'll try to be kind.

The one about family

Moonlight Chicken

First and foremost this show is stunning. This really cannot be overstated. I really enjoyed all the different relationships represented here and that the idea of family is what you want it to be. I love all of them, and Wen did absolutely nothing wrong.

Favourite Moment This conversation left me in tears.

The one hated by so many but not me

Dangerous Romance

This was me whenever there was a new episode.

I'm not gonna say people were wrong. Everybody has the right to their own opinions. But I never expected anything else.

This show gave me exactly what I expected of it. They made a romantic version of the trailer for christ sake. The ost video that came out the day before the premiere was a love fest with the softest song sang by Chimon. I agree that the first 2 episodes were different and for some, misleading about the direction of the show.

Not for me though. I got what I wanted. Chimon and Perth on my screen being boyfriends with some drama sprinkled in for good measure. And with the amazing bonus that was Marc and Pawin together again and the character of Auto that I just adored. I actually enjoyed all the characters in this one.

Favourite Moment

The one that is beautiful

I Feel You Linger In The Air

The amount of screenshots I took while watching this would fill a hard drive. It's just gorgeous. The way they played with the spaces was just such a treat.

This show was almost perfect. I had a couple of issues with it midway through and I felt that they dragged the goodbye a tiny bit much but overall I really liked it. These two are very special but overall there were a lot of characters to root for and enough of them to hate, which I appreciate.

But also WHERE IS THE SPECIAL??? I need to watch it!

Favourite Moment

The one that was I was ready to hate and then didn't

Be My Favourite

Confession time. I didn't like Krist. Watching SOTUS was something I endured but didn't enjoy for the most part. I know I'm not alone in this. But also. I didn't like Fluke. In anything. He was the only thing I didn't like in Not Me, and I skipped most scenes of his couple during Dark Blue Kiss. No particular reason tho. I just didn't enjoy watching him. So the bar was set pretty low on this one for me.

And then what happened? I loved Kawi. Like immediately. And surprise surprise, I liked Fluke. Immediately. It's like I was on an alternate universe and I couldn't believe my eyes.

With that said, it was not even close to a perfect show. It started off really strong, I enjoy the way the relationship grew, I loved that the characters were being honest with each other and being mostly kind to one another. Some moments felt really grounded. And then it kinda fell apart for me. But this is a positive post so I'm not going there.

Favourite Moment: The whole montage.

The one with the redemption of Mame

Wedding Plan

I already explained what I went through with this show here prompted by this episode of @the-conversation-pod. You should all go listen to this and all the other episodes because both @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup are brilliant and funny in convenient audio format.

Anyway, in the end I loved this show so much and took me a minute to come to terms that it was actually that good. The characters are actually multidimensional and the woman have depth. Groundbreaking stuff.

Favourite Moment

The one with all the cuteness

My School President

Not gonna lie, not a huge fan of singing in my bl. But this was great. From the beginning the fact that it made constantly remember my beloved Love Sick was an unexpected and delightfull bonus. I was living for Tinn's expressions, Tiw just being delightfully loyal and the epitome of sharing one brain cell group of friends. Not to forget the parental relationships that were some of the best of the year. I even liked the singing.

Favourite Moment

The extra one

Our Skyy 2 - A Tale of a Thousand Stars

This happened. It was perfect. That's it.

I watched more than 40 thai shows that came out this year, I'm not counting the ones that are still on, and these were my favourites. Mostly because some of them were the ones that I had the least to complain about.

That's it for my recaps. I still wanna gif some stuff today and it's late so I can't review this post again so if there are mistakes, don't tell me. It'll haunt me.

Have a good night💜

#Rose Recaps 2023 #moonlight chicken #my school president #wedding plan the series #be my favorite #i feel you linger in the air #dangerous romance #multi bl #rose rambles

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shyvioletcat · 5 months

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A/N: I'm gonna be honest, i lost my editing steam about halfway through Rowan's second POV, so past there we're just going to ignore any errors due to my impatience. Thank you so much for your patience, this chapter has been sitting in my brain for a long time. It's something other than poorly edited

