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nariism · 11 months

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i don’t dance!

pair. pro-player!ushijima x PR manager!reader

content: fluff, reader is his VERY TIRED PR manager who really deserves a raise, weak attempts at humour, no pronouns used for reader

synopsis. you need to teach ushijima how to waltz

wc: 2.2k

a/n: i eat the “teach me how to dance” trope up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (also yes i absolutely did use a high school musical song as the title who’s gonna stop me)

ushijima wakatoshi is what people typically refer to as emotionally unavailable.

he just doesn’t have the time to worry about trivial things like romance or feelings or anything of the sort. not while he’s trying to keep up with his rigorous training schedule on top of countless interviews and photo shoots that you, his wonderful PR manager, generously offer to help him prepare for.

it’s no surprise that this man - 6 feet and almost 4 inches of pure heart throb material - has yet to find a partner worth keeping around. not that he hadn’t had one night stands, per say, but being emotionally available for a committed relationship isn’t something he has on his mind right now.

although he isn’t exactly the type to be nitpicky about this kind of stuff, he does come off as cold if you don’t know him well enough (unintentionally, of course). people who he welcomes into his life simply find him too busy or too severe in his mannerisms to form proper relationships. thus, his friend group is kept tight, extending almost exclusively to members of the japanese national team.

ushijima keeps to himself and minds his own business. he doesn’t speak until spoken to, unless he has some opinion about other volleyball players you have to thwart. he doesn’t make a fuss about insignificant things. he respects his elders and works hard in every aspect of his life that involves his career. words are kept short and to the point, never sugar coated and he certainly never lies.

he specifically remembers one scenario in which an adoring fan had come up to him after a game while you were distracted with the press, and they had confessed their undying love to him much to his horror.

“could you leave me alone?” he had told them bluntly when they asked if he could please dm them on twitter, and you nearly died on the spot when the cameras all turned to the pair behind you. it was a horribly busy week for you, playing the role of damage control all while ushijima remained completely indifferent to the storm that was brewing on social media around his name and how he was trending for two whole days after the fact.

thankfully, the fan had gratefully accepted a bouquet of flowers ‘courtesy of ushijima’ (which he also almost vehemently denied online before you smacked him upside the head), and all was forgiven. it even made him trend for a couple days longer, but this time with everyone singing his praises. he should give you more credit where it’s due, because being a PR manager for someone so terrible at smiling for the camera is like hell on earth.

you had told him once that it was important to keep a good rapport with his fans, even if they were more forward with their advances than he was used to back in high school. he looked at you funny until you continued: “i’m not saying you should go off and date anyone who confesses to you, but could you at least be a little nicer?!” sounding extremely exasperated.

he didn’t even end up agreeing with you, too distracted by the way your lips moved while you scolded him to pay you his full attention.

“tonight’s the gala. everyone will be there.”

“i know.”

“so why,” you hiss out the words through grit teeth, jaw tense as you pinch the bridge of your nose, “are you standing outside my house when you should be getting ready?”

he’s silent for a moment. you glance up to make sure he’s actually still standing there being stupidly handsome and that you’re not just dreaming he is. ushijima averts his gaze awkwardly, hands in his pockets as he contemplates whether or not he should say what’s on his mind and risk having you slam the door in his face in frustration.

(it’s happened before; once, when he told you he was the top reply on a post for asking what “smash” means and why everyone was commenting it under all his instagram photos. you slammed the door in his face then, too, but he could still hear you erupt into laughter from the other side much to his confusion.)

you’re looking at him expectantly, with a brow raised and your lips pursed as you wait for an explanation.

“it’s a gala.”

you close your eyes and take a deep breath, patience wearing thin. “i know, wakatoshi. i just said that.”

“it’s a gala, so...” he huffs, “i have to dance, don’t i?”

you look up again at his words, confusion written all over your face. you’re in the middle of getting ready yourself, dressed to the nines. not as his date, of course, though he’d asked you.

(“what did you just say?”

“why can’t you just come with me? it would save you the trouble of getting the extra ticket. it’s not like i’m taking anyone else.”

“i can’t- that’s-... it’s unprofessional.”

“oh. i see.”)

you take the opportunity to scrutinize his outfit, as your eyes always end up doing. you’re always observing him closely, hoping and praying he doesn’t do or say something that will get him cancelled. in his defense, he’s gotten better at keeping his mouth shut when he knows you’re sitting there stressed to all hell about what you’ll need to apologize for on his behalf that week.

not that he would ever admit it out loud, but he likes the attention a little bit. enjoys being fussed over, since he spends most of his time isolated save for the members of his team. and it’s not like you’re very secretive about your judgment of him. it’s your job, for one, but there’s an undeniable and genuine worry in your eyes every time he says something he shouldn’t. he thinks it’s fine that he indulges in your presence just a bit, especially since people have found him intimidating his whole life. it’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t afraid to stand up to him once in a while.

you sigh quietly. “yes, you’ll have to dance. why?” you open the door wider for him, a gesture he’s familiar with equating to come in. “you’re not planning on bailing ‘cause of that, are you?”

he watches as you retreat further into your house, probably to fix your hair one last time before you head out early. you always arrive to these sorts of events earlier than he does, and always in a separate car. you were insistent that he arrive either alone or with his own date, since it would reduce the risk of scandals questioning your seemingly close relationship with each other.

close is not the word either you nor ushijima would use to describe your feelings toward one another. sure, you were the one helping to manage his schedule even though the job description did not at all entail that, and you’re the one keeping him in line with the media. he even has you over sometimes for dinner after an especially long day. but no, you’re not close. work acquaintances at best.

“no, i’m not bailing,” he tells you as he trails behind, following you to the mirror in the hallway - the one hung up above a high table littered with trinkets from past events and some photos of you and your friends and family. you look at him with a quizzical expression through the mirror.

“then?”

he stands rigidly behind you. the thought that it feels strangely domestic with you getting ready in front of him like this crosses his mind, and makes him grossly warm and fuzzy inside.

“i don’t know how to dance.”

you pause in your ministrations, hair that you meant to pin up falling back over your eyes as you stare at him with bewilderment. “you what?”

“i don’t know how to dance,” he repeats, though you heard him perfectly fine the first time.

“you... don’t know how to... dance...” you sound out the sentence slowly, hoping that you possibly misheard him. to your horror, he only nods in confirmation.

in your one year, three months and twenty-two days of working with ushijima, how could it have never once dawned on you that this 6 foot monster of a volleyball player doesn’t know how to do something as elegant as a waltz?

it’d never been a problem before. most events don’t include anything of the sort, and all the events you do attend with ushijima are to give out awards or give esteemed recognition to MVPs. but for a christmas gala, there will definitely be booze and partying and absolutely dancing involved.

for a second, he thinks you’ll keel over and place your head into your hands on the table like you usually do in these situations, or that you’ll start muttering curse words to yourself, or maybe you’ll scold him some more for never learning. but much to his (pleasant) surprise, you just laugh. and laugh. and keep laughing, until there are tears in your eyes. his poor heart can’t take it.

“what?” he asks, almost sounding offended. but his expression is still stone cold as you look back up at him, turning to face him this time. his breath hitches when the action causes a whiff of your expensive body spray to waft in his direction.

“i just wasn’t expecting you to say that,” you muse. he knows what you really mean is that you’re surprised he isn’t here causing trouble for you before this event like he always does, complaining like a child that he doesn’t see the point of attending. “why didn’t you just say so? it’s easy. i’ll show you.”

he stares at you momentarily while you stand there, hand outstretched as an offer to take it. he half expects you to yank it back and laugh in his face, more cruelly this time, but you just smile at him with the slightest tilt of your head. you sound so genuine that any hesitation left in his body melts away, and he awkwardly accepts your hand and waits for your guidance.

he’s stiff as a board as you pull his hands where they need to go, one resting on your hip and the other hanging in the air for you to take. “i’ll teach you how to lead first, okay?” he can only nod in response. you step forward once with your left, urging him to step back with your timing. then you’re shuffling over, gliding along the floor with ushijima trying his damndest to follow along, and then your feet meet again in a different spot.

he grunts quietly in concentration, watching your movements carefully and clumsily trying to catch up. it’s a simple enough motion, but he’s too big and it feels clunky to do this for the first time. you seem deeply amused by his confusion, and he glares at you quickly before his eyes are back on the floor.

“now you try. we can go slow,” your voice is soft. encouraging. so unlike your usual stern demeanor with him. “step forward.”

ushijima does so obediently, sliding his left forward to the best of his memory.

“good. now your right goes to the side and the left follows.”

he listens to you again, but his gait is much larger than you anticipated, and your back hits the table behind you with a gentle thud. he mutters something along the lines of an apology, but he seems too focused to realize the compromising position he’s put you in. you smile at him anyways, rotating around 90 degrees to give you more space to move.

“now again in the opposite direction.”

“this is too complicated.”

“this is the easiest motion...”

“i don’t like it.”

“you gonna keep complaining or are you going to dance with me?”

he stops in his tracks, boring into you with intensity in his eyes. you watch his adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallows. “...what’s wrong?”

ushijima just shakes his head, and then his feet are moving again as he tugs you along clumsily. “nothing. but maybe you should be my dance partner for the rest of tonight.” you raise a brow at him in question, even though you can feel the heat rising in your face and all the way to the tips of your ears. he clears his throat, looking away. “wouldn’t want any bad press about my terrible dancing,” he quickly adds.

this gets a laugh out of you. “as your PR manager, i don’t think that’s the kind of negative press i’m supposed to be getting you out of.”

“and as a friend?”

another laugh, a little breathless. “yeah, yeah. fine. as your friend i’ll make sure no one knows how awful you are at this.”

he blinks down at you, unsure if he’s ever seen you so relaxed before. you’re always so high-strung about work and keeping his name clear. there’s a softness gracing your face right now and he doesn’t know how to handle himself or his racing heart.

okay, yeah. maybe he can try and be a little nicer to his fans to see you like this more often.

EXTRA:

#— whispers in the wind ✧#um yea idk what this is #but hope you enjoyed #haikyuu #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x y/n #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #ushijima wakatoshi x y/n #ushijima wakatoshi x you #haikyu x reader #haikyuu fluff

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beechersnope · 11 months

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loscar sexting

trans oscar, fwb, mild feminization, 1284 words

(very open to continuing this if people want!)

***

“I hate this.”

“What?” Logan asks, sounding just as smiley as ever, though there’s no way for Oscar to know for sure over the phone.

Oscar flops onto his back and sighs up at the ceiling of his corporate flat. “Not having a girlfriend.”

“I thought you liked being single.”

“I do,” Oscar replies. He’s already regretting bringing this up, knows Logan will poke and prod until his curiosity is satisfied. “But….”

“But what?” Logan asks, right on cue.

“I dunno. I guess it was just nice knowing I could get laid whenever I wanted.” He mumbles through the last bit, a flush coming to his cheeks. He hides his face in the pillow instinctively, even though Logan isn’t there to see it.

“So you don’t need a girlfriend. You need a fuckbuddy.”

Logan’s voice is muffled now, and Oscar has to roll back over to reply.

“Kind of difficult to do something like that now that we’re like, on TV and shit,” Oscar points out. “I don’t want some random girl—or bloke—posting my nudes online.”

He’d had fevered nightmares about that exact scenario on occasion, though he knows it isn’t the sort of thing his ex would do. At the same time, there was a part of him that found the idea kind of exciting, his body becoming jerkoff material for strangers, being desired because of his body rather than despite it.

Logan just laughs. “What’s wrong with hooking up with someone you already know?”

“Like who?” Oscar wracks his brain trying to think of who is even available at the moment. The Venn diagram between his single friends and the ones he thinks would actually want to fuck him is narrower than he would like.

“Like me,” Logan says, and all the breath whooshes out of Oscar’s lungs like he’s been punched in the gut.

It takes him a few seconds to compose himself. “What?” Oscar says, voice shooting up an octave higher than normal.

“What?” Logan parrots back. “I’m single, you’re single. We both have busy schedules. We can just…sext each other or something when we’re horny. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

Oscar doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t want to admit that he’s horny now, that this conversation has already gotten him wet and wanting, that he’s weighing the feasibility of getting a hand between his thighs and inside himself without alerting Logan to what he’s doing. But maybe Logan wants to know. Why else would he suggest something like that?

“Okay,” Oscar says at last.

“Cool,” Logan replies, sounding perfectly nonchalant about it, as though they’re just making plans to hit up a pub or something the next time he’s in England. “Anyway, I like, totally need to make dinner still and get some sleep, but I’ll text you, okay?”

“Okay,” Oscar says again, the words ‘I’ll text you’ rattling around in his brain like a bag of marbles. Does he mean texting like, texting? Or something more?

Oscar doesn’t get his answer until the following morning, while he’s in the gym with his trainer. His phone buzzes against his thigh; he ignores it until he’s finished with his reps and then pulls it out of his gym shorts under the baleful glare of his trainer, who would definitely ban Oscar from having his phone on him at all during their workouts if he could.