~ Made of Ashes Masterlist ~

~~~~~

Aelin was so tired she didn’t know how she was conscious or functioning. The inevitable had happened, her precious little baby was sick. And she was left floundering.

It had started out fairly mild. Just a little bit of a runny nose and some irritability. The first few days had been next to nothing and Aelin had been able to cope fairly well. She was a little sleep deprived and a little anxious, but that was all and overall it hadn’t been too bad. And then Elsie didn’t get better, in fact she got worse, and everything flipped on its head. Now Elsie was coughing, often wheezing, a low appetite and a fever just to round it out. Aelin was doing her best and she managed to get Elsie to take some pain relievers that helped the baby sleep. The real issue was getting Elsie to eat enough, she was still only breastfed but Aelin fed her whenever she wanted, no matter when. It just felt like it wasn’t enough.

It had been two days of Aelin barely sleeping while fretting over her fussy daughter. Every cough and whimper had her nerves on edge, as did trying to placate to Elsie’s every whim. Aelin was battling this fight on her own. Her parents were on a business trip in Rifthold and she didn’t want to risk spreading the infection to Rue, and Korby was already sick. So Aelin would soldier on, in the trenches and on the front lines.

Seeing her daughter sick was heartbreaking. It left her with a deep feeling of helplessness, because at the very heart of it there was nothing Aelin could do to ease her baby’s suffering. Nothing seemed to please her and the best Aelin could do was hold her just about every minute of the day. When Elsie wasn’t attached to her mother she cried like her own heart was breaking. Aelin hadn’t showered in a good 36 hours and sustenance came from whatever she could make and eat one handed.

They were currently on Aelin’s bed with the pillows stacked so that she could lean back and rest Elsie on her chest so they were both mostly upright. Elsie fussed, fighting sleep, her little whimpers sounding congested. Aelin knew her daughter needed rest, it would be the fastest way to get better. A nap would do them both some good in fact.

“Come on, darling,” Aelin whispered, eyes closed like all her energy diverted to keep her mouth moving. “Just sleep, even for a little bit.”

Elsie protested, rubbing her face on her mother’s shirt, no doubt getting drool and snot everywhere. Aelin didn’t care, dirty clothes weren’t a concern right now. Keeping her eyes closed Aelin started to hum and there was a moment of quiet before Elsie started fussing again. She changed to singing You Are My Sunshine softly. That one almost worked but Elsie’s contentment only lasted about a minute. And then a song came into her head at random, and Aelin was singing it before she even realised what she was doing.

Beautiful Dreamer, wake unto me,

Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;

Sounds of the rude world heard in the day,

Lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away!

Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,

List while I woo thee with soft melody;

The song was one Rowan used to sing all the time, one that his mother used to sing to him if he was to be believed. Aelin’s voice was weak and uneven, but she did her best. This song sounded better when Rowan sang it, his accent adding a bit of whimsy, almost making it sound like some kind of faerie lullaby.

Gone are the cares of life's busy throng

Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,

Mermaids are chanting the wild Lorelei;

Over the stream let vapours are borne,

Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.

Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,

E'en as the morn on the stream let and sea;

Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,

Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

Elsie went quiet and Aelin let out a shaky sigh of relief. Finally, a reprieve. Aelin sang it again and Elsie stayed quiet, and half way through the third time the baby was asleep. Too tired to care, Aelin didn’t bother trying to open her eyes knowing that sleep was hovering over her. It was barely a minute later and she was asleep.

Something pulled Aelin to consciousness, not even realising how deep of a sleep she had fallen into. Within a few heart startling moments she would realise it was mother’s intuition. Elsie was still on her chest, awake and in distress. Her breathing was rapid and Aelin was sweating herself from how hot the infant was. Aelin’s body reacted first—tipping forward and cradling Elsie in her arms so that she could see her better.

Elsie’s breathing was deep and rapid and she was looking pale. One of her fists waved about, knocking the side of her head and ears. And then Elsie coughed, an awful sound that had Aelin’s insides twisting with panic. Her baby was unwell, severely unwell.

Aelin fumbled for her phone, her hand shaking from panic and exhaustion. She couldn’t manage the string of numbers so she went to contacts instead, tapping frantically on the one that simply read: Mum.

“Hello, hello,” Evalin said cheerfully, her face appearing on the screen.

“Mum, what do I do?” Aelin asked.

Concern flooded her mother’s features. “What do you mean?”

“She’s breathing so hard and her temperature is so high,” Aelin said, her voice heightened with her increasing alarm. “I just fell asleep for a second, just a second.”

Aelin was aware she was reaching hysterics but she couldn’t help it. Panic well and truly had set in and the overwhelming need to protect had taken over, except there was no physical threat. There was nothing she could do.

“Show me what her breathing is like,” Evalin said, the tension in her voice clear but she was trying to stay calm.

“It’s ah… it’s fast,” Aelin flipped the phone to show Elsie. “And she’s coughing and the pain medicine must have worn off because her fever is back.”

Elsie’s breath caught and she coughed, disrupting her breathing more. Two sets of worried turquoise eyes met each other through the phone screen. Aelin broke.

“Do I take her to the doctor or the hospital? How am I supposed to drive? I can’t watch her if I’m driving, what if she stops breathing?”

“Oh my sweethearts,” Evalin sounded devastated. “I’m sure she’ll be okay but I think you should take her to the hospital.”

Aelin sobbed, she couldn’t help it. She tried to keep it together but exhaustion and fear were overwhelming her—she was so alone right now.

“Aelin, don’t drive. Call someone to come get you,” Evalin said.

But Aelin’s brain was scrambled, no one immediately came to her. “Who?”

“Aedion, he’s the closest.”

“Yeah, okay,” Aelin said a bit weakly.

“Call him and then call me back,” Evalin said. “I’ll stay on with you until he gets there.”

Aelin hung up, then called Aedion straight away. She was holding her breath until she got an answer. Somehow she managed to be coherent and Aedion promised to be out the door moments later. Aelin was about to call her mother back when Elsie had a coughing fit, lasting so long that the baby vomited. It covered both of them and Aelin swore under her breath as she tried to contain the vomit and make sure Elsie was all right.

Elise cried and cried, her pain and discomfort obvious. Aelin tried to comfort her as she bundled Elsie up the best she could and headed for the bathroom, snatching a change of baby clothes from a clean washing basket on the way. There wasn’t time for a shower and Aelin didn’t want to risk the chill Elsie might get after. Aelin stripped the soiled clothes off both of them and threw them in the bathtub and then yanked down a towel to give Elsie a wipe down before dressing her in leggings and a long sleeved t-shirt. The crying hadn’t stopped and Aelin felt tears gathering in her own eyes. The helplessness was overwhelming.

“Aelin.” Aedion was standing in the doorway, his face tight as he took in the scene.

“She’s sick,” Aelin said, sniffling. Her brain was fried and she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Yeah, poor thing.” Aedion’s tone was soothing, low and soft.

Aelin stood, keeping a safe hold on her daughter. “We gotta go.”

Aedion stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Hold on—’’

What was he doing, didn’t he realise they had to leave? Now. Aelin was about to verbally protest when Aedion gave her a look that had her biting back the words.

“You don’t have a shirt on, and you’ll need your wallet and the nappy bag.”

Aelin had been so concerned about getting Elsie dressed after the vomiting that she hadn’t got a change of clothes for herself. All Aelin wore was a crop bra and pyjama pants. She couldn’t go to the hospital like this.

“Pass her to me and go get what you need,” Aedion said, holding out his arms to take the baby.

Aelin nodded, passing Elsie over. “Clothes, wallet, bag.”

Over the crying Aedion repeated, “Clothes. Wallet. Bag.”

Aedion left the bathroom, murmuring to Elsie as she cried, but Aelin forced her brain to focus on what she needed to do now. She needed clothes, and her wallet, and stuff for Elsie. Three things and then they could go. In her bedroom Aelin threw on a pair of leggings and the first clean t-shirt she could find, also grabbing a sweatshirt because hospitals were always cold. Next she darted off to Elsie’s room, stuffing more clothes and nappies and a pacifier into the bag. All that was left was her wallet that was on the kitchen counter.

She found Aedion pacing between the living area and the edge of the kitchen, whispering to Elsie. Aelin was so focused on getting out the door that she didn’t notice the quiet at first. Her daughter was still whimpering softly but the desperate crying had stopped. It irrationally hurt to see Elsie settled when Aelin had been trying so hard—for days. Aedion’s eyes met hers over the top of Elsie’s head and he gave her a weak smile.

Aelin didn’t return it, too single minded to sort through her feelings. So she just grabbed her wallet from the bench and she was done. “Ready.”

There was a wordless agreement that Aedion would keep Elsie, at least until they got to the car. Elsie was content for the time being and there was no use disturbing her more than she needed to be, even though it caved in Aelin’s chest a little to keep the distance. Blessedly the elevator was quick to arrive and there were no stops down to the garage parking lot. Aedion unlocked the car, but Aelin opened the door and he eased Elsie into the car seat. As soon as the connection to her uncle’s chest was lost the crying started again. Each second seemed to drag on, and for a few of them Aelin waited just holding the door. When Elsie’s cry broke into a screech it kicked Aelin into gear and she was darting around to the other side of the car and climbed into the back seat.

“I’m here, baby girl. I’m here,” Aelin tried to soothe and Aedion finished up with the buckle. Elsie’s eyes peeked over at her, her bottom lip pouting. “Just hold on, we’re going. You’ll feel better soon.

The drive consisted of Aelin repeating assurances over and over again, words of comfort and keeping her hands on Elsie so she knew her mother was right there with her. When they got to the hospital everything passed in a blur. Aedion dropped her at the doors and Aelin hurried with Elsie through the doors. As a sick infant Elsie was seen within minutes.

Aelin felt like she was in a limbo as she waited for Elsie to be assessed. To help with her initial comfort they gave Elsie oxygen and put a monitor on her foot. Next it was quickly determined that she was at risk of dehydration so they attached an IV too. That was traumatic, and Aelin thanked the gods that Aedion was by her side when that happened. He was able to hold Aelin’s shaking hand and help keep Elsie still while the nurse injected the needle in her hand. Aelin wasn’t letting her daughter go, even if she barely had the strength.

It was nearly another hour before they got the full diagnosis. The doctor had introduced herself as Sorsha and Aelin had to hand it to her, she had an excellent bedside manner. She was patient with both Elsie and her mother while the stress was high. Her hazel eyes were kind and sympathetic, but she was assertive and clear every step of the way.

Sorsha delivered the news on Elsie’s diagnosis herself. She had RSV, which led to an ear infection and bronchitis. Aelin’s heart seized at the words but Sorscha assured her that it sounded scarier than it was. All three were common and treatable, and it was all caught early enough that there were no serious repercussions. And on top of that they had discovered there was a slight structural abnormality in the tubes that connected her ears to her sinuses which had been the cause of the ear infection. It had to do with drainage and bacteria, but Aelin had been too focused on fixing it that most of what was said went over her head. She was told Elsie would most likely grow out of the ear problems, she would just be more susceptible to more infections until she did. The doctor commended Aelin on her actions and left her to process what she’d just heard.

Aelin had done the right thing, Elsie was okay— just needed to be monitored.

They were moved from the ER department to a room in the children’s ward of the hospital because they would be staying for at least a few days. Aelin barely left Elsie’s bedside, and quickly fell back into the habit of barely sleeping. There was a reclining armchair for her to sleep in, a consideration made for those parents that would be staying with their children. But the constant beeping and noise of the hospital kept her awake, as did the anxiety over her daughter’s welfare. It didn’t help that every time Aelin started to drift off she was graced with dreams of Elsie screaming, or crying, or vomiting. She would startle awake, unsure of what was reality and what wasn’t, only to find Elsie sleeping soundly.

Aelin’s mother arrived around lunchtime on their first full day in the hospital, and it was only then that she managed to get a solid amount of sleep knowing that someone else had eyes on Elsie. She was unfortunately woken up about an hour later by a nurse coming in and doing another check. The consensus was that Elsie wasn’t declining, but she still needed to stay in for observation.

Evalin went out for food, which Aelin only picked at until visiting hours were over. Elsie’s condition had kind of plateaued instead of getting better. Everyone kept saying at least she wasn’t getting worse. What ate away at Aelin was that maybe she hadn’t done enough, that she hadn’t seen the signs earlier and acted too late. Maybe all this could have been avoided if she had been more vigilant. Aelin had been hanging by a thread so she hadn’t noticed how serious Elsie’s condition was. To punish herself further Aelin had googled the what ifs in those hours that she couldn’t sleep and was berating herself for letting it get this far to begin with.

Another night in the hospital was spent watching Elsie as she slept, sometimes fitfully in between medications. They gave her doses to keep her comfortable but it couldn’t take all her ailments away. The tiny girl still woke up in distress, crying from pain or discomfort from the IV, or coughing and waking up in an unfamiliar bed. Aelin was doing everything she could to make sure Elsie was comfortable and content. But it wasn’t enough.

A new day started and Aelin was still staring at her daughter, cataloguing everything. Her breathing was easier, but it still shuddered every once and a while. There was a slight decline in the frequency of the coughing fits and blessedly they deemed that Elsie was eating enough that she was unhooked from the IV, temporarily at least.

Evalin was their visitor today and had taken it upon herself to fill everyone in with the updates, using the group chat on Aelin’s phone. Lorcan was checking in incessantly, because guilt was riding him too. Unbeknown to everyone Korbin had RSV, and yes, it was the consensus that was where the sickness had come from. Elide and Lorcan had kept him home instead of coming to dinner that night, but it seemed that Lorcan had been the one to pass it on to Elsie. He felt awful and had sent Aelin numerous apologies, he even went as far as calling which was all but unheard of from him. Aelin told him it wasn’t his fault, reciting the statistics of how common infections were this time of year. It was winter, it was cold, people got sick.

All her friends were rallying to Aelin’s side, offering any and every kind of help they could—mainly in the offering of food to keep the visitors down in the hospital room. Her mother was in charge of crowd control, Evalin was a pro at managing people and telling them when to do things. That was probably the reason why the next guest arrived.

“Hey,” Fenrys said softly from the doorway.

Aelin nearly jumped despite the non-startling care he had taken. “Hey, Fen.”

“I’ve got some snacks,” he said, holding up a bag as he walked into the room. “How’s she doing?”

Aelin looked back at Elsie, who was sleeping. “She’s doing okay. Getting better.”

“That’s good,” Fenrys said.

Fenrys drifted over to where Evalin sat by the window, passing over the food and chatting quietly. Aelin didn’t bother to try and decipher what was being said, the beeping of Elsie’s monitor was too loud. As were the thoughts tumbling around in her head.

“Go home, Aelin,” Evalin said, snapping Aelin out of her trance. “She’s okay, I’ll be right here.”

“I can’t,” Aelin replied.

“You can,” Evalin’s voice was a little firmer. “Have a shower, get some clean clothes. I won’t leave her side, I promise.”

Aelin looked up to her mother’s face, seeing the honesty there. If she promised not to leave Elsie’s side, Aelin believed her. It would be hard but Aelin knew it was the right thing to do. She’d been in these clothes for two days and she hadn’t done more than wash her face.

“I’ll drive you, come on,” Fenrys offered.

Fenrys dropping by with food had truly been divine intervention or very purposeful planning. Aelin supposed it might be the latter. She might have been able to take her mother’s car, but she wasn’t too confident in her driving right now. With Elsie sleeping and Aelin didn’t want to wake her but she couldn't leave without pressing the softest of kisses to her daughter’s head.

On the way out to the car Aelin stopped by the nurse’s station just to let them know what was happening and that she would be back as soon as they could. They nodded along and promised to ring if anything occurred while she was out. When they undoubtedly saw the colour drain from Aelin’s face they told her nothing would, because Elsie was doing fine. It still left Aelin’s stomach in a tight knot.

Fenrys led her out to his car and opened the door for her. Aelin fingers drummed on her thigh as she waited for him to get in. The quicker they left, the quicker she could get back. The usually talkative man was silent on the drive back to her apartment and Aelin wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse. She didn’t have the energy for conversation but the silence also left her alone with her thoughts. They swirled inside her mind, building and inflating into what felt like a treacherous storm.

“Want me to come up?” Fenrys offered as he yanked on the handbrake.

“Um,” Aelin's brain was foggy. “If you want?”

Fenrys looked at her for a moment and then made his decision. “I’ll come up.

As soon as they were out of the car Aelin had her keys in her hand, ready and waiting to get her to her apartment. Then it was just the habitual ride up the elevator and walk down the hallway.

Being inside her apartment had Aelin relaxing, even if it was just by the smallest amount. She wanted a shower, maybe some food, but then she found she couldn’t move from where she stood in front of her couch. Aelin’s tumultuous emotions were winning, try as she might she couldn’t hold them at bay any longer. She wrapped her arms around her body as the last defence of keeping herself together. It failed and a sob tore out of her before she could stop or flee to where no one could see her long held in breakdown.

“Aelin,” Fenrys said tentatively. She didn’t answer, she just cried harder.

Fenrys was moving closer and a little voice in the back of Aelin’s head told her to stop crying, wipe her face and smile. But she was tired and sad, her daughter was sick in the hospital and it was all her fault.

“Hey, come here.”

Arms that weren’t hers wrapped around her and Aelin was pressed against a hard chest. She let it happen, accepting the small gesture of comfort. Tears soaked Fenrys’ shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind, he just kept holding her until she was the one to call it. Aelin was embarrassed at how long it took her to calm down, and even then she couldn’t stop tears from gathering and falling down her cheeks.

“I’m okay, Fen,” Aelin murmured, not pulling away just yet though. “Sorry about your shirt.”

“I don’t mind,” Fenrys said. “You wanna talk about it?”

“I—” the words were choked on a sob. “This is my fault.”

“What? No.” Fenrys pulled back enough so that he could look down at her. “This is not your fault.”

Those words meant nothing, guilt and despair was all consuming. “It is. Because I am not enough for her. I let it go too far, I should have taken her to the doctor or the hospital sooner, but I was just so tired and I have no idea what I’m doing. Elsie is suffering because I am not enough. I am supposed to be everything that she needs and I failed her.”

“No, Aelin. You know that’s not true,” Fenrys said.

“It is. I should have seen the signs but—”

“Aelin, please listen to me,” Fenrys actually pushed Aelin back so that she could look her in the eyes. She couldn’t hold the eye contact, she turned away, eyes closing and squeezing more tears from her eyes. “Kids get sick, and you were everything Elsie needed. There is no doubt in my mind that you sacrificed just about all of yourself for her benefit. That was enough for her, but shit happens, things that are out of your control. That is what happened. Not you.”

Aelin exhaled, her body shuddering as she tried to wrangle some control over her emotions. She risked a glance at Fenrys’ face. This man was known for his perpetual joking and troublemaking, seeing him so serious was odd but comforting.

“You are more than enough for Elsie,” he said. “You always will be. We’re all here for you, the both of you, but you are all she needs.”

“How did I mess up so badly then?” Aelin’s tears fell with a new fervour.

“Because you’re new to this and you did do the best that you could. And when you had to, you asked for help,” Fenrys told her. “And RSV is so common, it’s something that they say is only a matter of time.”

“How do you know that?” Aelin asked, dabbing her nose on her sleeve as she finally felt brave enough to step away.

“I did my research once your mum let us all know,” Fenrys replied. “She’s awesome by the way, real cool lady.”

“I’ll have to tell her you said that, she’ll be flattered.” Aelin felt a bit lighter.

“What makes you think I haven’t told her myself?” Fenrys said cheekily. That made Aelin laugh and he tapped a knuckle in her chin. “There we go.”

“That’s gross, Fen. Who knew it would take you hypothetically flirting with my mother to break me,” Aelin's voice was shaky with laughter and withheld tears.

“Had to get you to listen to me somehow,” Fenrys said with a genuine smile.

“Um, watch TV or whatever,” Aelin waved at the couch. “I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

That question threatened to trigger a new wave of tears. Aelin had always been too independent for her own good, the last few days had proven that. So not wanting to set off another round she declined and all but fled to the bathroom and showered. It felt amazing and she was more than refreshed when she stepped out onto the mat and grabbed her towel. It was then she noticed that the vomit covered clothes had been removed. Someone had been in and tidied up, and instead of feeling embarrassed she just felt gratitude.

Dressed and ready to go, Aelin did a quick check of her phone to see if there were any messages. Just one, from her mother, letting her know Elsie had woken up but was content. Aelin knew that would only be for the time being she would have to get back as soon as she could to prevent a monster meltdown. She also noticed that it was mid afternoon on a Tuesday—time and space had no relevance in the hospital.

Fenrys was sitting on her lounge and Aelin shot him the question her phone had triggered. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Nope,” Fenrys said, not looking over right away. Like he needed a moment to form his single word answer.

“But, it’s a work day. Don’t tell me you took it off for me.” If he had… it was just something else that she would beat herself up over.

Fenrys now doubt sensed her rising panic as it was broadcasted across the room because he said without hesitation, “I quit. Finally.”

Aelin remembered something about a game company seeking him out, but as far as she knew he had stuck with Stone City. “You what?”

Slapping his hands on his things once, he stood from the couch. “Come on, let’s get you back before your mum eats all the good snacks.”

There was something more going on here, Aelin could feel it. But she definitely lacked the tact to get it out in the right way. So she just nodded and grabbed what she needed. They stayed silent until they got to the elevator, right up to when Aelin started to fidget again. Fenrys hip checked her, making her smile.

“Remember what I said, okay?”

Aelin turned so that she could face him, finding him looking quite serious but still with that underlying playfulness which she decided to take advantage of. “What exactly? You say a lot and most of it is straight bullshit.”

Fenrys raised his eyebrows at her, like that was the most preposterous thing he’d ever heard her say. But then made a show of contemplating the words, making Aelin smile.

“You may be mostly right,” he conceded. “But you are everything and more to Elsie. You will always be enough, don’t forget that.”

Those words were said with such sincerity that Aelin felt her frayed emotions rise up again. She nodded and then turned away before the tears could fall. Fenrys, being the decent guy that he was, pretended not to notice. Damn him and his unfailing charm because despite herself, Aelin might just be starting to believe him.

~~~~~

It had been an uneventful few days at work. The company was in their post Yulemas lull, giving all the employees a slight breather. All their clients had blown out their budgets in the lead up to the biggest commercial season of the year and were now recuperating and re-evaluating their next steps. So, all Rowan had to do was maintain contact and scope out new clients, wooing them through stories of successes from the past few months.

The wider office outside his door was fairly quiet as Rowan read the company email that went out everyday. It was full of information he already knew, most of which he had some hand in as part of his managerial role. Skimming it, Rowan assumed there was nothing he needed to take note of.

And then he almost missed a memo, it was so short and brief and he’d been intent only glancing over the words. But Rowan’s eyes caught on a familiar name and that was enough to give him pause and to give it the time of day. His eyes went a bit wider and he even went as far as checking his phone like the answer would appear. It didn’t, all he had were email notifications from clients.

Rowan sat back in his chair, reading over the memo again. Fenrys had left Stone City Advertising. There was no explanation, just a short note that he was leaving that was meant to notify everyone else that there was no point in contacting him. Rowan didn’t know why, but none of his friends had said a thing about it. That unsettled him, and it also made Rowan question why he wasn’t notified as part of his role as manager. He picked up his phone ready to send a text off to Lorcan to ask him about the sudden departure when there was a knock on his office door.

It was Dresenda, a new hire. Maeve’s assistants usually had a two year job life span before they started to look for employment elsewhere. Rowan liked his job well enough but he would never want that job. “Hey, Rowan. Maeve just got in and she wants to see you.”

“Thanks,” Rowan said, standing and slipping his phone back into his pocket.

Maeve had been over in Terrasen, wooing a high profile client and from how long she was gone, it seemed like some sight seeing as well. It would be bitterly cold there this time of year. The end of January into February was when winter sunk its claws in. Snow would cover the city for days, maybe weeks if they were lucky. In Doranelle the weather was milder all year round, snow was a rare sight here. Rowan loved the cold, it had made Terrasen feel like home in a way—like that climate was made for him. All things considered it certainly didn’t feel that way anymore.