Oscar sees Logan’s name and nearly drops his phone. “I, um, need to get this,” he says before sprinting out of the gym and into the hallway, where he makes a sharp right and beelines straight into the nearest toilet.

It’s a gender-neutral toilet with a lock on the door. Oscar ducks inside and plants himself firmly on the seat before pulling his phone back out to read Logan’s text. He’s going to feel like a chump if it ends up being something stupid, like a screenshot of Logan’s K/D ratio in Call of Duty or something.

It’s not.

i really need to cum

hey u busy?

Oscar’s hands are shaking as he types out his reply.

no i’m not busy

He waits a minute or two, not sure what he’s supposed to do next. Finally, Logan replies.

can u send me something

A few seconds later, a picture comes through. It’s nothing particularly artistic, just a slightly out-of-focus photo of Logan’s hand framing the very obvious tent in his gym shorts. Oscar is doubly appreciative of the fact that they’re white, affording him a better view than if Logan had gone with a darker color. He wonders if Logan had picked them on purpose.

im already hard

Oscar gawps at the photo for a minute, basking in the warmth seeping down from his head to his toes, a pleasant throb making itself known between his thighs the longer he looks. Then he finally remembers that he needs to send something back.

And Oscar doesn’t really know what to send. He’s never sexted before, not even with his ex-girlfriend. She’d been content to follow him around everywhere during the F2 series, so they’d had sex whenever one of them was in the mood for it, and that was about it. Before her, Oscar had been a virgin, too afraid of being vulnerable to sleep around with anyone like all the other boys on the grid.

Oscar pulls his shorts down and stares at the wiry hair covering his crotch. He doesn’t think Logan would say anything bad about it, but it doesn’t feel like there’s much fanfare in sending someone a picture of just your pubes. He takes off his shirt instead, conscious of the softness of his pecs, his wide pink nipples, the gentle swell of his tummy where he should be flat, like Logan. Oscar doesn’t know if Logan will think he’s sexy; he doesn’t even know if he finds himself sexy, but he angles the phone camera down towards himself as he shoves a free hand past the waistband of his shorts and snaps a pic just as he strokes a finger down the hard ridge of his clit.

Oscar is too afraid to look at the photo before he sends it. He immediately goes back to the home screen as soon as the text goes through, and then he shoves his phone down between his thighs and closes his eyes.

It’s at least a minute before Oscar feels it vibrate again, the sensation coursing through him thanks to his phone’s proximity to his cunt—though he hadn’t intended for that in the moment. His breathing comes out in short bursts as he opens the newest message from Logan.

It’s a voice note.

Oscar takes one look at the door separating him from a gym full of professional athletes and makes a split-second decision. He turns the volume down on his phone almost all the way and hits play before quickly jamming the phone against his ear to hear whatever Logan had sent.

A hot thrill sizzles down his spine at the harsh breathing crackling over his phone’s speaker. There’s a hushed ‘fuck’ exhaled through a heavy sigh, then the unmistakable sound of Logan’s hand, slick with something, sliding over his cock, rough and fast.

“Fuck, your tits,” Logan groans into Oscar’s ear, and Oscar nearly drops the phone on the floor. “God, I wish I could come all over you. Fuck.”

It only takes two fingers roughly shoved inside himself under his shorts before Oscar is coming with a choking sob, and it’s only afterwards, as he slumps back against the wall and shudders through the aftershocks of his orgasm that he realizes he probably should have recorded a voice note for Logan, too.

#f1 smut #f1 rpf #loscar #my fic #this concept gave me brainworms all of a sudden so i needed to write it

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imagines--galore · 29 days

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||The Thread of Fate|| Part Nineteen

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.

Previous Chapters - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen,

A/N: I think the aftermath of the last chapter is more angsty then the previous chapter : P

"I'm home!" Orora called as she stepped through the doors of the apartment above the tea shop. Iroh, who had been doing some inventory looked up and smiled.

"Welcome home Orora. I trust your little shopping excursion was a success?" She nodded, setting her bags down on the floor. "It was. And I got more then a little extra since Aang and the others will be coming over for dinner."

Iroh nodded. "Better to be prepared. Especially since that friend of yours, Sokka, tends to eat quite a lot." Orora giggled before glancing around. "Where's Zuko?" She asked.

"He just stepped outside to get some fresh air. He was pacing rather anxiously. He still doesn't like you wandering around on your own." Her Master reminded her, to which she rolled her eyes. "Well he can't follow me around our whole lives." The girl called over her shoulder as she walked towards the balcony door.

Sliding it open, she was met with the sight of Zuko glaring at her. "I can and I will." He stated, referring to the conversation she was just having with his Uncle. Laughing softly to herself, Orora shook her head and stepped out next to him, closing the door behind her as she did.

"Well that would count as extra work. And I doubt you would have time for that while also running an entire Nation." She playfully tapped him on the nose. "I'll find a way. I always find a way to come back to you don't I, My Fire Lady?" He asked, a smile on his lips, one she never got tired of seeing. Her heart swelled and Orora responded in kind. Reaching up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

She moved to step away from him, her mouth opening to speak when a sudden flash of lightning had the entire scene changing.

Blue eyes blinked, trying to get rid of the temporary blindness it had caused her.

The sight that greeted her, had her eyes widening in horror and nearly caused her heart to stop.

Azula and Zuko, facing one another, with Azula's fingers smoking as it did whenever she would release a bout of lightning.

Lightning that was crackling through the air.

Aiming at Zuko's chest.

A scream tore through the air, and it took a moment for her to realize that she was the one screaming. She made to run towards him, to stop the deadly weapon, but she was too slow.

She blinked.

And she was holding Zuko in her arms. His body trembled as residue lightning crackled through his entire being. There was an ugly wound in the center of his chest.

He wasn't breathing.

"Zuko! No! Zuko! Zuko! Wake up! Wake up!" She called out to him, begged him to open his eyes. Over and over. She smacked his chest, trying to use her Healing Abilities, but to no avail.

She blinked.

Zuko had disappeared from her arms, only to be replaced by Iroh. His injuries were the same as Zuko's. His face was so pale, his breathing ragged. "Master?" She whispered, her mind racing. Hadn't she healed him? He was better now! He had gotten better. He had lived.

She blinked.

Aang, with a wound in the same place as Zuko and Iroh before. His eyes flickered, as he raised a hand feebly towards her face. Orora began to breath sporadically, her mind spinning as she watched the Avatar, a child, slowly die in her arms.

She blinked.

Katara in the same condition as the previous three. Her eyes once full of love and life, staring unseeing at the ceiling above. Orora couldn't bear it anymore. She grabbed the girl's shoulders and began to shake her, calling out to her, trying to wake her up.

She blinked.

Sokka, his eyes closed, and his chest frozen. Never to rise again with the large wound that gaped in his chest. "Sokka!' She didn't let go of his shoulders.

"Wake up! Please! You still need to teach me stuff! You need to show me how real brothers are! Please! Just open your eyes!"

She blinked.

"Katara! No please! Come back! Come back! You have to live. You have to see the world not fighting! You have to wake up! You can't leave!"

She blinked.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't heal you Master! Please! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! Master! Uncle! Father! Father, please! Father!"

She blinked.

"No! No! No! Aang! No! Don't die! People need you Aang! I need you! Wake up! You still have to show me the Air Temples! You promised! Aang! Aang!"

She blinked.

"No! You don't get to leave me! You have to live! You have to live for me! With me! Please Zuko! I beg you! Open your eyes!"

A movement from the corner of her eyes had her raising her despair filled eyes to the figure now standing next to her.

It was Zuko.

And yet, it wasn't.

This couldn't be her Zuko. He would never look at her with such hatred and venom in his amber eyes. Her arms tightened around Zuko's body as the Zuko in front of her, who was very much alive, raised a fist.

In her heart, no in her soul, she knew what was coming. Knew she should run. Defend herself.

But she didn't.

She simply sat there, cradling Zuko's body as she watched the other Zuko bring his fist down, a ball of fire raging strong and hot as he aimed at her chest.

Right where her heart was.............

————————–

Orora shot up with a startled cry.

Her chest rose and fell as she panted. Sweat coated her entire body. Her eyes darted around the darkened room, frantic and panicked. For a moment, she didn't remember where she was.

But then, her gaze fell on the figure sleeping in the bed, with another figure beside them, holding their hand.

She was on a ship, her brain reminded her. She was on a disguised Fire Nation ship with her friends and members of her sister tribe. Aang was asleep in the bed, with Katara sitting vigil at his side, holding his hand.

As the reality sunk in, her breathing calmed and the panic left her eyes. Slowly, her heartbeat returned to normal. And yet the images of her most recent nightmare continued to play in her mind.

Shaking her head to try and dispel the thoughts, she stood to gently lay a hand on Aang's forehead, checking for a fever. Normal body temperature greeted her, prompting her to let out a sigh of relief and slowly slide away and back onto the floor where she had probably fallen asleep after staring up at the ceiling for hours.

Her mind wandered to all that had happened since they had joined Sokka and Katara's tribe.

————————–

They had landed on the ship, the familiar structure providing her with some comfort as friendly faces surrounded them. Sokka, Toph and the Earth King and his pet had slid down, while she had helped Katara get Aang down from Appa's head.

Katara had still been near catatonic as she cradled Aang close to her. Sokka and another figure, a man, had moved forward, mouth open to question her. But she gave them no chance. Orora took charge, ordering for mats and blankets, bandages and any salve they might have for burns. Turns out, they had everything she needed. While Katara, still lost in the horrors of her mind at nearly loosing her Soulmate, Orora worked diligently, cleaning Aang's wound and after giving him a healing session of her own, which helped her determine how much of his injury had healed, she rubbed the salve along his back, before bandaging him up carefully. He would have to sleep on his stomach for awhile. There were other injuries that she had to heal. One on his shoulder, and several bruises from being smacked against stone walls by Azula. She had no idea who long she sat there, healing Aang as much as she could while Katara watched on.

Once she was sure he was comfortable, Orora turned her attention towards Katara. Resting a hand against her cheek, Orora slowly guided Katara's head so that she could look at her properly. "You don't have to say anything." The older girl said, her voice soft and gentle. "Just nod or shake your head." It took a moment, before Katara nodded.

Smiling in an encouraging manner, Orora continued. "Are you hurt anywhere?" A pause before a nod. "Where?" Katara blinked at her, before slowly pulling out her leg from underneath her and pulling up the sleeve of her pants. Orora hissed softly at the sight of the ugly bruise already marring the young girl's skin. Pulling up some water, she quickly coated her hands and pretty soon the entire bruise had faded.

That wasn't the only injury Katara had. There were bruises and cuts on her back as well, and several others on her abdomen. Thank the Spirits it wasn't as serious as Aang's injuries.

Once done, Orora stood. "Stay with Aang. I'll get you something to eat. Don't fall asleep." She could already see the girl's eyes drooping. Exiting the small tent-like room atop the ship's deck, Orora stopped short at the sight that greeted her.

Every member aboard the ship was standing in front of her, staring at her. Every single one of them had the same question in their eyes.

"What happened?!?" Sokka was the one person impatient enough to voice it. "We left you, Iroh and Aang to get Katara and Zuko." Her heart twinged painfully at the name, prompting her to lift a hand to press against her chest. "And only you came back, with Aang half-dead and Katara looking like she was dead!"

Silence followed his words. Sighing deeply, Orora nodded, her eyes closing. "I know you have questions." She said, her voice low and soft, tired sounding. "Just let me get Katara something to eat, then I'll explain everything."

A quick bowl of warm broth, which she spooned into Katara's mouth herself, and once she was sure the other girl was sleeping comfortably and that Aang was still breathing, Orora found herself sitting on one side of the fire that burned in a small square hole in the center of the ship.

Everyone stared at her, while her own gaze remained trained on the fire in front of her.

"We found them both in the catacombs." She began. "But we were ambushed, by Azula and the Dai Li Agents." Memories of what had happened rushed to the front of her mind but she continued speaking.

"The Fire Nation prince joined his sister." Another twinge in her chest, one that had a certain blind girl narrowing her eyes at. "Aang was going into the Avatar State when Azula shot lightening at him from behind." Words and cries of outrage echoed in the night, calling the Fire Nation names. Orora continued. "Katara........I think.......she's in shock. It was pretty scary, watching him fall like that."

Her voice caught in her throat, a strange emotion rising within her. One that had her suddenly blinking really fast as her eyes burned. "How did you escape?" Toph asked from where she sat, looking so small and vulnerable, with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"My Master, Iroh of the Fire Nation." Looks of utter disbelief and surprises crossed everyone's faces. "He sacrificed himself. Ordered me to grab Katara and Aang and get out of there. We got to you guys and Katara healed Aang."

A beat of silence before Toph spoke again. "She didn't heal him." She said, slowly rising to her feet to stand next to Sokka. "I can sense heartbeats, and when the three of you came." Her unseeing gaze turned to the tent where her two friends were now sleeping. "I only sensed two heartbeats."