It was irrelevant, he was here—his life was here. His affection for the cold wouldn’t be enough to draw him back. Roman wasn’t sure there was anything that would lure him back to that city that had so painstakingly thrown him out.

~~~~~

Rowan should have been working. Not technically, but there were things he needed to do. It was a Thursday evening and he’d only left work half an hour later than everyone else with the plans to go home and finish off a few things before he went to bed. And he had opened his laptop and left it by the chair he planned to eat in… but then he’d got distracted. Rowan had made his dinner then had every intention of reading over some reports when he very randomly opened a website for one of the local department stores and was now scrolling through pages of children’s toys.

He didn’t know much about kids but he knew that they liked toys. His company had developed more than enough advertisements to appeal to the younger audiences to know that it was a very lucrative business to be in. What Rowan hadn’t been prepared for was the sheer amount of variety.

Dolls, building blocks, miniature kitchens, unicorns, plush toys. The list went on. His mother had mentioned that Elspeth’s birthday was coming up soon, and an idea had taken root. In his quest to get to know his daughter better he had the idea that he might buy her something. To him sounded dangerously close to bribery, but he was willing to try anything.

Rowan was cleaning up after his fairly late dinner when there was a hurried knocking on his door. He shook his hands off over the sink and then snatched the tea towel from where it hung on the over handle to dry his hands. The knocking came again, this time more urgently. Curiosity had him moving a little faster, wondering who was insistently trying to disturb his evening.

This time the knocking was short, sharp and hard.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Rowan muttered.

He swung the door open and the sight in front of him made his heart skip a beat. Aelin stood there, Elspeth cradled in her arms. The child didn’t look good, her skin was pale and her body seemed to be shuddering.

“She’s sick,” Aelin said, stating the obvious.

For a moment Rowan just stood there, trying to process. Then his brain kicked into gear, along with a healthy dose of panic. “What’s wrong?”

“I just need you to drive us to the hospital,” Aelin said, ignoring his question. “Please.”

“Yeah, of course,” Rowan wouldn’t press the issue—not when he could see the urgency of the request. “Just one minute.”

The door swung when it was released but didn’t close but Aelin didn’t bother with entering his apartment. All Rowan did was grab his wallet and keys and then found them waiting in the hallway. Elspeth’s head was now resting on her mother’s shoulder and Aelin swayed in place. There was a bag hanging off Aelin’s arm and taking that small burden was the first thing Rowan did.

Aelin rushed off to the elevator and Rowan followed. He kept a cautious eye on Elspeth, feeling useless as they waited. What he was trying to comprehend was that Aelin had come to him for help. It must have been a real emergency then if she wasn’t going to wait around for someone else. Or maybe, Rowan selfishly thought, this was progress.

The elevator finally arrived and Aelin stepped in, Rowan right behind her hitting the button for the garage. Elspeth coughed and then let out a whimpering cry. It was an awful sound, something in his chest twisted because of it.

“My keys are in the small pocket, we’ll take my car,” Aelin said, nodding at the bag Rowan held.

He found the keys, holding them in his hand so he was ready. Rowan wanted more information but he knew this wasn’t the time or place to ask, he would just have to silently manage his building concern. And even though he was being useful, he still felt a little helpless struggling with the unknown. He would drive them to the hospital and then what? What would happen to Elspeth when they got there? Would it just be a short stay or would it be longer? Would Aelin want him to wait? What could he realistically do to help in this situation when they got to the hospital? Rowan could feel the tension in his body building with each new question.

It wasn’t much longer until they were at the car. Rowan left Aelin to get Elspeth sorted and he dropped into the driver’s seat. His long legs were bent uncomfortably and he pushed the seats back. This brought him back to years ago when he would drive Aelin’s car. He always copped it afterwards if he didn’t put it back to the original position.

“I know, baby I know,” Aelin murmured as she strapped Elspeth into her car seat while she protested. “I know you don’t want to go but we need to make you feel better.”

Rowan monitored the progress in the rearview mirror. When Aelin sat back and clicked her seatbelt into the buckle he started driving.

Elspeth whimpered and complained, and he saw her reaching for her mother. Aelin lent over and kissed that little hand and gave Elspeth and her own to hold onto. “You’re okay, Elsie. I know it hurts, but we can make it better.

Rowan was tempted once again to seek some explanation over what had Elspeth so distressed, but it seemed he didn’t have to.

“She’s okay,” Aelin said, no doubt noting how Rowan couldn’t stop checking the rearview mirror. “I would have taken her to the doctor but it’s after house and the quickest and easiest way to get her seen is take to the hospital. It’s just a bit of a cold but they hit her pretty hard and I just want to get some things checked.”

“Poor thing.” Rowan couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“We manage.”

Those words were clipped and a little defensive and they had no need to be. Rowan wouldn’t come for her over this. Gods, seeing Elspeth so miserable and in obvious pain… Aelin was doing the best that she could. And it would have taken a lot for her to knock on his door for help. It stung a little that she would still assume he would think so negatively about her in that way.

It was ten minutes more before they reached the hospital and Rowan dropped them as close to the doors as he could. Aelin hadn’t said anything besides thanks before she left so Rowan wasn’t sure what he should do. Maybe he’d just wait in the car, but when he parked he saw the bag that Aelin had been left behind.

Rowan ended up in the waiting room, the bag keeping him company on the seat beside him. Neither Aelin or Elspeth were in sight, and he was glad that they were seen so quickly. To kill time he mindlessly scrolled through his phone, his mind too muddled to do anything productive. The bag next to him was all the prodding he needed to approach the reception desk and get whatever information they would give him.

“Excuse me, I was wondering if I could get an update on Elspeth Galthynius?” Rowan asked.

The woman at the desk gave him a polite smile and then clicked a few things. “She’s been moved to the children’s ward.”

“Her mother left a bag with me, am I right to take it through?” He held up the bag as evidence.

“No problem, go through.”

“Thanks,” Rowan said and then followed the signage to the children’s ward.

He was stopped again at those doors and he gave the same story and was let through without much fuss. They had also given him a room number so he kept an eye out for the right one. The door was open and he found Aelin sitting next to Elspeth’s bed, watching her daughter. There was a monitor bandaged to Elspeth’s hand and he noted there was an oxygen apparatus next to the bed that wasn’t being used. Besides that Rowan couldn’t decipher anything about her condition because Elspeth was asleep. Rowan could immediately tell that Aelin was less stressed and that was reassuring. She didn’t look ready to fight the nearest threat anymore, her shoulders were looser, the lines of her face more relaxed. He knocked and then stepped into the room.

“Hey, I just wanted to see if there was anything else you needed,” Rowan said, handing over the bag.

“Oh,” Aelin looked and sounded exhausted. “Um, no we’re okay.”

“Alright,” Rowan still hesitated. “Is anyone else coming? I can leave your car here and get myself back.”

“Shit, I didn’t even think of that. Take my car, Fen should be here soon,” Aelin replied, rubbing at her face. “Thank you, again.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rowan moved closer so he could lower his voice. “What’s wrong?”

Aelin rubbed her hands on her thighs and swallowed hard. “When Elsie was just about four months old she got RSV, it’s a respiratory infection. Since then she’s been more susceptible to reinfection or getting a bad cough when she gets sick. She also has something a little off about the structure of the inside of her ears, so whenever she gets sick we usually get ear aches as well. Just… Overall she gets infections easier so I always want to make sure they get seen and diagnosed right away.”

Elspeth being this unwell explained why she had fallen asleep so suddenly on him the other day.

“Do they happen often? The earaches?” Rowan asked and Aelin nodded. “I had ear problems too, the eustachian tubes, Right?”

Aelin swallowed again, eyes darting from him to Elsie. “I didn’t know that.”

Rowan took a chance and sat down on the chair next to Aelin, feeling less awkward and imposing. “I used to get horrible earaches, so bad that I still remember them vividly. But I eventually grew out of them.”

Aelin just nodded, eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. They were quiet for a while and then Aelin laughed stiffly. It left Rowan a bit surprised and he didn’t know what he was supposed to respond with.

“It hurts so much to see her in pain and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s a sickening kind of helplessness,” Aelin explained. “I try… but it never seems good enough. She wanders off and licks the glass at work or something, or we go to the library and some random kid coughs on her.”

That comment made Rowan huff a small laugh, and to his surprise his response made Aelin lips quirk in a fraction of a smile. But it fell away too quickly and when Aelin looked to where Elspeth slept Rowan could see the unshed tears in her eyes.

“Last time you saw me I lost her and then there was her almost taking a solo ride in the elevator,” Aelin said. “I don’t know what it is but you seem to keep witnessing my worst mothering moments. I just—”

Aelin broke. Her breath caught and Rowan recognised her tell tale efforts she was dedicating to stop herself from crying. It stunned Rowan for a moment and he was about to tell her that these supposed failings didn’t affect his opinion of her as a mother, but he didn’t get the chance. From what he had seen, Aelin was a dedicated mother, this evening had been proof of that. Right now she was practically shaking—he could see the tremors in her hand from where it rested on the arm of the plastic chair.

He wasn’t sure what made him do it but he reached and took Aelin’s hand, squeezing it just a little bit.

“You’re doing great,” Rowan said, hoping she could understand how genuine he was.

Aelin looked from his hand to his face, reading his open sincerity. She swallowed, and she withdrew her hand to stop tears from rolling down her cheeks. Rowan was searching for something else to say when there was a knock on the door. Aelin’s head jerked towards the door, Rowan looking away from her to send his eyes in the same direction. A pretty doctor stood in the doorway, probably around Aelin’s age, her hazel eyes darting between him and Aelin.

“Dad, I assume?” she said.

“No,” Aelin said quickly. “I mean, yes. But no. Gods,” she muttered.

Rowan’s gut twisted at hearing that awful and hurried explanation. He didn’t dare contend it.

“Can we talk outside? I don’t want to wake her.” Aelin stood and was halfway to the door when she stopped. “Is this… you all right with this?”

Meaning being left alone with Elspeth.

Without hesitation Rowan gave his answer. “No worries, I’ll sit with her.”

An expression filled with mixed emotions appeared on Aelin’s face and then she followed the doctor out the door. Rowan was left alone in the room with Elspeth. It was quiet except for the quiet hum of the machines and Elspeth’s sharp intake of breath every once and a while. She was still asleep, laying on her stomach, her hand with the monitor attached resting beside her head. Her skin was still pale, but there was a rosy flush on her chubby cheeks. Every once and a while she took in a deep breath and it jerked her whole body, making Rowan start every time. He had never seen her this still, she was usually so energetic and it gave him the opportunity to study her.

She looked so much like Aelin. He could still recall the photos of her as a child that he had seen and Elspeth was like a mini double. But Rowan was also starting to see himself in her too. His mother had been right, the way her brow furrowed was like him and maybe there was something in the shape of her face that was like him. And there were her green eyes, of course.

Those eyes that opened now, lost and hazy for a moment before they focused on the unfamiliar room and what was weighing down her hand. Elspeth’s face fell, tears quickly gathering.

Rowan was out of his chair in an instant, panicking with the need to calm her down. “Hey, there sweetheart. It’s okay.”

That did nothing and tears ran down her cheeks as she raised her head up, no doubt looking for her mother.

“Hey, Elsie, it’s okay,” Rowan said, crouching beside the bed. He realised a moment later that was one of the few times he had said her name. But it seemed to get her attention. “Mum’s just outside, she’ll be right back.”

”Mama,” Elspeth just about squeaked.

“Yeah, she’s talking to the doctor, she’s still here,” Rowan assured her.

“Hurts, Rowan.” She remembered him and was saying his name a little better. Elspeth pulled on her ear. “Hurts here.”

So carefully, he pulled her hand away from her ear so that she didn’t irritate it more. “I know, sweetheart.”

Elspeth held onto his thumb, not even trying to go back to her ear. Her hand was so godsdamned tiny compared to his. She didn’t say anything, but did start to cry harder.

”Hey, hey,” Rowan tried to soothe, scrambling for something. “How about a lullaby, one from when I was small?”

She didn’t give a verbal response, just watched him with expectant and wide eyes. Rowan cleared his throat and then started singing.

Beautiful Dreamer, wake unto me,

Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee

Sounds of the rude world heard in the day,

Lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away

Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,

List while I woo thee with soft melody

Gone are the cares of life's busy throng

Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me

Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,

Mermaids are chanting the wild Lorelei

Over the stream let vapours are borne,

Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.

Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,

E'en as the morn on the stream let and sea;

Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,

Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me

Rowan stopped singing and it seemed to have worked. Elspeth breathed a little faster and her eyes fluttered, but she was relaxed and happy. The smile she gave only reached half her mouth with her cheek squished on the mattress. Regardless, it was sweet enough to make Rowan’s chest tighten. It was beautiful in a heartbreaking way. She tried her hardest to keep her eyes open but they stayed close, and just like that she was asleep again. For longer than he should have, Rowan let Elspeth hold onto him, not wanting to lose the small weight of her hand just yet. It was only when he was sure she was soundly asleep and that moving away wouldn’t wake her, he did so. A little regretfully because he had been more than happy to offer her that small comfort as long as she needed it. He sat back in his chair and just waited.

Aelin came back into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. “How’d she go?”

”She woke up for a second but then she settled,” Rowan said, some of that awkwardness from before still lingering.

“Thank you,” Aelin said.

Rowan couldn’t help the slight smile that tilted his lips, remembering Elspeth’s little smile. “I was no problem, Aelin.”

“I mean for everything.”

Rowan took in the way that Aelin stood with her arms crossed, but not with hostility. It was enough of a reprieve to prompt him to ask, “Why me?”

“You were closest,” was Aelin’s simple answer. “I might have been able to drive myself but I would be fretting. Everyone else is on the other side of the city right now and I don’t like to wait, not when it comes to her.”

”I would never have turned you down,” Rowan said. He almost added I hope you know that but Aelin answered before he could.

But he didn’t need to. “I know that.”

They fell into silence again, slightly awkward, but when weren’t things awkward between them these days? At least they’d expended most of their anger. Aelin shaking her head drew Rowan’s attention, and there was nothing he could think to say. Then he heard hurried footsteps and then the door opened. Fenrys stepped into the room, concern written all over his face.

“How’s she doing?” Fenrys asked, all his focus on Aelin and Elsie. Rowan wouldn’t have been surprised if his presence was going completely unnoticed.

“She’s okay,” Aelin said, as Fenrys met her at the foot of the small bed. “It’s her ears again.”

Immediately Fenrys wrapped an arm around Aelin, and it was over her head that Rowan was finally noticed. Fenrys’ dark eyes went a bit wide, but there was no other reaction besides that. Rowan shifted his attention back to Elspeth who was still soundly asleep thanks to his singing. Aelin and Fenrys were conversing quietly and it was apparent that he was no longer needed, so he’d excuse himself and leave.

“I’ll head back,” he said. “Hope she feels better soon.”

”Thank you, Rowan,” Aelin said again.

In response Rowan nodded, and with one last look at Elsie, he left. He didn’t get far before he heard his name being called. Turning, Rowan saw Fenrys walking towards him. It gave Rowan a chance to take the other man in—he looked dishevelled, his curls were messy and there was almost a frantic air about him. He must have raced from wherever he’d been, likely getting caught in traffic.

“Hey,” Fenrys said when he got close enough. “Thanks for bringing them here.”

This was the first civil interaction since the park and, like now, they had been in public. But this time there was no impactful audience here in the hospital hallway. Nothing about what Fenrys was doing right was performative, that much was very clear.

“Don’t mention it,” Rowan said. “Even if that was the least I could do, I was happy to do it.”

“I know.” Fenrys extended his hand. “I mean it. Thank you.”

This was strange for Rowan. Once upon a time he would have been Aelin’s knight in shining armour, now that role was taken by someone else. Fenrys’ affection for both Aelin and Elspeth was genuine, there was no doubt about that. And Rowan saw the hand shake for the peace offering it was. This was an offer for burying the hatchet once and for all, prompted on by gratitude.

Rowan had nothing to lose here, and everything to gain. Holding onto this grudge when he didn’t even have the full story of how things ended up the way they had was going to keep him from his goal. Rowan’s priority was Elspeth, any animosity that remained would only cause more damage to everything he was working so hard to build. More than that, seeing the way it had unfolded tonight, how many times had Fenrys been the one to step up when no one else would?

His daughter had benefited from that care and attention. That was the bitter truth of it, because Rowan was not there himself.

Rowan shook Fenrys’ hand. “It’s all good, Fen.”

Some of that tension lifted from Fenrys’ face, and a soft smile appeared instead as he glanced back to the hospital room. “I’ll let you go.”

”Look after them,” Rowan said and left before he got any kind of reply.

It was clearer than anything now, Elspeth—and Aelin— had everything they needed. And it wasn’t just a ride home for the hospital. If Rowan left tomorrow, the impact he would leave on Elspeth’s life would be next to nothing. She would go on and forget he existed. That didn’t sit well with Rowan. His daughter didn’t need him but Rowan was beginning to wonder if he was the one that needed her.

~~~~~

Rowan left and Aelin felt like she could breathe again. She had been thankful for the way he hadn’t even hesitated to get them to the hospital, but there was still so much tension when he was around.

“I’ll be back in a sec.”

Fenrys left, dropping a kiss on the top of Aelin’s head. She didn’t know what he had to say to Rowan and she was too tired to try and eavesdrop. It didn’t feel like her place to monitor their every interaction, not like it had before. All the volatile feelings that led to adverse reactions seemed to have worked themselves out. That was good, one less thing for her to worry about.

Her boyfriend wasn’t gone too long, and he ended up leading them over to one of the chairs, pulling Aelin down to sit in his lap. She’d been stuck in a trance watching Elsie breathe and hadn’t realised how close her legs were to giving out until they started moving. Aelin leaned into Fenrys, letting the closeness of his body and his steady heartbeat relax her. She dropped down a bit more so she could rest with her feet on the other chair.

“What happened?” Fenrys asked softly.

Taking in a deep breath Aelin explained everything. Elsie had been rundown for a few days, Fenrys had known that, he’d even been the one to point it out when he picked them up from the shopping mall the other day. It had started with a runny nose, then a cough, then this evening Elsie’s temperature had spiked and the earaches had started. Aelin knew what would happen next, the symptoms would escalate and so would Elsie’s distress. When her daughter was sick she would wind herself so much that it would exacerbate her cough, then she’d vomit and then it would go down from there. At the hospital they could put her on oxygen and give her pain relief, minimising the risk of dehydration and worse.

“Elsie was close to vomiting and I couldn't get her to keep the medicine in her mouth,” Aelin explained. “I weighed my options and Rowan was the best of them.”

”It was good of him to bring you two down,” Fenrys said. “I thanked him for it.”

”I did too,” Aelin said, then she laced her fingers with Fenrys’ and snuggled into his side. “So, it turns out that Elsie’s ear problems were inherited. From him.”

Fenrys huffed out a breath. “Guess that they have more in common than that frown, huh?”

“Mhmm,” Aelin hummed. Then she was silent for a long time, considering if she should say what she was thinking, knowing Fenrys would rally to assuage her doubts. But she couldn’t leave it, not when old insecurities raised their ugly head. “Do you think she might have suffered less if I had of known?”

Just as she knew he would, Fenrys wasn’t hearing a bar of it. “Chances are she would have had the same problems no matter what. Maybe we might have cottoned onto the cause a bit earlier, but don’t beat yourself up about it. Elsie is fine, she always is and always will be as long as you’re her mother.”

Aelin tilted her face up while Fenrys looked down at her. Her boyfriend was full of shit and she was about to tell him so when he stopped down and kissed her. “Don’t start. I’ll always win. I have years of evidence to counter every argument.”

“Fen,” Aelin said, her throat getting tight. “You’re too good to me.”

He kissed her again. “Maybe.”

There was a soft groan from the bed and Elsie stirred, her free hand rubbing at her eyes and she panicked for a moment while she tried to work out where she was. Aelin was instantly moving, sitting on the edge of the bed and smoothing a hand over Elsie’s hair.

“Hey, I’m here. We’re at the hospital, remember?”

“Where Rowan?” Elsie asked, raising her head up a bit, but that seemed to disturb her ear which she started pulling at.

Aelin gently pulled that hand away. “He went home.”

Her daughter looked visibly upset by that. “He sung me my song, Mama.”

“He…” it took Aelin a moment to figure it out. The lullaby she had stolen from him. “That was nice of him.”

“He’s my friend,” Elsie said with full confidence, as much as she could be in her sickly state.

Aelin didn’t know how to take that little bit of news, little did Elsie know that biologically he was much more than that.

“Uncle Fen!” She said when she saw who was seated behind her mother.

Fenrys gave the girl a smile full of adoration. “Hey there, Pumpkin. Not feeling good?”

Elsie shook her head. “Ears, uncle Fen.”

”We should get rid of them,” Fenrys said, making Elsie gasp.

”No.” she drew out the word, her voice hoarse.

“I’ll do mine to match.”

Elsie laughed and Aelin smiled along with her. But then her daughter’s demeanour changed to something more serious.

”Home, Mama?”

Aelin shook her head. “Tomorrow, my love.”

Elsie frowned in response, Aelin hated to see her upset.

”Can I come up there and give you a hug?” She asked.