Revulsion rose up inside her. Clapping a hand to her mouth, Orora quickly ran to the side of the ship and dry-heaved whatever was left in her stomach.

Died, the word echoed in her mind.

Azula who was a child herself, had killed Aang, who was even younger then them.

A child killing a child.

She heaved again, feeling someone come up behind her and rub her back soothingly. "You alright?" It was Toph. Wiping her mouth, Orora straightened, pushing her hair back from her face and giving a small nod. "I guess." The older girl closed her eyes briefly.

"I know we've only just met Toph, but could you pay close attention to Aang and Katara's heartbeats for the night?" She asked, looking at the younger girl. Toph was silent for a moment.

"You just saved the lives of two people I care about." The girl responded with a smile and a nod. "Its the least I could do. I'll tell you if anything changes." She promised, just as Sokka walked over to them with a bowl of soup. He held it out to Orora who took it, slowly spooning the broth to her mouth, enjoying the warmth of it.

And yet she still felt cold from the inside.

"Guess bad luck followed us into Ba Sing Se too" Sokka moved to stand on Orora's other side. "We don't have the Earth Kingdom army to back us up now for the Invasion Plan."

Orora glanced up, frowning. "The what plan?"

Sighing, Sokka began to fill in what their plan had been. Orora listened, her half-eaten bowl of broth forgotten as her eyes widened with each key point Sokka revealed about the plan.

Or rather what had been the plan.

"Now that our old plan has gone down the drain." Toph spoke up. "Whats the new plan Idea Guy?" She asked to which Sokka pursed his lip.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm gonna work on something with my dad and the others, try and come up with something." He continued with a determined expression. "The day of the Eclipse is the only opportunity we have of stopping the Fire Nation, once and for all. We can't loose it."

Orora's mind flitted to the memory of Aang falling. Of Katara staring at her with eyes full of anguish. Of her Master ordering her to leave him. Of the Prince......betraying her.

"And we won't." Toph added, with Orora nodding beside her.

————————–

Feeling her eyes begin to grow heavy, Orora pushed herself to stand up. Glancing at Aang and Katara, she quickly picked up a blanket to cover the girl's shoulders before exiting the room. Her soft footfalls were loud against the metal surface of the Fire Nation ship. It was still early in the night, and aside from the people keeping watch, she was sure everyone else was still asleep.

Climbing up the stairs, she emerged onto the deck and inhaled deeply as the cool night air greeted her. A Fire Nation cloak was fastened around her shoulders, to cover her clothes. She still wore the dress she had worn when going to meet the Earth King.

Albeit it was now torn in places, rumpled and was covered in a bit of blood as well. She'd lost her comb in the Catacombs, as well as her water satchel.

Truth be told, she had lost everything in that cursed place.

The two men on guard, one of whom was Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda, looked at her as she walked to the side of the ship, eyes trained on the water beneath. Removing her cloak, as well as her shoes, the young girl gripped the edge of her dress and tore it on either side, splitting the fabric up to her waist. She wore leggings underneath, and now that the fabric was open around her legs, she could move them more freely.

Despite the tiredness that still ached in her bones, Orora began to go through different waterbending forms. The motions helped calm her racing mind and ground her.

She continued to practice, going through several new forms she had created herself and had been working on them for a long while now. The girl only stopped when her she could barely lift her arms, and her legs trembled from the exertion she had put them through.

"You know I've never felt Katara do some of those moves before." Toph's voice prompted her to look over her shoulder as the younger girl approached her. Orora shrugged. "Its just something I'm trying to develop. I figured if all other types of benders can use their feet and legs to use their bending, why can't waterbenders." She wiggled her bare toes.

Toph nodded. "I get it. You want to use your bending to the best of your ability." She came to stand beside Orora. "Its the same reason I created metalbending." She stated, the pride clear in her voice.

Orora had witnessed Toph's abilities during their small takeover of the Fire Nation ship. She had to create a hole to hide Appa in, in case passing by Fire Nation ships spotted them. Orora smiled. "That's pretty amazing for someone as young as you."

Toph chuckled. "Yeah, but not when you're the world's greatest earthbender." Orora raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She asked, a little disbelief slipping into her voice to which Toph grinned.

"I even have the belt to prove it. The other three met me at a Rumble, of which I had been champion for quite sometime." Orora couldn't help but be impressed.

"That is actually amazing. You didn't let your blindness stop you then?" She asked, curious to know how Toph's seismic sense actually worked. Toph shook her head.

"It works in my favor actually. Why a need to see, when you can sense when your opponent is about to attack." Orora nodded.

"True." A playful gleam in her eyes, the older girl quickly lifted her leg, bringing it down in a graceful arc. The moment her foot left the floor, a stream of water rose from the side of the ship, arching through the air and towards Toph.

The girl simply brought up a slate of metal to shield herself from getting wet. "Impressive." She said, grinning at Orora. "But you still need to work on the force behind your attack."

Orora nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually working on that right now. Practicing helps." Silence fell between the two. Orora glanced at Toph. She was significantly taller then the other girl, and yeah, Toph was powerful, no doubt about it, but that didn't stop a surge of protectiveness to race through her. Strange, she'd only just met Toph properly a few days ago.

Maybe some friendships just started out that way. An urge to protect someone else because........well, just because.

Taking in the air of the early morning, she held out a hand towards Toph. "Once we get ashore, we'll have a little one-on-one. You can practice your metalbending, and I can practice using my feet and legs to waterbend. Deal?"

"Sounds good." Toph agreed, raising a hand to shake hers. "I think we're gonna be good friends Orora." She smiled, as she began to walk away. "Which reminds me, I need to come up with a nickname for you. Its tradition." With that the girl walked off in search of breakfast, leaving Orora to smile after her departing figure.

It was still an hour or so before dawn, so she pulled her shoes back on, wrapped the cloak around herself, and went back downstairs. The moment she entered, she fell onto the mat she had been using. She was fast asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

And this time, she didn't dream.

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"You feeling alright Katara?" Orora asked, moving to stand beside the girl as she and Toph stood near the railing. It was the same day, the sun having set a long time ago. But throughout the day, Orora always asked Katara the same question. While it would've gotten annoying to anyone else, Katara would only smiled and reassure the girl that she was.

————————–

It had started the day after they escaped the Catacombs. Katara had exited the small tent and Orora had approached her, voicing her concern. Though Katara had not spoken, she had responded with a small nod, then she'd hugged her father, cried in his arms before falling asleep again. It was the third day when she began to speak. She'd insisted on giving Aang a healing session herself, and also attempted to feed him the vegetable broth Orora had made.

Biting her lower lip, and hoping she wouldn't snap at her Orora asked again. "You feeling alright Katara?" The girl had paused, looking up from where she had been spooning the simple broth into Aang's mouth. They had to keep him fed somehow, and this was the best option.

Turning to look at Orora, Katara blinked. "I'm........not sure." She finally said. Her heart twinged at the look of utter devastation on Katara's face. "I have to keep reminding myself, that he's here. He's alive." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I-I nearly lost him Orora." Tears filled her eyes as she seemed to curl in on herself. "I nearly lost my Soulmate." She sobbed softly, pressing a hand to her mouth to muffle her cries.

Orora wrapped her arms around the other girl, lending her whatever comfort she could, even as her own heart lay broken in a hundred pieces. She didn't know who had it worse.

Katara who had actually seen her Soulmate die, or her, who's Soulmate did not hesitate in betraying her, turning her back to her.

As if he hadn't even cared about her.

When she had been on the verge of falling........

————————–

Presently, smiling in a reassuring manner, Katara nodded. "I feel fine, and its all thank to you. You've really been a great help Orora." The older girl shrugged.

"Just trying to be useful." She said, before turning her eyes towards the water below. "I know you'll feel even better when Aang wakes up." Toph added, arms hanging over the side of the railing. Katara's expression morphed to one of worry, while Orora sighed.

"We all will." The girl said, pushing back the white patch of hair from her face. Katara's eyes landed on it as Sokka, dressed as a Fire Nation Soldier approached.

"You never told us how you got the white hair." Katara pointed out, to which Orora shrugged. "The Moon Spirit visited me." Her response was so nonchalant, as if she were commenting on the weather, that the rest of the three in their little group stared at her, dumbstruck.

"Do Spirits make a habit of visiting you? Is that why you sound so relaxed about it?" Toph finally asked, a bemused smile on her lips. "Moon Spirit? You mean Yue?! She visited you?" Sokka asked, more like demanded to know as he pushed Katara to the side to stand in front of Orora.

His sister give him an annoyed look which he completely ignored. Orora nodded. "It was after my Master was hurt, in that small village where we all met." They all nodded. "Well I was just feeling a little lost after that, and I questioned my own decision of staying rather then go with you guys."

She lifted her head to gaze at the cloudy night sky. The moon was probably hiding behind the clouds somewhere.

"I....prayed to the Spirits. I begged them to help guide me and suddenly Princess Yue just appeared in front of me. She gave me words of advice, touched my hair right here, and then she was gone. Since then my hair has been white."

Sokka hummed. "Just like how Yue's were because she was touched by the Moon Spirit too." Orora shrugged. "Yeah, but it doesn't make me special." Toph nudged her side. "Oh please, you're working on making an entirely new form of waterbending, don't be so modest. That's pretty special in my books."

Orora smiled at the girl. "You created a whole new form of bending, Toph. Pretty impressive for a scrawny little kid like you." She ruffled Toph's hair affectionately. Her noises of protest prompted Sokka and Katara to laugh, and Orora couldn't help but feel her heart swell.

It was a good thing she had so many people around her, distracting her in the best way possible. She was sure she would have succumbed to her more dark thoughts if they hadn't been there. Despite all that had happened, they still remained optimistic. Something that Orora sorely needed after what she had gone through in the catacombs.

Suddenly a commotion near the stairs had them all turning.

"Twinkle Toes! That's got to be you!" Toph called out before they had even turned. A bright smile pulled at Orora's lips at the sight of Aang standing there.

"Aang, you're awake!" Katara called out, as they all rushed to his side.

Aang rubbed his eyes. "Are you sure? I feel like I'm dreaming." He said, his voice still a little slurry with sleep.

Katara reached him first, wrapping him in a hug. "You're not dreaming. You're finally awake." She reassured him before stepping back.

"You gave us quite the scare kid." Orora added, giving him a brief hug as well. Aang stared around, still confused. And adding to that confusion, was the sight of Sokka in his new getup.

"Aang!" He said, his voice slightly muffled. "Good to see you back with the living, buddy!"

"Sokka?" He mumbled, body swaying and head heavy.

Toph straightened. "Uh-oh, somebody catch him!" She called out. "He's going to-" She'd barely finished when Aang collapsed to the ground. The small group crowded around him, with Orora checking his pulse while, Katara checked his pupils. "He just passed out." The older girl reassured everyone watching.

Appa grumbled as he walked forward. "Give Appa some room people!" Sokka called out, pushing everyone away so that the Bison could sniff at Aang. Maybe he sensed his friend was near, but Aang slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the Bison who nuzzled his big nose against Aang.

"Hey buddy, mind telling me whats going on here?"

————————–

His eyes followed Mai as she finally walked off leaving him alone.

He knew it was his sister's doing. Trying to get Mai to distract him from what he had done to Uncle and..........Orora.

The bubble his and Mai's little outing in Ba Sing Se had created was popped the very next day when he had seen his Uncle being led away in chains. Even now he felt his heart clench in his chest. But that had been nothing compared to the image his mind had conjured the very next moment.

Orora.

Walking behind his Uncle.

Chains around her wrists and ankles.

Looking at him the way she had done in the catacombs.

It wasn't even real, and yet he had turned on his heel and marched off, sweating, panting as his heart beat wildly in his chest. It had taken him quite a while to calm down.

Now, he was standing on the ship that would take him home. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had barely heard Mai approach him. She had responded to his words with a sarcastic comment and what would have been a kiss on the lips was shifted to one on the cheek when Zuko moved his head at the last moment.

She'd told him to stop worrying, before moving off.

Not at all helpful.

"Not exactly how I would handle things." A voice said next to him.

He opened his eyes to the sight of Orora sitting on the railing of the ship. His heart jumped at the sight of her, and yet he showed no other emotion.

After all, it was all in his head.

"What would you have said?" He finally asked.

She pursed her lips in the way he remembered when she was contemplating over something. "Would it have mattered?" She responded, looking right at him.

"You wouldn't have listened to me anyway."

He opened his eyes.

She was gone.

————————–

The next morning, during breakfast, Sokka decided to sit Aang down and tell him of what he had missed since he had been hurt. Though while they waited for breakfast to be served, Aang walked over to Orora.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked. She frowned, but nodded, giving The Duke the ladle to scoop the noodles into bowls. Once they were a good ways away from the rest of the group, he turned to Orora, leaning on his staff.