Elsie nodded enthusiastically, and Aelin cradled her in her arms, rocking back and forth gently. Then she started humming the lullaby again, knowing that it would calm Elsie down immediately. Because Aelin had been singing it for years, ever since that first hospital visit. That lullaby had been one thing she could rely on to soothe her fussy child. While Aelin hummed her way through the tune she tried not to think about the unexpected and lasting effects the father of her child seemed to be having in not just her and Elsie’s lives, but what it might mean for him now as well.

~~~~~

I have no faith in the tagging system at the moment, for better notifications please follow @works-of-shyvioletcat

#made of ashes #it is 2:16 am I will see you in the next round of mornings for me

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onlygenxhere · 3 months

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For the @jatpfebfanfest my secret giftee is @daintyduck99

So it was a no brainer that I needed to write a Reggie-centric story. It’s a little softer than I’d originally thought it would be and fairly cannon-ish. Hope you like it!

A day in the life of a ghost bassist

The alarm on the phone Ray gave him just last week went off under Reggie’s pillow and he pulled it out to silence it quickly before it could wake the others up.

He rolled over on his back and rubbed his eyes waking up quickly. The need to sleep was new since Julie’s magical hug made them all solid to her and visible to others if she was touching them.

Ray had been just as cool as he’d hoped he’d be when she’d told him about them and welcomed them into their home, or at least the studio, without too much hesitation.

He looked to his left and was only a little surprised to not see Luke there. He was pretty sure he knew where he’d eventually crashed.

Luke was probably the only one that wasn’t a fan of needing to sleep again. He hadn’t been much of a fan of sleeping when he was alive so it wasn’t surprising.

Reggie got up, got dressed and put the sofa bed back together so they could use it as a sofa this afternoon.

Poofing into the kitchen he started the coffee like he did every morning now. He could have some if he wanted but he mostly just liked the smell. Once that was going, he moved to the other side of the kitchen and started to empty the dishwasher having noticed Ray must have run it before he went to bed last night.

He was just finishing up when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Good morning Reggie,” Ray said through a yawn as he came in the room. “How are you this morning?”

“Good morning Ray.” He sang as Ray went to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup.

He watched as Ray added a little sugar and a lot of cream before taking a long sip. “I could get used to this.” He chuckled and turned to smile in his general direction.

“Happy to help,” Reggie sang.

And he was, happy, so happy to help. He didn’t have any money, none of them did but he’d found ways of helping out that everyone seemed to really appreciate.

Especially Ray.

Reggie thought they owed him just as much as they owed Julie for letting them live here for free. Not to mention how he looked out for them all like they were part of the family.

He watched as Ray pulled a notepad off a pile of mail and slid it over toward where Reggie was near the dishwasher along with a pen. “Would you mind working on a grocery list while I start pancakes?”

He quickly wrote ‘no problem’ on the page he’d been doing math with Carlos on last night before flipping to a clean sheet and writing grocery list at the top.

Reggie moved around the room checking what they needed and adding to the list as Ray got out the pancake mix and started working on the batter.

“Are you boys eating today?” Ray asked as he poured the first pancake on the griddle.

They ate now.

Drinking juice and soda had come first but they started experimenting with food shortly after that. But much like sleep they didn’t need to eat as much as they did when they were alive.

Ray had ordered pizza for dinner last night and they had all had several slices, so he wasn’t feeling particularly hungry this morning and he doubted Alex was either.

But Luke might be hungry.

Out of the three of them, well the four of them counting Willie sometimes, Luke was sleeping and eating more than the rest of them.

He looked up at the ceiling guessing that’s where Luke had probably fallen asleep. He fell asleep in Julie’s room writing music more often than not the past couple of weeks.

He wrote quickly on a blank page. ‘Make a few more for Luke just in case’ and showed it to Ray. He chuckled and looked up at the ceiling shaking his head. Apparently, he knew where Luke most likely was too.

That was another cool thing about Ray. He trusted them as much as he trusted Julie as long as they kept being honest with him. Reggie would do anything to keep that trust. It was something he’d never had with an adult before.

“You’re probably right.” He turned to add a little more pancake mix to the bowl. “If you’re done with the list, you should probably go wake up Julie and Carlos for school… and Luke if he’s eating.”

“On it…” He sang and poofed upstairs to just outside Julie’s door and knocked softly.

He counted to thirty and knocked again. This time he heard some rustling before a very sleepy Julie opened the door.

“Morning Reggie,” She rasped before turning to go flop back on her bed face down.

“Your dad is making pancakes.” Reggie giggled at her dramatics and followed her inside noticing Luke still sleeping over in the pillow pile by the window. His guitar was lying across his chest like he’d fallen asleep in the middle of playing.

He lay back on the bed beside her. “What time did you fall asleep?”

“About one I think.” She turned her head to look at him through a curtain of hair.

Reggie brushed her curls back from her face and she smiled at him before glancing over at the still sleeping Luke. “Why is he so hard to say no to?”

“Don’t ask me.” He laughed. “I’ve never been able to tell him no either.”

They both turned to look at a drooling Luke fondly.

“Do you think he’s ok?” Julie whispered. Reggie turned back to see her looking at him worriedly. “He’s sleeping and eating so much more than you and Alex and it’s worrying me.”

“I think it’s you.” He tucked another wayward curl behind her ear. “He spends more time with you than we do.”

Julie hummed and scooted over to lay her head on his shoulder. ”Maybe you should hang out with us more so we can test out your theory. Maybe, it’s a good thing.”

“I think it’s a good thing Julie.” He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to his chest. “I hope so any way and I’d love to spend more time with you.”

“Me too,” A raspy voice said from the floor.

“Go back to sleep,” Julie and Reggie said in unison.

“Can’t,” Luke said laying his guitar on the floor, stretching and groaning loudly. “I smell pancakes.”

Both he and Julie took deep breaths too and he could definitely smell the cooking pancakes now. Ray probably had a nice stack ready.

He sighed and started to get up. “Better go get Carlos.”

Julie whined at the loss of her pillow as he pulled away, making him laugh. There was nothing more he’d like to do than cuddle with Julie a little while longer but she had school and he would not be the reason she was late.

“You gotta get ready anyway.” He laughed. “You know if you don’t get moving Carlos is going to beat you to the bathroom.”

“Ugh, stop with your logic.” She groaned. “I’m going.”

Reggie straightened up Julie’s bed for her as she gathered her things and headed toward the bathroom.

He picked a blanket up off the end of the bed and turned to Luke who was still sitting there watching him. “You need to go help Ray so Julie can have her room to get dressed.”

Luke grinned at him. “Yes boss.”

Reggie rolled his eyes. “Julie’s the boss.”

“Maybe I need two bosses.” Luke smirked.

Reggie threw the blanket over his head so Luke couldn’t see the blush he could feel creeping up his neck to his cheeks.

He wasn’t going to think too much about that right now he had things to do.

He heard Luke poof out without another word, hopefully to go help Ray, as he headed down the hall to Carlos’ room and knocked.

“Is that you Reggie?”

He gave another knock for ‘Yes’ just before Carlos opened the door with his phone pointed at him already talking.

“Say hello to my ghost friend all you ghost toasters out there!”

Reggie chuckled as Carlos paned up and down his blanket clad body which he was sure looked like it was floating in midair.

“Give us a wave ghost boy.”

Reggie held the blanket in his hand and waved but kept quiet.

He and Carlos had a deal, that’s why he’d showed up at his door in the blanket. He’d do ghost things on camera for Carlos’ me-tube channel but only if Carlos got ready for school on time and kept up his grades.

“That’s it for today ghost toasters.” Carlos grinned at Reggie from behind the phone and he did a little shimmy for the camera, “Until next time!”

Carlos put the phone down and laughed. “That was awesome!”

“Your dad made pancakes.” Reggie sang after he pulled the blanket off his head.

“I can smell them!” Carlos took a deep breath and then ran through him and down the stairs.

“Hey!” Reggie yelled and shivered. He really wasn’t a fan of people walking through him. It was cool at first but now it just felt weird.

He could feel how hungry Carlos was and it was making him feel a little hungry too. Even if there weren’t any pancakes left there was always Pop tarts or cereal if he still felt hungry when he was done with his last official task of the morning.

Reggie poofed back into the studio and called quietly up to the loft. “Alex, are you awake? Julie and Carlos are leaving for school soon.”

He could have poofed directly in the loft but he’d interrupted Alex and Willie once and once had been enough for all of them.

Speaking of Willie, it was his head and not Alex’s that popped over the railing. “He’s still sleeping Reg.”

“Did you sleep any?” Reggie asked quietly.

Willie beamed down at him. “I did!” He whispered loudly, “A couple hours at least.

Reggie nodded. Willie had been hanging out with them more and more in the last couple of weeks and whatever was going on with him and the guys seemed to be affecting him too.

He really hoped it was a good thing.

“You should come to practice this afternoon.” Reggie grinned up at him.

He nodded. “I will.” Then he gestured back toward where Alex must be still sleeping and Reggie waved him away. He was so happy for Alex and they all really liked Willie.

Reggie checked Alex, and Willie, off his mental to do list and poofed back into the kitchen to see how things were going there.

Carlos must have inhaled his breakfast because there was a dirty plate in the sink and no Carlos at the table.

Julie and Luke were both still eating and talking quietly while Ray was cooking up the last of the batter.

“Reggie’s back dad,” Julie said smiling over at him.

“Oh, good,” Ray smiled in his general direction. “There’re a few extra pancakes if you want some.”

His stomach growled. Guess he was hungry.

“Thank you.” He sang as he fixed himself a plate and sat down at the table with Luke and Julie. Both of them were pretty much done but were still discussing practice this afternoon and what gigs they had coming up this weekend. Luke was taking notes in his ever present notebook.

Reggie ate quietly as they talked, just soaking in the them of it all. Both Julie and Luke had said they wanted him around more and he was going to take them up on it even though a lot of the time it felt like he was intruding. They obviously had more than friendly feelings for each other but as far as he knew they hadn’t acted on them. Sometimes it felt like they were waiting for something…

Ray interrupted the quiet conversation as he ate his own breakfast leaning on the island to remind Julie she needed to finish up and get ready to go in the next ten minutes. Then he put his plate in the sink and hurried up the stairs to get ready to go himself.

“Hey why don’t you go with Jules today Reg,” Luke said getting up and taking his and Julie’s plates to the sink.

He looked at Julie, who nodded as she got up to pack her school bag.

“Yeah, I’ll stay and clean up for a change.” Luke winked at him. “Ray already likes you more than me.”

“That sounds good to me too.” Julie grabbed her lunch from the fridge and gave Luke a pat on the shoulder as she passed. “Reg can help me study for my history test today.”

“Sure!” Reggie bounced up to go add his plate to the sink. He loved helping Julie study. It was the same stuff he’d learned when he was in high school. There were a lot of new things to learn after twenty-five years but what they taught in tenth grade history hadn’t seemed to change much.

“Yeah,” Luke laughed. “I’d rather do the dishes.”

“I know you would.” Julie giggled as Ray came back down the stairs with Carlos following close behind.

“Who would what?” Carlos asked, heading to the fridge to grab his lunch.

“Luke would rather do the dishes than help me study for my history test.”

“Me too,” Carlos groaned. “I hate history.”

“Honestly it wasn’t my favorite subject in school either,” Ray said as he poured himself a travel mug of coffee and Carlos finished packing his bag. “But it’s still something you should know.”

“Tell Carlos if he knows enough stuff, he could be on Jeopardy one day,” Reggie said giving Julie a wink.

Julie laughed and relayed Reggie’s comment.

“Now that’s a good reason to study.” Carlos grinned before dashing out the door. “Shotgun!”

“Whatever works,” Ray shook his head and laughed. “Thanks Reggie.”

“Bye Luke,” Julie said as she picked up her bag.

Reggie gently took it out of her hands and put it over his own shoulder. “I got it.”

“Bye Jules, have a good day.” Luke waved a soapy hand at them. “Hurry back Reg I wanna show you and Alex what Julie and I came up with last night.”

“I will,” Reggie grinned back at him as they headed out the door, “Can’t wait to hear it.” Luke seemed to always have new music or lyrics to show them nearly every morning and Reggie didn’t think he’d ever get tired of hearing about it.

He hurried to the van and slid in beside Julie shutting the door behind him.

They got right to work going over Julie history notes as Ray and Carlos chatted in the front seat about Carlos’ baseball game coming up this weekend. Reggie was halfway listening to them as he quizzed Julie.

Ray was such a good dad offering to take Carlos to the park after school and pitch to him so he could practice hitting.

Reggie couldn’t remember his dad ever offering to do well… anything for him… ever.

Oh, yeah, he did offer to give him a reason to cry if he got upset but he was pretty sure that didn’t count.

“You ok Reg?” Julie laid her hand on his arm.

“Sure,” he grinned.

“It’s just you asked me that question already.”

“Oh,” he looked down at the notebook in his hands. “Sorry, sorry, I got it…”

“Hey,” she squeezed his arm. “You know you can talk to me about anything right?”

He bit his lip and nodded glancing at the back of Ray’s head to see if he’d heard Julie but he was pulling into the drop off lane to let Carlos out, so he was probably distracted.

She leaned closer and whispered. “You’re wishing you could talk to my dad more aren’t you?”

He nodded and cut his eyes back to her feeling a little guilty. Julie was great, the guys were great and he loved them all but sometimes he just wished…

“You could write him a letter?” She shrugged. “I know it’s not the same as a conversation but it would be private and knowing my dad he’d definitely write you back.”

Ray pulled to a stop in front of the middle school and they all wished Carlos a good day as he practically fell out of the van to go catch up with his friends. It gave Reggie a moment to think about Julie’s idea.

He wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to say to Ray so maybe writing it out would help him figure out why he wanted to talk to him so much anyway.