"Katara told me what happened in the catacombs." Her shoulders stiffened. "And I guess its safe to assume that I'm the only one, who knows about......." He trailed off, looking at Orora. The girl sighed, closing her eyes as she did. "Yeah." She finally responded. "You're the only one. And I don't plan on telling anyone else."

Her eyes drifted to her finger where the string hung loose and limp. "I'm sorry." He said, his voice echoing with a sadness she would never associate with a boy who was always smiling. She shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. Fate only put us together as a cruel joke. What happened in Ba Sing Se has taught me that if you open your heart to someone who is your enemy, you only get stabbed in the back."

Once more, that strange lump formed in her throat, prompting her to swallow. "I'm just glad you're alright." She continued, smiling at him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Aang smiled back. "Katara also told me how you helped with the healing session when she couldn't."

Orora shook her head. "It was the least I could do." Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, she added. "After what happened, Katara sort of shut down. She was able to save you with the water from the Spirit Oasis, but even after that for a few days she barely ate, slept or left your side."

Aang bit his lower lip, glancing in the direction of his Soulmate as she chatted away with her brother. "I always feel so guilty, putting her in situations like that. Someone is always trying to hurt me, and she's always worried about me. I hate it. I hate that I worry her so much." He said with a scowl of frustration.

A brief silence.

"Well, I guess that just means we have to win this war, so that you're not in anymore danger and she can stop worrying about you." The older girl responded, to which Aang smiled and nodded. "You're right. Thanks Orora."

"Hey you two! Breakfast is getting cold!" Katara called out from where she sat. The waterbender and Avatar smiled at one another before joining the little group where Sokka had taken charge.

"After what happened at Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chameleon Bay where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men." Orora tried really hard not to think of that night, instead focusing on eating her breakfast.

Sokka continued. "The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone." He grinned. "Well, not completely alone."

Toph chuckled. "I wander how long it will take him to start missing someone buffing his cuticles." She muttered from where she sat next to Orora, who chuckled in response.

"Soon, the bay was overrun by Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then we've been traveling west." He opened a map, pointing out their location. "We crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

Aang nodded. "So what now?" He asked to which Hakoda responded. "We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan."

Katara, who had been silent till now, cut in. "It's Sokka's invasion plan."

Hakoda nodded, glancing at his daughter. "Yes, Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

His son nodded before continuing. "So we're planning a smaller invasion. Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke." Orora smiled at the sight of The Duke sitting atop Pipsqueak, slurping noodles.

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage!" Looking a little too gleeful, Sokka lowered his voice to a whisper. "We have a secret!" He looked to both sides. "You!"

Aang blinked. "Me?"

Sokka nodded, grinning. "Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead! Isn't that great?" He added, standing up and raising his hands triumphantly in the air as if he had just won a prize. Orora, seeing the look of utter shock on Aang's face, reached out to grip Sokka's armor and yank him back down.

"Learn to read the room Sokka." She advised, as Aang began to pace around.

"The world thinks I'm dead?" He cried out. "How is that good news? That's terrible!"

Sokka, despite a warning look from Orora, stepped forward. "No, it's great! It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore! And even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun!"

The news only distressed Aang further. Humphing, Orora flicked her hand forward, encasing Sokka's mouth in a small mask of ice. The boy protested in a muffled voice but she only glared at him.

"Keep it shut Sokka! I told you not to bring all of that up." Her gaze flicked to Aang, leaving Sokka to struggle with the mask. Aang had to calm down, he might aggravate his wounds if he kept the pacing up.

"No, no, no, no, no. You have no idea." He said, burying his face in his hands. "This is so messed up!"

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of another ship's horn echoed across the water. Every eye turned to the ship approaching them.

Aang straightened up. "I'll handle this." He said, trying to stand up straight and opening his glider. "The Avatar is back." But then he paused, grunting in pain as sweat lined his forehead.

Katara approached him. "Aang, wait! Remember, they don't know we're not Fire Nation!" Teeth gritted, the injured Avatar put away his glider.

Hakoda stepped forward. "Everyone just stay calm. Bato and I will take care of this." The two of them walked off while Orora helped Aang get into one of the smaller square holes in the ship's deck. It was big enough to hide all of them.

"I hate not being able to do anything." Aang grumbled.

"Hopefully, you won't need to." Toph stated as they all succumbed to silence.

For five minutes.

The moment the Fire Nation began to depart, Toph emerged from the hole. "They know!" She called out, alerting everyone around her. Orora glanced at Katara, and the two girls nodded at one another.

"Sokka, keep Aang here." Katara told her brother. "On both our order." Orora added, glaring at Aang who pursed his lips in annoyance, watching as the two waterbenders raced off.

Meanwhile, Toph had metalbended the bridge between the ships. The captain and his guards fell into the water below. Racing to the edge, both Katara and Orora stood side by side creating a large wave which separated the two ships, creating a little distance between them.

Their ship raced off, with the other one in hot pursuit.

Standing at the railing, Orora raised her arms skyward, sending a wave of water towards the ship, trying to freeze it in place. But the ship's speed was too strong, and it crashed through the ice before it could hold it in place.

The girl frowned in frustration.

"Load the Toph!" Toph called out.

Pipsqueak dropped a boulder in front of Toph who began earthbending it at the attacking ship. One of the boulders hit a catapult as another one fired.

Seeing the fireball approach the ship, Orora quickly bent a huge bubble of water and once it was frozen solid, threw it in the air with the force of her entire body behind it. Her icy ammunition struck hard and fast, flickers of fire and ice shards flying through the air. With The Duke's guidance, Toph earthbended another piece of rock and sent it to intercept another oncoming fireball.

Suddenly their ship lurched, nearly sending Orora tumbling, but she steadied herself. Katara, who had been standing at the edge, noticed the harpoon at the side of the ship. She quickly froze the water to plug the hole.

"I'm gonna give us some cover!" She said, already going through the motions of creating a fog. "Orora!' She called out, though she didn't have to. Orora was mirroring Katara's motions and between the two of them, they were able to create a fog screen.

Another fireball flew through the air, this time taking out Toph's ammunition.

The fog dissipated, their plan failing. As two more fireballs arced through the air, Orora repeated her previous move, sending a ball of ice at one of the fireballs. Both of them exploded on collision. The other one struck their ship, setting it on fire.

Which was quickly extinguished by Katara.

"How are we doing?" Toph called out, to which Sokka responded.

"Things couldn't get much worse." No sooner had he finished saying those words when a Sea Serpent rose from the water near their ship. Every eye turned to look at the towering behemoth of a creature. Orora actually felt herself gulp in fear.

"The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" Sokka called out in despair. "You make it too easy!" Despite the danger they were in, Toph couldn't help but take a shot at Sokka.

"Now is not the time Toph." Orora called out, already running to stand in front of her, to protect the younger girl if need be.

However, the serpent was hit by a fireball from the other ship. Turning it's wrath to the other ship, it wrapped itself around it, allowing their ship to escape.

As everyone stared in surprise, Sokka grinned, throwing his arms to the sky. "Thank you, the universe!" He called out. No sooner had the words ended when he found another ice mask covering his mouth.

He glared at Orora, who glared right back.

"Do not jinx it!" She growled, to which he huffed.

————————–

This was not how he had envisioned returning to the Palace and sitting in front of the pond he had his mother had frequented for so long.

He hadn't thought he would be alone.

As he flicked some bread to the turtleducks, who fed upon it happily, a shadow enveloped him.

"You seem so downcast." His sister observed, arms crossed and that ever present cunning smile on her lips. "Has Mai gotten to you already?" The mention of the girl trying to distract him with her attention had him pursing his lips. "Though actually, Mai has been in a strangely good mood lately." She continued.

"I haven't seen Dad yet." Zuko finally revealed. "I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished." His sister shrugged, not at all bothered. "So what?"

He looked up at her. "So, I didn't capture the Avatar."

Waving a careless hand, Azula circled around him. "Who cares? The Avatar is dead." Her statement prompted Zuko to look away. An act that Azula noticed as she frowned suspiciously. "Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived."

He remembered. He remembered the vial Katara had shown him. Water, that had special properties.

"No." He finally responded, after a rather long pause. "There's no way he could have survived." The two siblings glared at one another before Azula moved to walk away.

"Well, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." She said.

Suddenly she stopped. "Speaking of nothing to worry about." He did not like the tone she was using.

"Who exactly was that girl with the white hair? I don't believe she was traveling with the Avatar to be his companion." She looked over her shoulder. "Was she traveling with you and Uncle?"

A cold, dreadful feeling settled in his stomach.

She couldn't know the truth.

She didn't know the truth.

"She was.......a server from the tea shop that Uncle opened." He said, his response quick, his voice calm as it could be. He didn't even look in Azula's direction when he spoke, opting to instead throw more bread at the turtleducks.

If she couldn't see his face, then she wouldn't be able to discern the brief bout of fear he felt, at the thought of Azula finding out Orora's connection to him.

He knew his sister would not hold back in finding Orora and either throwing her in prison, or even killing her. "Nobody important."

"If you say so." Azula responded before walking off, not at all satisfied with her brother's response. She had her suspicions, had her sources of information, but she would not act on them. Not until she knew that Zuko would respond to being questioned about the girl.

Azula wanted to hurt her brother as much as she could.

Because if he had found his Soulmate before she had, then it wouldn't be fair now would it?

He couldn't have all their Mother's love and a Soulmate's love too.

Not when she had neither.

Zuko watched as his sister disappeared, heaving a sight of relief.

"Nobody important huh?" The voice prompted him to look up to see Orora standing over him. The look she wore had him on the defense. "I said what I did to protect you. I had to convince her. You don't know what she's capable of." He responded, despite the fact that he knew she was just a figment of his imagination.

Orora simply stared at him. "Who were you really trying to convince Zuko? Your sister, or yourself?"

He blinked and she was gone.

————————–

The dinner on shore had lifted their spirits. Orora was actually laughing by the time she walked the ship's plank and onto the deck. It was just her, Toph and Sokka. Katara had returned earlier with some fresh food for Aang.

"Aang's gone!"

Katara's frantic cry had the smiles wiping from their lips. She approached them, eyes wide and frantic. "We need to go after him. I suspect he's gone towards the Fire Nation to face the Fire Lord alone!"

Toph's sightless eyes widened. "Is he crazy!? He's still hurt!" Sokka quickly stepped forward. "All of you gather as many supplies as you can, we're going after him."

Despite the urgency of the situation Orora paused. "We?" She echoed as Toph and Katara raced off. Sokka, who had paused at her question gave a smile of reassurance and patted her shoulder. "You've more then earned your place on our Team Orora. Besides, we still have that spot open just for you." He grinned at her.

She knew they had to depart urgently, and yet she couldn't help it as she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thank you." She spoke softly into his shoulder. Sokka returned the embrace a little before pulling away, blushing a little as he did.

"There will be time for hugs later, now go get your things." Nodding the girl raced off.

They had all clambered atop Appa within the hour and after Sokka had given last minute instructions to his father, they departed with promises to meet on the day oft he Invasion.

"How're we going to find him though? He could be anywhere!" Toph said as Appa flew through the air towards a cluster of clouds as they gathered over the horizon.

Orora's eyes darted to look at Katara, who was looking at the finger where her string was tied. While Sokka responded how they just had to follow a specific direction, she quickly slid next to the other girl.

"Its alright, you don't have to tell anyone anything." She said, trying to alleviate the guilt Katara felt at keeping such a big secret to herself. "I can find him if I guide Appa." She turned her head to look at the approaching storm with a frown of concern. "I'll be a little busy so you'll have to keep a bubble around us, to protect us from the rain."

Orora nodded in understanding.

"Leave it to me."

The storm was brutal when it hit. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed as Appa soared through the air. The waves from the sea crashing beneath them rose so high they brushed against the bison's feet.

And yet they continued onward.

With Katara on Appa's head, holding the reins. Sokka was in the back, doing his best to keep Toph and Momo from falling off. As well as all their supplies. Orora stood in the center, a rope tied around her waist that connected her to the saddle as she moved her arms in a continuous circular motion to keep the protective bubble around them. Appa was struggling to fly, the wind from the storm pushing their bubble around. But it was the only way for them to know where they were going.

After what seemed like hours, the rain finally let up and the clouds began to clear. Once only a small trickle was left, Orora stopped her bending and all but collapsed onto the saddle. She felt Sokka and Toph quickly reach her side with the former offering her a satchel of water. She gulped down the entire content of it.

"You alright Orora?" Katara called over her shoulder as moonlight began to filter through the clouds. Orora nodded as she slowly sat up.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just......." She trailed off. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open at the sight that greeted her.

"Yue." She whispered at the ethereal figure floating alongside them. The name prompted Sokka and Katara to whip around to try and look for her. "I don't see anything." Sokka finally said, to which Yue smiled sadly at him.

"He won't be able to see me." She said, her gentle voice echoing around them. "Then how can I see you?" Orora asked, prompting the other three to halt in their movements to listen to her one-sided conversation.

"Because I choose you to." The Moon Spirit responded, reaching out to gently caress Orora's white hair. Just as she had done all those months ago. "You said all I had to do was follow my heart, that it would never lead me astray." The girl suddenly burst out, to which Princess Yue smiled sadly.

"Everything happens for a reason Orora." Gently cupping the girl's face she pressed a kiss to her forehead as a sign of blessing. "Do not loose hope, dear one. Trust fate. Trust your friends. Trust your heart. Trust yourself."

Her wise eyes lifted to look at Sokka who was staring at Orora in disbelief and hope. "Tell Sokka that I'm happy that he has found his Soulmate."

She started to move away, slowly fading from view. "Look towards a new day with renewed hope Orora." Her voice faded away as the sun peaked over the horizon.

Appa continued to fly, while everyone stared at Orora in utter disbelief.

"Orora?" Katara called out, worried for her friend, who hadn't turned around yet. Suddenly Orora's shoulders stiffened and she leaned forward, nearly falling off the saddle.

"Look!" She called out, pointing towards a small island volcano. Though they were still a ways away from it, there was no denying the figure that lay on the shore.

"Its Aang!" Sokka called out as Katara changed their course. Momo had already taken off, and was the first one to reach Aang, licking his face as he did. Moments later Appa landed on the shore, with all four of the children scrambling off and running towards Aang.

"You're okay!" Katara cried, relief evident in her tone as she threw her arms around him. None of them hesitated in following suit, coming together for a group hug that had Orora briefly believing what Princess Yue had just told her.

Once they broke apart, Aang inhaled deeply. "I have so much to do." He said, sounding every bit as the thirteen year old boy he was.

Katara nodded. "I know, but you'll have our help."

Toph gently hit his shoulder. "You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?"

Aang smiled at his friend. "What about the invasion?" He asked, turning to look at Sokka.

The boy shook his head. "We'll join up with my dad and the invasion force the day of the eclipse."

Sighing in relief, Aang smiled at Orora. "So you finally decided to take the spot huh?" Orora smiled back at him, reaching up to ruffle his new hair. "Well you need someone as bossy as Katara around don't you? I couldn't let her handle all three of you alone." The group shared a laugh.

Toph turned. "Hey! What's...." She trailed off when she realized that it was Aang's damaged staff she had felt as it washed ashore. "Oh, it's your glider." She said, handing it over to him.

Aang shook his head. "It's okay. If someone saw it, it would give away my identity." Though it burdened his heart to say so, he knew it was for the best. "It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive."

He flew up with his glider one final time and stuck it in the semi-solid lava. The delicate wood instantly caught fire, but Aang did not look back as he rejoined his friends and they departed.

————————–

Zuko slammed the door behind him as he entered his room.

His mind was spinning with all that had just happened.

With all that he had just discovered.

His father was proud of him. He had his father's love again. He had his honor back. He had his title, his home, everything.

All because of a lie.

A lie his sister had told their father.

A lie that wove a story of how he, Zuko, had been the one to kill the Avatar.

"Azula always lies." He whispered to himself, as he stared around his empty room. "She always lies."

He knew she was there before he even turned.

"And yet, you believed everything she said in the catacombs." Amber eyes clashed with a familiar icy blue.

She stood in the center of his room, cool and calm, as was the norm for her. "What if the Avatar is alive?" He whispered, even though he was the only one in the room. Orora frowned. "His name is Aang and if he is, then there is still hope for the world." Her expression softened, prompting him to feel a little annoyed at her.

"Hope is for those who have nothing else to live for." He responded with venom in his voice, not at all mirroring what he really felt. She fixed him with an emotionless expression.

"People always find something to live for Zuko. Hope is what pushes them to find that something." She walked to stand in front of him, head tilted back to look at him properly.

"I found my source of hope and lost it. But I quickly found a new one."

They stared at one another.

"Have you found yours?"

He blinked and she was gone, leaving him feeling more alone then he ever had in his life.

————————–

Tag List - @wavesofchaos @violet-potter @rennysketch @emma-andrea1 @lovesammikinzz @fuzzyfestcat @msrawog @notsaelty @lust-for-pan @aces-tattooartist @jinxxangel13 @lotr-got @bitterspoons @realrintaro @gatorgirl151 @inutheangel @heartfully10 @lucaaahhh @juniper-july19 @anuttellaa @gfksz @bussyvussy @punksnotdeadbutiam @ablofftoneverland-blog-blog @slut-for-menn @vyliie @army-moa75

#zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #avatar: the last airbender #avatar #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #avatar the last airbender imagine #zuko x oc #zuko imagine #atla zuko #fire lord zuko #prince zuko #the thread of fate

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minhosbitterriver · 5 months

Text

ꖛ ꙳꯬ 🍷 i found a love for me 𓂅 ໋⋅

‧₊° pairing: sunghoon x female reader

‧₊° warnings: suggestive comment if you squint

‧₊° rating: 13+

‧₊° summary: in which sunghoon plans a little birthday celebration for you, whom he adores with his entire being.

「 other works by green 」

The sound of your keys jingling reached Sunghoon’s ears, triggering a series of panicked motions as he finished the final details of your birthday gift before he was caught. He quickly slipped onto the balcony, ensuring that the curtains were closed so that nothing was spoiled as his ears perked up at the sound of your bag being dumped onto the kitchen counter with an exhausted sigh.

“Hoonie?” He could hear you walk around the apartment in search of him, but remained as still and silent as he could. It was only a matter of time before you would walk into your shared bedroom and find the red dress he’d bought for you, surrounded by matching red rose petals scattered all over the room along with some balloons. “Oh—!”

Bingo, he smirked. Sunghoon wished he would have seen your reaction, but this would have to do for now. His patience grew thin as he waited for you to change into the silk material, though he should’ve expected to hear the shower turn on as soon as you realized he had something planned for you on your special day. He huffed half-heartedly as he plopped down onto one of the balcony chairs.

The starry night was chilly, though the heater he’d plugged in certainly helped keep the aesthetics intact. It was a small balcony, though nearly covered in plants and flowers you enjoyed caring for during your free time. There were lit candles on every available surface along with tiny fairy lights lining the ceiling which provided a romantic atmosphere when combined with the gorgeous view of the tranquil city. Dinner was also served, cooked by yours truly with the help of Jay (who quite frankly did most, if not all of the work). Finally, he’d brought a small radio that was connected to his phone via Bluetooth for when you arrived. He even went as far as to buy himself a really nice suit along with a button-up shirt to match your dress. This was a night Sunghoon had been planning for a little over a week now, so to say he was excited to spend this night with you would be a grave understatement.

At the mark of the hour, his phone rang — loudly — as your name flashed across the screen. He let it ring so that you may find your way to him easily, which didn’t take you long as you pulled the curtains apart and gasped at the sight.

Sunghoon had remained seated, though he had fixed his posture a bit for you, and an adoring smile adorned his lips while his eyes twinkled. He seemed to take a moment to take in the beauty that was you in the dress he’d gifted you, proud that it fit just like he’d imagined it would. He stood, towering over you as he opened his arms to pull you into him.

“Happy birthday, my rose.”

“Oh, Hoonie,” you gushed. “You didn’t have to do all of this for me, thank you.”

He smiled pridefully. “I know I didn’t, but I think you deserve all of this and more— it’s your day, after all.”

Despite the heels, you stood on your tip-toes for a loving peck, hands on his chest to steady yourself along with his hands holding your elbows gently.

“It’s beautiful, all of it.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He smiled, then signaled for you to take the same seat he’d occupied a moment prior and you happily obliged. “I made us some dinner.”

“By yourself?” You teased, dramatically raising an eyebrow. Sunghoon repeated your question in a nasal voice, rolling his eyes with a chuckle as you giggled.

“If you must know, Jay came over earlier to help me.”

“Ah,” you nodded. “I’ll thank him later, then.”

Sunghoon laughed sarcastically as he walked inside to bring out the food he’d prepared with his friend, placing everything on a beautiful silver tray that would soon rest on the small table between the two chairs. A bottle of wine was tucked into a small bucket filled halfway with ice to keep it cold. He decided to bring out the food first, smiling at your wide eyes and open mouth at the sight and scent of it all. Before joining you, though, he rushed back inside for the wine and the two empty glasses.

“You’ve really gone above and beyond, baby, it’s all so beautiful!”

You watched as your boyfriend popped the bottle of wine open, serving a decent amount for the two of you and you couldn’t help but feel almost dizzy with the amount of butterflies storming in your stomach. He was far too good for you, though this wasn’t new information.

Music began playing softly in the background before Sunghoon joined you as you consumed his thoughtful meal contentedly, practically having you melting with each bite. Small talk ensued in between mouthfuls as he told you about his morning at work, and you also shared with him about how your coworkers had sung to you during your lunch break — something Sunghoon knew made you deeply uncomfortable, but you were touched they’d remembered at all.

“Save space for desert, by the way,” warned Sunghoon as he set down his own plate. There was a good amount of leftovers, which he’d intended so you could have lunch to bring to work tomorrow.

“Desert too? You know I wouldn’t be able to resist even if I explode!”

He laughed at that. “I’m well aware, but you don’t think the night will end with just that now, do you?”

“Oh—!”

Sunghoon collected the silver tray and rushed inside before you could respond to that, ears burning. Instead of dwelling on the plans that involved you and your shared bed which was covered in balloons and rose petals, he focused on retrieving your custom-ordered birthday cake. A red heart to match tonight’s theme, chocolate flavored since it was your favorite. On the top was written: I will always love you, in white, cursive font. It came out perfect, and once again Sunghoon found himself giddy to see your reaction. Before he brought it out to you, though, he added a gold candle on the left side of the cake and lit it up.

Your heart skipped a beat as Sunghoon returned to you, a beautiful cake in one hand while the other protected the small candle’s flame. His melodious voice caressed your ears as he sang the birthday song to you, and although you disliked it when it was in front of a group of people, having him do it with only the stars as your witness made you fall in love all over again. The song ended too soon as he placed the cake on the table where the silver tray once rested.

“Make a wish,” he encouraged with the softest smile you’ve ever witnessed on him.

A beat barely passed before you blew the golden candle out with a large grin.

“Did you wish for something? That was fast.”

“I did, don’t worry.”

He hummed happily. “What did you wish for?”

“Hoonie, you’re not supposed to say!” You pouted cutely before standing up before him, kicking your heels off and extending your hand over to him. He hesitated for only a brief second before he followed your actions in slight confusion. “I just wished to be able to dance with you, right now.”

“You’ve just ruined the wish, though.” A light slap on the arm caused a low laugh to burst, and you couldn’t help but follow along as you waited for him to get into position. His laugh died down as his gaze met yours, watching you as though you had been the one to put all the stars in the sky yourself and if you were given the chance to do it, you would, if only to have him look at you like that forever.

The hand that wasn’t holding yours snaked around your waist, pulling you close enough for you to lay your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat combined with the soft music playing in the background. The two of you swayed to the beat of an English song you adored.

I found a love for me

Darling, just dive right in, and follow my lead

Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet

“I love you.” Sunghoon’s voice was almost inaudible, you nearly missed it. You turned your head so that your chin rested on his chest, looking up at him with eyes you hoped would convey the intensity of your feelings for him, and by the way he smiled at you, he seemed to know.

word count: 1.4k 🍷 posted: 12 • 17 • 2023

💬 a note from green;

four days until my birthday 🎂

⨳ ko-fi ⨳

( 🏷️ ) taglist: @grandpafelixx , @agi-ppangx

#park sunghoon #enhypen #sunghoon enhypen #sunghoon fanfic #sunghoon fluff #enhypen fluff #enha fluff #sunghoon x reader #sunghoon #enhypen sunghoon #enha x reader #enha #green’s fanfic #my birthday is so soon!

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angelbaby-fics · 1 year

Text

Mustache

Pairing: CG!Lloyd Hansen x Little!Reader

Word count: 660

A/N: I just think Lloyd would have a wiener dog... that is all 😌💕

“Boring.”

Lloyd lifted his gun to point it right in the face of the man in front of him, the man he’d been interrogating for hours to no avail. The sun had long gone down but the torture still continued, both for the man being interrogated and for Lloyd, who wanted nothing more than to get back home to you. He was just about to pull the trigger when he heard something, a scratching sound from across the room. “What’s in there?” Lloyd asked, not yet moving the gun.

“It’s just a dog! I-I make some money selling puppies, that’s not a crime!”

Suddenly an idea popped into Lloyd’s head. You’d been begging him for a pet lately; not only that but he’d also been trying to cut back on the violence. Maybe now he could figure out a way to do both at once.

“How about I cut you a deal then: hand over the pooch and nobody has to get hurt. Well, not too hurt at least.”

It turns out, getting you a pet wasn’t the problem, it was keeping the pet a secret until Christmas morning that Lloyd struggled with. The house he shared with you was huge and abundantly staffed, so it was easy enough to keep the dog hidden and well cared for until the big reveal, but every time you looked up at him with those big sweet eyes and begged yet again for a furry friend, it took all the energy he had not to just tell you everything. For what felt like endless days and nights of pleading, Lloyd kept his secret, until it was finally the night before Christmas.