“That’s a good idea,” he said quietly as Ray pulled back out onto the street and headed for the high school next door.

Julie grinned at him before digging around in her bag and pulling out a notebook. She pulled out a few pages and then handed it to him. “Here, this will get you started till I can get some more.” She chuckled. “I needed to get you and Alex notebooks to write music in anyway.” She bumped her shoulder against his. “Luke and I aren’t the only writers in the band.”

“Thank you Julie.” He felt himself blush. She was so amazing. He loved her as much as he loved Luke and Alex… some days maybe even a little bit more than that, like right now.

She grinned at him before pulling out a folder to put the ripped-out pages in. Reorganizing her book bag quickly as Ray pulled into the drop off lane at the high school.

“Ready for your test mija?” Ray looked at them, well Julie since he couldn’t see Reggie, in the rearview mirror.

She nodded and laughed. “With a tutor like Reggie I’m sure I’ll ace it.” She bumped his shoulder again and gave him a wink as her dad came to a stop in front of the high school.

“See you both later,” she said as she got out of the van. “Love you!”

Reggie felt a funny feeling in his chest as he watched Julie walk away. Kinda like the jolts that had almost killed them but not quite as murdery.

“You still here Reggie?” Ray asked as he pulled back into traffic.

He poofed into the passenger seat and knocked on the dash alerting Ray to his new location.

“I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all your help.” Ray glanced over in his general direction and smiled. “I know I joked this morning that I could get used to all this help but… it wasn’t really a joke.”

It was quiet for a moment so he gave a little knock on the dash to let Ray know he was still listening.

“Thanks.” He laughed. “It’s been hard with Rose gone and I thought…” he glanced toward him again. “I thought adding you all to the family would be hard.” He shook his head, “That it would be more than I could handle but…” He shook his head again. “Each one of you boys have been a blessing to this family, especially you Reggie.”

He wanted to say thank you but he couldn’t clear his throat enough to sing the words he was so choked up at what Ray had said. It meant so much that Ray appreciated his help.

He reached in the backseat and grabbed the notebook Julie had left him and a pen that was tucked between the seats.

He scribbled a large THANK YOU on the first blank page he got to and held it up for Ray to see while he was stopped at a light.

“You are very welcome, Reggie.” Ray chuckled as he reached for the radio switching it over to another station. “This is the channel Luke and I always listen to on the way back home.” Ray glanced toward him again as the light turned green. “He was very offended to know this is considered an oldies station.”

The end of Better Man by Pearl Jam reverberated through the vans speakers and Reggie grinned. It was so hard to believe this song was considered old now. It had come out less than a year before they died. They had all loved Pearl Jam and Green Day and Nirvana and so many other bands that hadn’t made it to the twenty-first century.

He watched as Ray tapped his fingers on the steering wheel keeping time to the beat.

It was even weirder to think if he’d lived he’d be way closer to Ray’s age than Julie’s.

Better man ended and the piano cords of another familiar song started to ring through the van.

“Come on Reggie,” Ray laughed and turned the radio up. “Rose always used to say Journey would be disappointed if we didn’t sing along.”

He stared at Ray as he started to sing.

Just a small time girl Living in a lonely world

He grinned and immediately joined in, knowing all the words by heart.

She took the midnight train going anywhere…

Ray wasn’t the best singer but he wasn’t terrible and the louder he sang the better he was.

Strangers, waiting Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searchin’ in the night

Reggie sang along with him, harmonizing when he could. Because that was always fun to figure out.

Some will win, some will lose Some are born to sing the blues

He remembered singing this song with his mom when he was a kid. Before she stopped singing, before she only yelled.

Streetlight, people Living just to find emotion Hiding somewhere in the night

Ray was grinning wider than he thought he’d ever seen him. Singing loud and off key, glancing at him every once in a while as they headed back to the house hitting green lights the whole way and Reggie felt this wave of happiness fill him up. When that famous chorus finally hit, he really let go, singing loud and proud and just so glad to be right here, right now, in the world.

Don’t stop believing Hold on to the feeling Streetlights, people oooohhhhhh!

Ray pulled back in the driveway just as the song finished and turned the car off. He was looking at him like he could actually see him.

Then he watched as Ray reached across the center console and laid his hand on his arm.

It was warm and solid and not fazing through him… Reggie gasped, “Ray!?”

Ray was smiling so wide his cheeks must have hurt. “Guess we just needed to believe.”

Reggie laughed as the tears started to run down his face and Ray pulled him into a tight hug.

He never could have imagined when he woke up this morning and went through his usual routine of helping out it would end with him finally getting to hug Ray like he’d wanted to for so long now.

Maybe Julie wasn’t the only Molina with magic and even more miracles were waiting for them if they just believed.

#jatp #jatpfebfanfest #reggie peters #julie and the phantoms

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shxtodxroki · 1 year

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𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚆𝚎 𝚃𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑

Send me the name of your favorite character and I’ll write a drabble for them! :)

You were going to kill whoever had the bright idea to buy a karaoke machine to hook up in the common room of the 1-A dorms, you were sure of it. It was obvious in your mind that whoever it was was out to get you, as everyone in your class had surely known how your hyper boyfriend would react to such a surprise and what you'd be in for once he got ahold of it.

As final exams came to an end and you officially wrapped up another semester at UA together, your classmates had decided to throw a small party to celebrate everyone passing their exams. You and Denki had both been excited for the evening, happy to have the chance to spend time together, let loose a bit and celebrate with your classmates after such a gruelling semester filled with hard work.

The moment the karaoke machine had appeared, though, you knew you were in for a ride, already able to picture how the evening was going to go from there. You were able to keep Denki away from the dreaded machine for about two hours, distracting him with snacks and chatting with your friends as others took turns belting their hearts out to their favorite songs, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end eventually, and Denki managed to wriggle his way out of your grasp for long enough to take his place at the front of the room with a microphone in his hand.

“This song goes out to Y/n, the coolest person in this class and the most awesome partner I could ever ask for!” Your boyfriend shouted gleefully as he searched for the song he had in mind in the machine's database, causing heat to flood your face as you looked down at the floor in shame at his antics.

“We all know who Y/n is, dunce face.” Bakugo replied from where he sat on the couch adjacent to the one you were sitting on, scowling though you could all tell he was secretly enjoying the class party. Your classmates were all already giggling as they imagined what song he might have planned to serenade you with in front of everyone, and the giggles turned into full-blown laughs as his song of choice began flooding their ears.

As you heard the first few notes of “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada blasting through the speakers you covered your face, curling up into the couch in utter embarrassment as your boyfriend attempted to sing (or, if we’re being honest, mostly shout) the lyrics at you. It was painfully obvious that he didn’t know the lyrics to the song’s first verse as he mumbled along and made up his own lyrics, causing you to shake your head at him from where you had buried yourself into the couch as he shot his most dazzling grin your way.

By the time he reached the song’s chorus, though, you found yourself giving in to his infectious energy despite your initial protests, joining in with the rest of your classmates as they sang along with your boyfriend to the iconic lyrics altogether. You could still feel heat in your cheeks, but the grin that broke out across your face was enough to cover up the embarrassment you felt as Denki sprinted over to be by your side, singing the lyrics directly into your ear and attempting to get you to dance with him as you giggled and sang alongside him.

Despite the way his shenanigans and impulsive behavior drove you positively crazy from time to time, you realized in that moment that you were beyond thankful to have a boyfriend that cared so earnestly and wholeheartedly about you, and that he was so unashamed and proud of his love that he was willing to express it in ways like this even in front of all of your closest friends <3

Request - @myaaki said: denki kaminari for the drabble thing you posted <3

A/N: Honestly I think that this was a really cute idea lol, Denki totally seems like the type to do this to me :p Also wish me luck y’all, I have a big presentation that I’m giving for the first time tomorrow and I’m really nervous but I think I’m prepared! :) If you have any requests feel free to send them my way, and I’ll get them added to my request list as soon as possible! :)

Taglist: @pasteldaze @yeagerfushiguro @papijean @trashy-bowtie @thekaylahub @palenightmarepersona @eunoiasa @applepie-macaroon @ghostofscarley @swiftbyul

If you’d like to be added to any of my taglists, you can fill out this form here! Thank you for your support <3

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n3x0tic · 2 years

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The Flash: What’s it like dating Barry Allen

Reader is inspired by Rita Farr’s powers.

Part 1

What began pull harder inside you to like him was the fact that he studied you and your meta powers.

All of that was to create devices that helped you maintain your firm in tough situations while you trained to control your powers.

Also, he did it because he’s been meaning to hear you sing in team reunions when going out drinking. Understanding completely that your complexion couldn’t handle loud sounds, and frequencies due to you meta powers changing your physiology.

After a few days of tinkering alongside your brother Cisco, they made a small gadget with the ability to neutralize or better said, to control how the sounds traveled to your body.

Barry decided to give it to you as your birthday present, that coincidentally turned out to be your half a year anniversary staying at Central city, the anniversary was a cheap excuse to make an even bigger party,

You immediately landed a kiss on his cheeks without thinking, you sang the entire night to your heart’s content as the loud song traveled with the speakers.

That night everyone left, except for Barry who stayed, you talked and laughed softly, enjoying each other’s company talk seemed great thanks to the mood established by the alcohol, you weren’t drunk since to Cisco being asleep after heavily drinking. So you probably had to take care of him if it came to it.

That’s when unexpectedly he kissed you, and you kissed him, making out fiercely until a snort coming from your brother made you both realize what was happened.

Barry thought he should leave, and you accompanied to the door, and saying goodbye to each other quietly.

After that both were very awkward to be at each other’s presence, and everyone noticed.

Your brother confronted each of you separately, until reaching to the conclusion you two had an awful attraction to each other.

However, Cisco took this an opportunity to set you to up for a blind date, so when you saw each other at the same table you wanted to be swallowed by the earth while Barry preferred to see a truck going towards him a slow motion.

But like the adults you were, you decided to talk things out and ultimately enjoy the opportunity that had arose thanks to your brother.

So what’s it like dating Barry Allen?

It meant washing up shows until late night.

Cuddling almost every second you to had alone, him mostly being the bigger spoon, but sometimes im bed he just want to be held and embraced.

Having essentially a competition if who can eat what and how much.

Grooving to the most silliest of sounds.

Being carried bridal style as a way to travel using Barry´s speed

Enjoying and admiring the small moments you had when out taking a walk.

Stargazing, and using a expensive yet advanced telescope from S.T.A.R. labs.

Teaming up and training together.

Every new sidekick feeling like a child to you, and making Barry feel like a father.

Quick deliveries of fresh goods and takeout when you go to lunch break with a note expressing his love and good wishes for you.

Getting to meat other heroes and vigilantes.

Admire his blue eyes and beautiful smile every time.

Using his speed to sightsee around the world.

Being honest and complementing each other.

Nonstop conversations about future possibilities.

Mixing your creatively crazy ideas, and Barry’s intelligence and speed to mame a project in less than hours s.

Being a complete goofball just to let you laugh.

Pranking and annoying Cisco.

Showing up late to reunions at the very last minute, making you have more time to rest.

Makes intimacy spicy.

Freaking Barry out while taking his form and showing him his own naked body.

Going to family gatherings and parities with both your boyfriend and brother in less than minutes.

#x male reader #x reader #gay #the flash x reader #the flash #x gender neutral reader #gender neutral insert #the flash x you #lgtbq #barry allen #barry allen x reader #barry allen x you #cisco ramon

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sourwolf-sterek32 · 2 years

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Alpha’s First Daughter

Summary: You had been on your own for years after escaping the Whisperers. Until you run into a hunter in the woods who's searching for his brother.

The Walking Dead rewrite from Season 9 to Season 11 with you, Y/N, as Daryl Dixon's eventual love interest.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: child abuse, suicidal thoughts, mentions of SA (none of this is in huge detail but will be in future chapters) violence, blood, language

Link to fanfic trailer on YOUTUBE

A/N- As stated above, this will follow the shows storyline from season 9 to season 11. A few things have been changed that divert from canon, but hopefully you guys enjoy it. There is a pretty big violent/bloodied scene at the end of the first chapter regarding a walker bite. So if this stuff isn't for you then don't read. It is The Walking Dead after all, so there will be a lot of blood and violence throughout this fic.

Chapter 1-

You ran by yourself mostly, nothing but your sunglasses, weapons and a backpack to your name.

It was better that way, always had been.

You had friends around the place, a few from various communities that you knew would take you in and let you stay if you asked. But, you never liked being inside those walls and surrounded by so many people.