You had just finished dinner. Lloyd dressed you in your special holiday pajamas, a long onesies with candy canes and presents patterned all over, and he even let you have a special hot chocolate before helping you brush your teeth. Carefully, you carried your mug into the main room, deciding you wanted to drink it in the warm glow of your giant lavish Christmas tree, but something caught your eye.

A present was there that hadn’t been there before

You would know, you’d spent the past 24 days carefully inspecting the ever-growing pile of wonderfully wrapped gifts, most with your name on them. But this one was huge, placed right in the center in front of all the other gifts, so your attention couldn’t help but be drawn right towards it. And it was moving.

Slightly frightened by the moving box, you took a step back, and felt Lloyd’s firm figure protecting you from behind. He took the mug out of your hand and gave a gentle push on your back, whispering in your ear, “Go ahead, open it sunshine.”

You hardly had time to wonder what was inside, as seconds later, the lid popped right off and a little dachshund puppy hopped out. It ran straight towards you, circling around your legs a few times and sniffing you all over before jumping right into your arms. You laughed and laughed as the puppy licked your face, the two of you already over the moon in love with each other.

“What do you think, baby?” Lloyd asked, smiling smugly at your overjoyed reaction to his present.

“Oh he’s so perfect daddy! Can we keep him?”

“Of course baby, he’s all yours.”

“What’s his name?”

“Well, that's up to you pumpkin.”

The pup still hadn’t stopped licking you, his tongue eliciting a similar response from you as your daddy’s mustache when he gave kisses. That was it.“His name is mustache!” Lloyd laughed, not yet making the same connection as you, but you would explain it all later. All he knew was that he finally had a name to put on all the gifts that would be joining yours under the tree tomorrow morning, nearly as many gifts as yours, all full of toys and accessories for the newest member of your happy family.

#lloyd hansen x little!reader #little!reader #lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen x reader #agere fic #agere sfw #lloyd hansen fluff #chloe's fic

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half-oz-eddie · 9 months

Text

"I witnessed a murder"

TW for graphic depictions of violence!!

Billy hardly had any visitors since moving to California. When he heard an urgent knocking on the door, all he could wonder was “where the hell’s the fire?”

He swung the door open in annoyance, his mouth falling agape the moment he saw his nearly forgotten little stepsister standing out in a rainstorm, drenched from her head to her canvas shoes.

They stared at each other for a moment, her eyes empty, his full of concern, before he finally invited her in.

“Gonna tell me what the hell you’re doing here?” He asked.

She remained silent, trembling, shivering. Eventually, he sighed.

“Wait right here.” He stomped off, quickly returning with a towel and fresh clothes. “Bathroom’s over there.” He casually pointed down the hall and to the left.

Max nodded and stepped out of her shoes, her soaking wet socks sloshing on the floor, leaving behind wet footprints, much to Billy’s dismay.

He liked to keep the place clean, and footprints had no place in a clean apartment. But, whatever. He quietly mopped them up and waited for Max to explain why she traveled all the way from Hawkins to Los Angeles in nothing but a stained, quarter-sleeve tee shirt and jeans.

Max took a shower and cleaned up her mess. She hung her wet clothes over the shower bar and stepped out in Billy’s old Hawkins gym uniform. The shirt reached her upper thighs, and the shorts were too big. She had to tighten the waist with a hair tie she found on the bathroom floor.

When she exited the bathroom, she searched around for Billy, and found him in his kitchen, at the dining table, setting a place for her.

“Sit. Eat something.” His offer came off as a gentle demand Max felt she had no other choice but to accept.

She joined Billy at the table, slowly eating the spaghetti and meatballs he cooked—he cooked?! Billy doesn’t cook. Max thought to herself.

“You gonna tell me what you’re doing here now?” Billy spoke up halfway through dinner.

“I…witnessed a murder.”

The fork holding Billy’s last meatball fell from his hand, clanking against his plate. “You what?!” He leaned forward.

“I was skating to The Byers for game night when I saw these two men—“ Max shook her head in disbelief. “They chased me. I skated as fast as I could to the bus depot, when I reached a pothole and my board snapped in half. So I had to run the rest of the way. I spent the last of my allowance on a bus ticket. I was gonna go anywhere, but the bus to LA was leaving in 15 minutes, and there were a few seats available, so…I came here.”

“Did they see you get on that bus?”

“I don’t think so." She shook her head. "I lost them in a crowd on my way to the terminal. I ditched my orange hoodie and let my hair down, hoping they wouldn’t recognize me.”

“And…nobody knows you’re here?”

She shook her head once again. “Not even Lucas.”

Billy heavily exhaled. “This is really fucked up, Max. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, but nobody’ll suspect me of coming here. We haven’t spoken in 4 years.”

“That’s really not the point—“

“I’m home!” A voice announced from the doorway. “It finally stopped raining—oh, hey Max!”

Max turned, her eyes wide. “Steve?” She turned back to Billy. “Are you guys like…friends now?”

“Friends who fuck.” Billy replied nonchalantly.

“Gross!”

“You made dinner? Is there some for me?”

“Make your own fuckin’ plate.” Billy snapped. “I’m trying to talk to Maxine about something serious.”

“Alright, alright. No need to be so snippy.” Steve grabbed a plate from the cabinet. “So what brings you by?”

“She witnessed a murder and ran off to our house, of all places.”

“Whoa, whoa whoa—A murder?!” Steve exclaimed in disbelief. “In Hawkins? Who was it?”

“I-I don’t know. Some man—“

“Some man? What’d he look like?”

“I could hardly see his face before the bullet went through his brains and he dropped to the ground!”

“Lighten up on her, Steve. She’s freaked out.” Billy spoke protectively, much to Max’s surprise.

“I know, I know. I’m just worried.”

“We gotta tell someone you’re here.”

“Why? I’m 17 years old—“

“And you’re still a minor. Your mom’s probably worried sick. You’re a day and a half away from home.”

“But—“

“How about this: In the morning, I’ll drive you out to a payphone, and you can call your mom from there.”

Max reluctantly agreed. “Okay.”

“Don’t get too comfortable.” He snatched her empty plate off the table. “Get up and let Steve sit there. We only have 2 dining table chairs.”

“It’s alright, Max.” Steve waved off as he leaned against the counter with his plate. “You can stay as long as you want. We have this really big walk in closet that we haven’t made use of yet—“

“Cause we’re broke and don’t have enough shit to put in it.”

Steve scoffed. “Anyway, we still have the old air mattress we used before we got our bed, so you can sleep there.”

“I dunno.” Max grimaced. “Did you guys…do…it…on there?”

“Are you crazy?!” Billy exclaimed, his mouth full from his second helping. “If we tried half the shit we do in the bedroom on that flimsy ass mattress, it would’ve popped the night we bought it.”

“Ugh! Could you please spare me the details?”

“Ignore him, Max. The mattress is clean, and it’s yours for as long as you need it. But at some point, you gotta go home. There’s only 2 weeks of summer vacation left until school starts.”

“And who knows when those men are gonna come looking for you—“

“Billy!”

“What?! I’m just thinkin’ ahead.” Billy sighed. “Look, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. Neither will Steve. So just…” Billy turned his head away. “Go to bed.”

“But I’m not tired yet.”

“Well, go watch TV or something. I dunno.”

“Okay.”

“Want a beer?” Billy offered.

Max wrinkled her nose. “No thanks.” She stood from the table and walked to the living room.

“Why would you offer her a beer?” Steve loudly whispered.

“What’s the problem? That’s how I deal with stress.”

“She’s not you. She needs someone right now. Go in there and talk to her.”

“And say what?”

“Anything. She’s your sister.”

“She’s not my—“

Billy was met by a stern glance from Steve, and he groaned in annoyance. “Jesus, fine, I’m goin’.”

“That’s my baby.” Steve kissed his forehead.

Billy forced himself down the hall and to the living room, where he sat beside Max as she watched Married With Children.

“Al Bundy’s an ass.” Billy remarked.

“He is.” Max agreed.

“Not a bigger ass than Neil, though.” He chuckled. “Has that son of a bitch been giving you a hard time back home?”

“He left 7 months after you did.”

“Really?” Billy raised his brows in surprise. “Where the hell did he go?”

“I dunno. I don’t care either. I’m just glad he’s gone.”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell between them for the rest of the episode. Billy glanced up at Steve, who vaguely gestured for him to continue trying to comfort Max.

This was hard. He didn’t know how. Why couldn’t Steve do it? He was better at comforting people. Besides, Max seemed fine—

Or…maybe not. Billy could hear the soft sniffle as he caught Max wiping a tear from her eye.

Great. Now what could he say?

“It’s uh...it's gonna be okay, Max.” That was a stupid thing to say. Billy berated himself.

“I’m really scared. I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t wanna put you in danger. You seem like you’re building a nice life with Steve.”

“I’m…trying. Look, you didn’t have anywhere else to go. I’m not mad at you for coming here.”

“You’re not?”

“No. I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you, Max. We’re still family. Sort of. I guess.” Billy shrugged. “I don’t care. Either way, if someone comes through that door and tries to hurt you, they’re dead. You understand?”

Max nodded. “Thank you.”

Once it had gotten late, Max fell asleep. Billy carried her to the air mattress and Steve covered her with a blanket.

Steve then set one chair in front of the door where he sat with a baseball bat.

Billy set the other chair in front of the makeshift bedroom where Max slept, armed with an axe.

“…We need more chairs.” Billy mumbled.

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #max mayfield #billy and max #harringrove fanfiction #ivy.doc #caliscoops.doc #calikids.doc

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heaven-s-black-box · 6 months

Text

Jealousy pt.1- Miyuki x gn!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: February 14th, 2022

Description: I really loved your hcs for Miyuki and Chris! Could I request an angsty thing (hc or scenario, whichever you’re comfortable with) about Miyuki getting jealous for whatever reason and distancing himself from his s/o? Maybe a bit of fluff at the end so it doesn’t hurt too much 🥲🥲🥲

Notes: Recovered in conjunction with research @curlyzensei, we thank them for their contribution. The second entry is available here.

Word count: 1 175

Back to directory

Seidou was a little far from home for Miyuki, but distance meant nothing to him if it meant he could play baseball. Besides, it wasn’t like there was any reason for him to stay nearby. He didn’t have friends. That was what he’d told himself when Rei approached him while she was scouting Chris.

They had a strong reputation and it was a chance to play on the same team as Chris, to go head to head for the catcher position, it sounded perfect. It was an all around challenge against people who loved the sport just as much as him.

“You're late,” Y/N huffed, swinging their legs from the porch of Miyuki’s house.

Miyuki had one friend, he realized as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, and he was going to leave them.

“Sorry, I was busy being scouted by Seidou,” he smirked.

“Seidou? The school in Kokubunji?”

Miyuki opened the door and let the two of them in.

“Yup.”

“Maaaan,” Y/N whined, “that’s so far!”

“It really isn’t, you’re just a baby,” he shrugged, pulling things out to make dinner. “What does it matter how far it is anyways?”

“It means I can’t see you all the time! Who’s gonna stop you from getting into a fight? Or apologize when you talk back to upperclassmen? If you go to Seidou you have to promise you won’t keep getting into fights!” They scowled, leaning over the counter.

“Hey! I don’t always get into fights… And who said I was going to Seidou anyways?”

It was a rhetorical question, they both knew he was going.

“I mean if you don’t take the offer I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Aww, you really care about me don’t you?”

“Shut up,” they sighed.

---

“It’s cold, hmph,” Y/N ducked their head further into their scarf. “Why couldn’t he pick a warmer day to come back.”

“Because he’s insufferable and any other day would be too nice,” Mei shrugged, handing them a warm drink.

“Thanks, and it’s not nice to call people insufferable.”

“Wa?! But you call me insufferable all the time!”

“No, I say you’re being insufferable, there’s a difference.”

“Y/N how could you?” Came an over dramatic gasp from the other side of the platform.

The two looked up to find Miyuki posing in mock offense as he watched Mei and Y/N bicker.

Y/N giggled, waving at him, and yelled, “Welcome back Kazu-chan!”

“You’ve replaced me?” He called as he approached them, “And with Mei no less.”

“Ha, you should have joined us at Inashiro. See what you’re missing,” Mei slung his arm around Y/N’s shoulder, “your two favorite people.”

“Mh, calling you one of my favorite people is like saying Sawamura’s not an idiot.”

“Wa-hey! Y/N-chan telling him to stop bullying me!”

“Sawamura… Sawamura… Ah! Seidou’s southpaw!”

The three began to leave the station, heading towards a small restaurant for lunch.

“Aw, you’ve been watching my games,” Miyuki cooed, knocking into Y/N.

“No, not really.” They shrugged. “I just heard about him from the team, apparently he nearly spilled all your secrets to Mei."

Miyuki's smirk dropped slightly, "You haven't been watching my games? But you've never missed one of my games!" He whined.

"They've been watching my games because I'm their favorite!" Mei cheered, pulling them closer and leaning his head on there's.

As they approached the restaurant and Y/N filled him in on their academic news, Miyuki found himself growing increasingly annoyed as Mei filled in the blanks to stories he'd yet to hear.

“Kazuya?” Y/N called, waving their hand in front of his face once they sat down. “Kazuya are you alright?”

“Mh? Oh, ya… I was just thinking about how busy you sound, makes sense why you haven’t come to visit me.”

Y/N frowned.

Miyuki looked to the empty space beside them so he didn’t have to see, and noticed Mei was gone.

“Where’d Mei go?”

“The bathroom, but don’t change the subject. Is something wrong? It’s not like I’ve been avoiding you or anything, you just don’t get out of practice until late. Nothings stopping you from calling me.”

They watched him intently as he continued to avoid eye contact.

“It’s nothing, you're right…”

---

“Your girlfriend break up with you or something?” Kuramochi asked, leaning against the wall next to Miyuki. Miyuki shot him a quick glare and swung his bat a little harder than necessary. “Boyfriend? Partner? Significant other whose contact you make googly eyes at- ya, I see that. We all see that,” Kuramochi said, not moving even when Miyuki leveled him with a glare and dropped his bat.

“What makes you think something bad happened?” Miyuki scowled, ignoring the last half of Kuramochi’s comment.

“Because when you came back from last winter break you were scarily happy and… nice,” Kuramochi shuddered. “And now you’re all sulky and it’s in the team's best interest that you get out of this as soon as possible. We don’t want a repeat of the fall.”

Kuramochi pushed off the wall and turned to leave when Miyuki called out to him.

“Hypothetically-”

“If you want my help cut the crap you damn four eyes.”

“Fine,” Miyuki slumped against the wall and Kuramochi joined him. “I have this… friend, they go to Inashiro and I haven’t been able to keep in touch with them because I’ve been busy with practice and school.”

“So you’re being a shitty friend and you're sulking because they aren’t putting up with it?”

“I’m not being a shitty friend! Would you let me finish?”

“Alright, alright.”

“Anyways, they were telling me about what they’ve been doing and- for our whole lives I’ve always known everything that happened to them- and for the first time Mei, Narumiya Mei, was filling in bits and pieces for them.”

“So you’ve been a shitty friend, your friend went and made a new friend in the guy you hate most, and now you're jealous.”

“...”

“I don’t know what you want me to say man, send them an email? Become pen pals? Kill Mei so they don’t have any more friends?”

“Well,” Miyuki looked considerate of the last point.

“No. Look, I know I give you a lot of shit… but if your friend’s been trying to stay in touch and you haven’t, you’re the only one at fault here.” Kuramochi sighed as he stood back up. “Well, that’s all I got. But hey, if things don’t work out between you two would you give me their number?” He snickered.

“Kuramochi i swear to god-”

“Goodnight Miyuki!”

With a deep sigh, Miyuki dropped his head into his arms.

Kuramochi had a point. The only person to blame for how out of touch they were was him.

Taking a deep breath, he froze as his phone began to buzz. Y/N’s contact popping up on the screen.

Not the person he wanted to talk to right now.

“Maybe later,” he sighed, letting out the breath he was holding and declining the call.

#researcher s's recovery #ace of the diamond #daiya no ace #ace of the diamond x reader #daiya no ace x reader #miyuki kazuya #miyuki kazuya x reader #x reader #gender neutral reader #kuramochi youichi #narumiya mei #angst

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the-badger-mole · 2 years

Text

For the Days When You're Not Yourself

The day began disastrously. First Katara woke up later than normal, which meant she was scrambling to get breakfast started before Zuko and Aang finished their morning meditation and training. That task was interrupted by the frantic arrival of Sokka to tell her that Suki was sick and needed to be seen to immediately.

Fortunately, Suki wasn't in any serious danger. She would be bed ridden for a few days and the others would have to stay away from her to keep from spreading whatever she had. Excepting of couse Sokka, who had volunteered to care for her, and Katara, who would inevitably be called in to alieviate Suki's physical symptoms. Suki had also thrown up in her bed during the night, so Katara gathered the soiled sheets, adding a surprise laundry pile to her to-do list.

Once she had Suki settled and left her to the care of Sokka, put the sheets in the wash basin to soak, and gotten herself cleaned up, she returned to the kitchen to find Toph, Aang and Zuko finishing up thier breakfast. There was barely enough congee left for half a bowl. She stared at the nearly empty pot in shock.

"What happened?" she asked turning to her friends. "I made double what I normally make." Toph gave a sheepish shrug, and Katara saw that both she and Aang had taken the largest bowls they could find.

"We were hungry," Aang said apologetically. Zuko's brow drew down in consternation.

"Sokka said that you had set aside a bowl for yourself already," he told Katara. She sighed and rolled her eyes hard. She had set aside some breakfast for Sokka and Suki, having decided that congee would be gentle enough for Suki's sensitive stomach. Sokka had helped her carry the food to Suki's room in fact, but somehow had missed the fact that his sister had only made two bowls, not three. He must have spoken with the others while Katara had been busy and told them to help themselves to breakfast. Katara took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden stinging. It was a misunderstanding. Her friends hadn't meant to be inconsiderate.

"You can have the rest of mine." Aang shyly held up his bowl. From where she stood, Katara could see the syrupy sheen of the sugar he'd dumped into his bowl. Katara hid a grimace. How he could stand to eat something that sweet, Katara would never understand. She sighed and shook her head.

"It's fine," she said, gesturing towards the pot. "There's enough for me until lunch." Speaking of which, she would have to make a stop in town if she was going to make sure there was actually something to make for lunch and dinner. And Suki would need medicine. And while she was out, she should see if she could find something for Momo's fleas. The lemur didn't seem to mind a readily available supply of snacks in his fur, but they were beginning to attack Appa and it wouldn't be long until they made their way into the rest of the villa.

"Hey." Katara was surprised to find Zuko standing in front of her. He frowned with a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Katara nodded. "It's just been a hectic morning."

"I'll handle the dishes," Zuko offered. Katara smiled gratefully and accepted the offer. Zuko found a bowl and scraped the rest of the congee out for Katara. It was even less than she thought, but, she reminded herself philisophically, she'd gotten by with much less. Toph and Aang finished their meals and then Toph dragged Aang away for his earthbending lesson. Katara managed to get two bites of her own breakfast down before Sokka rushed in asking for a bucket or pot or something in case Suki got sick again. Her breakfast was laid aside and forgotten in her scramble to make sure that she made it to the market before she had to train Aang that afternoon.

Lunch was as big a hurry as breakfast. Katara realized she'd forgotten about Suki's sheets, and she wanted to see that them before they got mildewy. After she'd thrown together a quick lunch and saw to the sheets, Katara went to train with Aang. To her utter frustration, he was messing up on basic techniques. Techniques she had spent weeks correcting him on. Today he seemed to have forgotten everything and needed her to adjust his stance and show him how to hold his arms. She tried to be patient, but her irritation bled through anyway.

"Are you practicing on your own?" She snapped somewhere through the second hour. "The comet is less than a month away. This is not the time for you to be lazy."

"I-I am practicing," Aang stamered, his face bright red.

"Oh, it's very apparent how much work you're putting in," Katara snorted sarcastically. "I can't teach you any of the advanced forms until you get the basics down. Just because you've technichally mastered waterbending, it doesn't mean you don't have to practice. This is the last time I'm going to go over stances with you. Now, put your dominant arm here, and you opposite foot here!" Katara stood behind Aang and moved him into the correct position. Aang flinched at her unusually rough handling, but he did as he was told, and by the end of their training session, Katara was nodding in approval as he went through the foundational stances. Her face was set hard, though, and Aang hurried away from her with his shoulders hunched and cheeks flushed in exertion and embarassment.

Katara's anger didn't fade after the training session. If anything, everything seemed to be conspiring to aggravate her further. Toph and Aang were laughing too loud. The sun was too bright and too hot for this late in the day. Suki had kicked Sokka out because his overly enthusiastic care was making it impossible to sleep, so he decided a better use of his time would be to pester his sister about medicine and teas. Zuko had offered to make dinner, which rubbed Katara the wrong way, as if he didn't think she couldn't handle something as simple as getting dinner on the table. The final straw, though was when she went to go gather Suki's sheets from where she'd left it to finish drying and found that Momo had decided they were there to play with. They were in a heap on the dusty ground and Momo was frolicking in them in all his flea-ridden glory. Katara startled all of her friends to the porch with her enraged shrieks and demands for Momo to stop ruining everything. Aang hurried over and gathered his frightened companion into his arms.

"He was only playing, Katara," he said, reproachfully. "You don't have to be so mean!" Her anger spiked with a frightening flash and momentarily stole all power of speech from her. She pointed to the sheets now in a heap on the ground.

"You're washing those," she hissed at Aang. Then she turned on her heels and stormed inside the villa. A moment later, her friends heard her bedroom door slam shut.

Katara could sense the others tiptoeing around. She couldn't explain how she knew with such certainty that that was what they were doing, except maybe there seemed to be less noise than normal. It didn't matter. She would spend the evening in self-imposed exile as much to give herself space to calm down as to not further subject her friends to her touchy temper. Guilt was a distant, but distinct presence in her mind. She would feel the full weight of the shame of her outburst later, but right then she was just tired. Her limbs felt heavy, and her head throbbed at her temples. She had been fighting tears for the last quarter hour, but she didn't know why. A good cry actually sounded pretty good just then. She had just decided to run a bath and let her emotions out in the priviacy of the luxurious tub when she heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Zuko." Her brows shot up in surprise. She had been expecting her brother, or maybe Aang, but Zuko stood in front of her with a sheepish smile.

"I just wanted to check on you," he said.

"Wanted to make sure I'd finished my breakdown, you mean?" Katara sagged against the door frame with a sardonic smile. A faint wash of pink colored Zuko's neck and face and he shook his head quickly.

"N-no!" he stammered. "What happened out there...listen, from where I'm sitting, it was totally warranted."

"Yeah?" Katara's brow shot up in surprise. "Even yelling at Momo?"

"He knows better than to play in clean laundry," Zuko shot her a smirk. "Aang's washing the sheets. I told him he can't have dinner until he's finished. I figure he should be done by midnight. Oh, speaking of dinner-" Zuko motioned down with his eyes and Katara noticed for the first time that he was carrying a plate of dried fruits and a couple of pieces of toffee.

"This is dinner?" Katara asked, wrinkling her nose dubiously.

"No," Zuko said. "But dinner might take a while to finish and..."

"And?" Katara prompted him.

"It's probably none of my business, but have you eaten today?" he asked. The concern in Zuko's eyes almost staggered Katara. He must have taken her silence for annoyance because he scrambled to add, "I just mean you only had a couple of bites of breakfast, and I didn't see you have lunch. And I know when I'm hungry, I can get a bit...tense." The day passed through Katara's mind, and she realized he was right. She hadn't eaten.

"Thank you." Her voice was unusually small as she accepted her pre-dinner meal. No one ever noticed when she got too busy to eat. She barely noticed. The knowledge that Zuko not only noticed, but thought to do something about it-

"If you want," Zuko started hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I can handle dinner. You know, just so you're not doing all the chores every day."

"Dinner?" Katara repeated.

"I'd offer to take breakfast, but training Aang ends too late-"

"Zuko." He stopped mid-sentence and bit the inside of his lips. Katara set her plate aside and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden sting of tears. Then she threw her arms around Zuko's midsection and buried her face in his chest. He stiffened in surprise, but quickly gathered himself and wrapped his arms around her. She was shaking a bit, and he tried not to notice the light sound of sniffles coming from her.

"Thank you," Katara said finally. She pulled away, wiping discreetly at her cheeks and smiled at Zuko.

"Any time," he found himself smiling back. He rocked back on his heels and cleared his throat. "I should- uh- I should go get started on dinner. I can bring you a plate."

"I can join you guys," Katara protested weakly. Zuko shook his head and waved her off.

"If you don't feel like it, it's fine," he assured her. "Besides, it's good for us to miss you every now and then. Remind everyone how much we need you and all."

"Oh..." Katara felt her cheeks heat up. The thought of spending an hour or two in that gorgeous bathtub instead of dodging her friends' awkward silences and tiptoeing sounded wonderful. "Yeah, I'll think I'll hang out in here. Thanks."

"I'll be back later with your plate." Zuko turned and started heading back towards the kitchen. Katara leaned against her doorframe and watched him leave.

"Hey, Zuko," she called when he was halfway down the hall.

"Yeah?"

"I hope you know," Katara's mouth slid into a grin. "You're stuck with me now. If you keep being this helpful, I'll never let you go." Zuko grinned back at her.

"Sounds okay to me."