You weren't like most people. You had never been like most people and when the dead started to rise that became more apparent. You seemed to be the only person on the plant that was relieved when the world ended. Your life was never sunshine and rainbows before, but it seemed like the world had given you a second chance with the apocalypse. Yes, you had to fight for survival every day, but what else was new?

You preferred to be on your own, traveling the countryside. It was better that way. You didn't like people much to be honest.

There were a few people in this world who you liked and would do anything for, even if you hadn't seen them for years. People like King Ezekiel and Paul Rovia, or Jesus as you called him. You had met them about a year after it all started, and they had quite literally saved your life, but that was a story for later.

Now six years into this new world, you were finally heading back Georgia or Virginia or... okay, you had no idea what state you were in, but you knew this area like the back of your hand.

"Man, it feels good to be back." You sang aloud as you spun around in the middle of the abandon crossroad.

The old road signs were extremely faded, but it didn't matter. You had what was called a photographic memory so you knew the names on the signs were 'Smith Street' and 'Lincoln Street' which meant Hilltop was north and the Kingdom was out west.

It was tempting to go visit the communities.

You hadn't seen Ezekiel or Jesus since you left, but they'd ask you to stay and you knew there was a high chance that you wouldn't be able to say no and that scared you.

You were better off without people. It was easier being alone.

Shaking your head, you decided to head off into the woods instead of following the roads. There was a river about half a days walk into the woods, so you figured that was a good place to set up for a few days. Plus, it had been a while since you ate fresh fish and you were running low on dried fruit and bottled water in your backpack.

The woods seemed eerily quieter than usual as you trekked through the dense trees and began whistling. You knew making noises attacked walkers, but you hated silence. Noise travelled far through the woods, so you knew the walkers wouldn't be able to pinpoint where the whistling was coming from.

You whistled different tunes, hummed various songs that you remembered from before as you stepped over fallen logs and around thorny bushes.

Man, you missed these woods.

The fresh scent of the woodlands, the crunch of twigs and fallen leaves under your boots, there was just something about the woods that made you feel free, made you feel calm. It was home.

To your surprise it took nearly half an hour before low growling filled the air and you grinned, pulling out your sword from the sheath on your back.

You had found it at some hunting store in Alabama. It was as long as a katana, but shaped like a thin machete and was a proper stainless-steel blade and bright blue, not your typical apocalypse blade, but it looked badass and was great for walkers.

It came in a set with a bunch of other weapons, like the duel throwing knives you had attached to the sides of your boots. Along with a folding pocket knife that you kept in the front pocket of your jeans, a light weight tomahawk that was strapped to the side of your backpack and a hunting knife you kept in its sheath along your belt.

You used to have a couple matching ring knives too, but had lost them along the way. One dropped in the middle of a lake and the other stuck to the side of a walker's head that you didn't have time to retrieve.

You had a Smith & Wesson handgun strapped to your belt in a holster, fully loaded, along with four spare clips in your backpack, but you never used it. Ammunition was scarce these days and you wanted to save the bullets for emergencies.

"Let's dance fellas." You called out, gripping your sword tightly as you watched the small herd stumble towards you.

You counted roughly 15, give or take a few, but that didn't worry you as you swung the blade into the first walkers head, slicing its forehead in half before moving onto the next.

You kicked a few of the walkers away so you only had to deal with a couple at a time and swung your sword like second nature taking down walker after walker. You were so focused on the walkers that you nearly missed a figure move in the distance, nearly missed it.

Your focus turned away from the few walkers left standing as your eyes scanned along the horizon trying to spot whatever movement you saw out the corner of your eye, but all you could see were trees.

What the hell was that?

Turning back to the walkers, you continued taking them out before slamming your forearm against the last walkers head. The leather arm cuff you had wrapped around your forearm connected with its rotting flesh, the impact strong enough to send it to the ground before you stomped its brains out.

"That was too easy." You said to yourself.

You fixed your sunglasses over your eyes, glancing around the area to make sure there weren't any more walkers while trying to spot what you had seen earlier, but you had no idea what it was.

What was the point of having a photographic memory if you couldn't see shit like that? All you saw was a shadowy figure in the distance, but for the life of you, you couldn't figure out what it was.

Soon you were back to whistling and humming songs as you continued trekking through the woods, but you just couldn't shrug off the feeling that you were being watched.

It took nearly three hours of hiking through the woods, but you eventually reached the river and you were relieved to find that the water was running and hadn't dried up during this hot summer.

You had come across a few stray walkers here and there, but nothing as large as that mini-herd you dealt with earlier which was good, although you still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. But, there wasn't much you could do about it since you literally hadn't seen another person in the woods or even seen another person for the last 18 months... well minus a small group who seemed a bit sketchy back in Kentucky, so you stayed clear of them.

You followed the river for a few miles until you came across a bunch of trees sitting by the riverbed and figured it was a good place to set up camp for the night.

Within a half an hour you had set up a makeshift clothes line between two of the trees with your spare pair of jeans and tank top now hanging from the rope after being washed in the river. You thought about setting up walker traps around the area, but you were gonna sleep in one of the trees anyway, so you didn't bother.

Whistling to one of your favourite songs, you walked around the area to collect firewood. You were sort of zoned out, enjoying the nice cool change in temperature as the sun slowly got lower along the horizon when you heard the sound of twigs snapping in the distance.

You quickly spun around, dropping the sticks in your hand and pulling out your handgun, but you couldn't see anyone. You weren't stupid though, you knew when you were being watched, whoever this was had been following you for a while and was damn good at keeping themselves hidden, you'll give them credit for that. Whoever it was must be experienced at hunting, because no way would an average person be able to sneak up to you and follow you for this long without slipping up.

"Come out slowly with your hands up and maybe I won't kill you!" You shouted, cocking the gun.

A man slowly stepped out from behind a tree and you should have been more focused on the crossbow he had aimed at you, but he's the first person you had seen up close for nearly two years and you found yourself taking in his features instead.

His long dark hair fell over his shoulders covering part of his face. The black button-down shirt had the sleeves ripped off, but he had a black leather vest over the top and you didn't miss the duel knives he had strapped to his belt. He was unlike any man you had seen in this new world.

"Told you to come out with your hands up." You said in an annoyed tone.

"Ain't droppin' mine till ya drop yours." The mysterious man responded causing you to scoff.

Like hell you were going to lower your weapon when he had a God damn crossbow aimed at you, not to mention that he had been following you for the past three hours. That was just fucking creepy.

"The hell you following me for? I saw you back when I was fighting that herd, didn't want to help?" You questioned, raising your eyebrow at him, although he probably couldn't see it since you were wearing still wearing sunglasses.

"Seemed like ya had it under control."

Before you had time to think of a sarcastic response the familiar growls of walkers filled the air and you sighed. Talk about great timing.

You glanced in the direction of the walkers spotting eight or so stumbling towards the two of you from your left, but you kept your gun trained on the man, not trusting him in the slightest.

Neither of you moved, weapons still aimed at each other, but you didn't miss his quick glance towards the walkers and slightly worried expression when he realised how close they were getting.

"Let's take care of these walkers before they kill us and then we can go back to this western showdown we're having at the moment, deal?" You asked, lowering your handgun despite every bone in your body telling you not to.

The man stared at you for a few seconds clearly trying to contemplate what do to before he reluctantly nodded. He turned his crossbow away from you and aimed towards the walkers and you sighed with relief before holstering your gun and drawing out your sword.

You let the man take care of the walkers further away since he had a long-range weapon while you focused on the ones closer. Stabbing them through their skulls with the end of your sword, one after the other.

You could hear bolts whizzing through the air around you as you took down the walkers and you had to admit this guy had good aim with that crossbow, every shot meeting their mark. You didn't like having to put your trust in a complete stranger though. He could very easily just shoot you while your back was turned, but what other option did you have? He'd been following you for most of the afternoon and hadn't killed you yet, so you figured you might be able to get through the next few minutes as well.

"Duck!" The man suddenly yelled.

You didn't think twice about it and dropped to the ground just as he fired his crossbow at the walker you didn't even realise was coming up behind you. It fell to the ground with a bolt between it's eyes.

Shit, that was a close one.

"Thanks." You called out, jumping to your feet and slamming the end of your sword into the next walker, kicking its body as it fell backwards.

You glanced back towards the man, realising that something must be wrong since you couldn't hear anymore bolts being shot. You saw him struggling to reload his crossbow, the stupid thing must be jammed, you thought to yourself before your eyes widened when you spotted a walker sneaking up behind him.

You tried to shout at him, but it was too late as the walker grabbed his shoulder and you watched in horror as the man quickly jerked away, trying to shrug the walker off, but it wasn't working.

For a split second you debated whether to help the man or not, but you couldn't just stand there and watch him get eaten by the walker. The guy had saved your life only seconds before hand, you had to do something.

You quickly threw your sword at the last walker a few metres away, not bothering to waste time in retrieving it as you sprinted towards the man who was still trying to shrug the walkers grip off his shoulders.

The walkers mouth started to open when you grabbed it's head and threw it off the man in a blur of movement. Sudden pain burned through your left hand, but you didn't have time to check it and turned to the walker that was trying to stand back up after you threw it to the ground, but you quickly stomped your boot against its head to finish it off.

The pain in your hand flared and you spared a glance down only to find a bite mark over your left pinky finger.

Oh, fuck. That was not good.

You took a few stumbling steps backwards holding your now shaking hand as you stared at the very distinct teeth marks and blood on your finger. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Suddenly the man appeared beside you, grabbing your shoulder to steady you before he eyes glanced to your hand in shock. He muttered something under his breath, but you couldn't hear anything over the loud ringing in your ears.

Shaking your head, you quickly snapped out of your sudden panic, your body clicking into survival mode instead. You pulled your tomahawk out from the side of you backpack and handed it to the man.

"You-you gotta cut my finger off... I can't do it myself."

The man still seemed to be in shock, but nodded and took the tomahawk.

"Fuck, this is gonna hurt." You winced as you walked over to the nearest tree as you rested your hand against it and moved your bitten finger away from the rest so the man could cut it off.

"M'sorry." He apologised, giving you a sympathetic look before swinging the axe and slicing straight through the finger.

You heard the bone crunch as a scream escaped your lips, white hot pain flaring from your hand.

Pain. So much pain.

That was all you could register as you stared at your hand, watching the crimson blood pour to the ground, mixing in with the leaves and dirt of the forest floor.

"Need to stop the bleeding, otherwise you're gonna bleed out." You thought you heard the man say, but honestly you couldn't hear much over the ringing in your ears.

You stared at your finger that was now on the ground as blood dripped on top of it from your hand. Shit, that was a lot of blood. Focus Y/N, you have to focus.

"I-I have a lighter, do you have a clean knife? I need you to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding." You instructed, hating how shaky your voice was.

You used your good hand to pull out a lighter from your pocket. You glanced over at the man who had grabbed out one of his hunting knives before you handed him the lighter and he began to heat up the metal blade.

"How long do ya want me to heat it for?" He asked, glancing over at you for a second before focusing back on the flame from the lighter as heated up the blade.

"Wouldn't have a clue. I haven't done this before." You replied with a weak chuckle as you shook your head in disbelief. How did you even get in this situation? You've been travelling alone for six years and the worst injury you had gotten was a dislocated shoulder. "I think that's enough." You said, noticing a part of his blade was turning red.

"This will hurt." He warned and you couldn't help but roll your eyes.

"Really? I thought it was going to tickle." You replied sarcastically. "Just get it over with."

The man nodded tucking the lighter into his pocket before he grabbed your wrist and pressed the flat side of the blade against the wound. You had to cover your mouth with your good hand to muffle your screams as burning pain seared through your body.

Your hand was trembling as the man held the blade against your skin, the stench of burning flesh filling the air. If you weren't in so much pain you might have gaged at the smell, but that was the least of your worries at the moment when white dots started to cloud your vision.

You were vaguely aware of the man pulling the knife away and wrapping your hand up with a rag, but everything was spinning. The ringing in your ears suddenly so high pitched that it nearly hurt and the last thing you saw was the man reaching out to grab you as you fell backwards before everything faded to black.

Next Chapter

Link to Masterlist in bio

Commission requests open, link in bio

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon x y/n #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #Norman Reedus #lydia twd

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