#atla #zutara #hangry katara #helpful zuko #flirty flirty #aang thinks he's slick #katara gets support #self care queen #fanfic

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butternuggets-blog · 24 days

Text

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @wheresthesunshinesblog @adowbaldwin @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont @adarafaelbarba-blog @dogblessyoutascha

Part Fourty-Eight

Summary: Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to irritate him every other century

Also on AO3

'Come along!' Jaquob gestured for Yvette and the others to follow him as he walked down the dirt path towards the woods.

They had arranged the secret playdate weeks ago, carefully coordinating one another's schedules until everyone was available. The only other people who knew were Yvette and Jaquob's bodyguard Vincent, who had been tailing them, the other children's parents, Jaquob's mother Loyse, and Martin, who believed in fostering independence in his daughter.

'I hope that the apple tree you saw has fruit!' Honnorée was the youngest of seven, the daughter of weavers who had moved to Dôle in search of better prospects for their business. She had met Jaquob when he had come into her family's shop to buy a new basket as a birthday present for his mother, and the two nine-year-olds had become fast friends.

'I like apple with cheese' Porret's father was a watchmaker; he had made several clocks for Martin over the years, and his son had played with Yvette through many long business meetings.

'I hope there is blackberries!' Symonne was the daughter of a roofer and his wife, and had been introduced to Yvette when her father had taken a contract to make repairs to Martin's townhouse. 'I like blackberry jam.'

'They only grow in France' Yvette pat Symonne on the arm sympathetically as they stomped through the undergrowth.

'But we have blackberry jam at home!' Symonne looked at her friend, confused.

'Yes but it had to come from a long, long, long way away,' Yvette explained.

'I am not sure that is how food works' Symonne shook her head. Suddenly, they realised that the two of them and Porret had been slowly slipping behind, so the trio of four-year-olds linked hands and hurried after the older children.

****

The apple tree did have fruit on it, which they picked, and Honnorée had packed a sack of cheese and bread, so they settled down for a picnic in the middle of the clearing.

'I was introduced to Walraven yesterday' Honnorée said quietly.

'Walraven?!' Symonne, Yvette and Porret shrieked. Honnorée giggled at the look on their faces.

'Why did you not fetch me?!' Jaquob demanded.

They had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Honnorée's fiancé for months. Walraven's father and Honnorée's had originally been members of the same guild, and had kept in touch when Walraven's father moved to the County of Flanders.

The children had been introduced to each other as long-distance friends as a joke, but as their friendship blossomed their parents began to actually consider a lovematch. Honnorée's parents had been careful to stress, however, that she was in no way obligated to see the engagement through, and the wedding would not take place until the children were at least sixteen.

'What is he like?' Yvette asked.

'He is kind,' Honnorée beamed.

'Good.' Jaquob nodded.

'I hope I marry someone kind' Yvette poked the ground next to her.

'Will you marry a prince?' Symonne asked excitedly. 'I wish I could marry a prince.'

'You would have a lot of things to do if you marry a prince,' Porret chimed in.

'I would not mind as long as he was kind,' said Yvette.

________________________________________________________________

'ɸatīr?'

'Mm?'

'Am I engaged to be wed?'

Martin nearly choked on his dinner.

Coughing into his napkin, Martin shuffled his chair closer to Yvette.

'Where has this question come from, dereling?'

'Honnorée is engaged.'

Martin smiled.

Of course.

Yvette was gazing up at him, curiosity lighting her eyes. His daughter and her friends had talked of nothing but the boy's arrival for weeks; he really should have seen this sort of question coming.

Martin slid out of his chair and knelt beside his daughter so he could look her in the eye.

'No, you are not engaged. Nor do I have any plans to sell you off to the highest bidder.' Martin took Yvette's hands in his own.

'Your health and happiness comes before anything else. And when you marry, I want it to be out of love, not obligation or duty.'

'Really?' Yvette asked, surprised.

'Yes. I want a daughter, not a legacy.'

Author's Notes

Dôle was the capital of the Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté). It was bordered by the Duchy of Burgundy to the west, and the Kingdom of Arles to the east. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and during the reign of Philip the Bold Dôle served as the centre of the county's new council and parliament.

Arranged marriages were not typical for peasants, as there was really no great material benefit for either party. Land owners, lesser and upper nobility, and royalty, didn't have the luxury of marrying for love and so arranged marriages were considered quite normal.

Most European nobles married quite young (as early as 12 or 13), and there have been famous examples of pregnant mothers as young as 14 years old (Lady Margaret Beaufort, for example). However peasants often got married in their 20s, and many women remained unmarried, or worked before entering into a marriage and continued to work after they were wed.

The County of Flanders was part of the Low Countries, located along the Nort Sea. It is now known as Belgium.

ɸatīr = father

"Even so after many centuries of people eating with their hands and wiping them on anything that came to hand, a version of a fabric napkin did make its appearance in the Middle Ages. Only to disappear from many tables with the introduction of the fork from Italy in the 17th century which took the mess out of eating." Talking Tables UK

dereling = darling (I used a Middle English spelling, because I couldn't find a Proto-Celtic spelling)

Martin is still writing Baldwin letters he won't send.

#baldwin montclair #baldwin de clermont #a discovery of witches #adow #all souls trilogy #all souls series #all souls tv series #a discovery of witches season 1 #a discovery of witches season 2 #a discovery of witches season 3

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keyh0use · 9 months

Text

Chapter 2

I swear I'll get around to actually writing this soon, but have some parts of the outline for Chapter 2

♡ When Rafe and Barry decide to make things official, and then go public, no one is surprised.

♡ They say I love you to each other right off the bat, because they felt it way before it was okay to admit

♡ Sarah claims she's the reason they came to their senses

♡ Ward was already well acquainted with Barry, but started requesting the two spend time alone like he does with John B.

♡ The Cameron Patriarch brings up marriage a lot, just to see if Barry will squirm

♡ Wheezie claims Barry as her very best friend

♡ Both siblings, though they always loved their brother, find him much more tolerable to be around, not nearly as high strung and angered as easily.

♡ Once Barry had approval from both Ward and Rose as a suitable partner, he was awarded a key to Tanneyhill.

♡ Barry does disgusting, degrading things to Rafe all over the mansion.

♡ Rafe had been living with the dealer for almost a year prior to the relationship, so it seemed silly to not make that official, too.

♡ Only Ward was absolutely against it. He hadn't been able to win over John B. and Sarah, but Barry fucked around with some dangerous people in the past, so he was willing to let the real estate expert find them a home close enough to the south side to make the man's commute to work not suck, while still allowing the kook prince his status.

♡ Rafe never thought of himself as the type to be so particular over interior design, but he and Topper go to the mainland and spend forever picking out the perfect furniture.

♡ And then the kooks make Barry and his friends unload the truck and build everything

♡ Barry lives to take care of Rafe. It's his favorite thing, knowing instinctively what the boy needs and doing it before he even needs to be asked.

♡ Rafe's counter argument everytime Barry brings up having kids is: "Spend some one on one time with Wheezie, you'll change your mind."

♡ But Barry loves Wheezie, and he won't change his mind and secretly Rafe doesn't want him to, starting to feel ready to sit down and really talk about it.

♡ For now, Rafe's baby is his boat, graciously signed over to him from his dad. The boy spends countless hours fixing things before they break and sailing and forcing Barry to join him, which he always does because he likes how pretty Rafe looks in the glow of the sunset while bouncing on his lap, both of them damn near breaking longue chairs by being too rough every single time.

♡ It's mandatory for the couple to attend all sorts of kook events. One night after the two stumble into their cute home after a few too many expensive drinks, Barry admits he loves when Rafe forces them to match outfits.

♡ There's not a single anniversary or engagement party or family dinner or anything else where Rafe hasn't snuck off to get fucked in the bathroom, Barry's hand clasped over the boys mouth to muffle the slutty moans he's not even trying to hold in.

♡ Rafe will try to tame his sweaty hair and use cool water to get rid of the flush to no avail. John B. will fist bump Barry just as Sarah clues in with ew, gross.

♡ Both men are big fans of PDA, jealous and possessive despite having no reason to be.

♡ Rafe likes being told who he belongs to, whether it's while the older man is buried balls deep inside him or sleepily mumbled against his neck before bed.

♡ Some guy comes in to buy a ring for his soon-to-be wife, asking for Barry's advice. Barry has a lot of thoughts regarding jewellery, and when the customer asks if he's married the man says, "Nah, but my boyfriend's into all this stuff."

♡ After the guy has left with a dainty ring, Barry spends the rest of his shift pacing the floor trying to think of how he'll possibly grow the balls to ask Ward fucking Cameron for his only sons hand. Stupid kooks and their traditions.

♡ But then some lady makes a comment about someone like Barry being with someone like young Mr. Rafe Cameron at Midsummer's and Ward is the first to jump to his defense.

♡ "Don't listen to people like that, son. Some of these folks are too stuck in their ways," Ward says reassuringly, arm slung casually around Barry's shoulders.

♡ Topper and Barry fight like brothers, Rafe always having to break them up

♡ They have a "guest room" which Wheezie has made all her own, some of her stuffed animals on the bed and posters of Taylor Swift on the walls

♡ Barry enlists Sarah's help to find a ring, the girl squealing and grabbing onto him in excitement every few minutes for literal hours

#rafebarry #barry obx #rafe x barry #obx

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kalpasio · 3 months

Text

Batter Up

First Base

A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 1 below!

You loved playing baseball with your coworkers, but making the teams could be such a pain in the ass. Because half of the office knew who their soulmate was, but it was never even. If it didn’t give you such an advantage, no one would care, but you all knew how much of an impact having your soulmate watch made. Professional sports teams wouldn’t even consider players who hadn’t met their partner. Sure, there were a few couples in the office that could just be put on opposite teams like Seele and Bronya, but not everyone was so lucky.

Some were like Sakura who had met her soulmate, but Kallen wasn’t always available to watch. Her job as a detective meant she had a sporadic schedule and missed games even if she originally said she could make it. The majority of the office, however, was in the same boat as you.

Your soulmate was still out there somewhere, and this was your chance to find them. All around the city, there were open areas that could be used to play different sports. Rather than fencing them off from the public, however, the space was easily visible, that way, passing pedestrians might catch a glimpse of a future partner.

Every other week, your office would reserve the field to play baseball (for ‘team building’) and every other week, you’d be out there hoping to suddenly start playing better. As much as you valued this opportunity, setting up with a n uneven number of soulmates really made you question if all this aggravation was worth it.

“Why can’t we just send one person with a match home?”

“We’d have an uneven number of players,” Dr. Mei closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to explain, and she doubted it would be the last.

“Look, each team has more than enough players, we can survive with one less,” you suggested. You just wanted to get this show on the road, even if it was an unfair contest.

“I can go,” Kiana raised her hand. “I need to buy some groceries for dinner anyway.”

“If you leave, we’ll just be back where we stared, you’d have to stay for Mei or we’re still not even on soulmates.” (Having two ‘Mei’s in the office was not at all confusing)

“I’ll go,” Durandal raised her hand this time. Normally Rita would be on the field as well, but she decided to sit out to finish up some work.

It had taken twenty minutes, but finally, you all got on your teams and sorted out everyone’s position. Since your team had the extra player, Sakura offered to bat, but not play in the field. She had hit more homeruns than anyone else in the office, but couldn’t throw to save her life, so there were no objections.

At first, the teams were even, though it was clear those with their partners watching were carrying most of the weight. Around the third inning, you saw Sakura jog over to the fence while you were getting set up at first base. Her sister, Rin, was there, fingers curling through the chain-links while she practically bounced up and down. Next to her was probably the most intimidating man you had ever seen.

His arms were crossed to show just how thrilled he was to be there. He wore black slacks and a blazer, similar to what you’d seen Kallen wear to work, but her muscles weren’t nearly as obvious through the fabric as this guys. It didn’t help that the net behind the batter was casting a shadow over his face to cover what you were certain was a permanent glare.

Raven, your pitcher, whistled sharply to get your attention and gave a smug grin when your head whipped back around. Giving a sheepish smile, you adjusted your glove and got ready for the next inning.

And that would have been that. Sakura talking to her weirdly creepy friend (or was he Rin’s friend?) at the baseball game between rounds. Except you started playing better. Like. Way better. Only an inning later your team had pulled ahead a noticeable amount, almost entirely because of you. At first, there was a bit of grumbling from the other side, but once it became clear what was happening, everyone just seemed excited to finish the game. Some because they were sore losers, but most of your coworkers wanted you to go find your soulmate.

As soon as the game was over, you ran to the fence to ask for your soulmate. Of the five or six people who had been watching, two had left before you even got over to them. The third told you she had been to a couple of your group’s games now. If she was your soulmate, you would have known by now. The rest were happy to give you their number, but it wasn’t apparent that one was your match. With a sigh, you walked back to the dugout to pack up before heading home. On the way out, you stopped to talk to Sakura for a minute.

“Any luck?” Your coworker turned to face you, still holding onto Rin’s hand.

“I got a few numbers but none of them really stand out you know?” you shrugged. “I’ll try talking to them and hopefully next time we play I’ll get a definite answer.”

“It wasn’t obvious for me and Kallen at first. Give it some time,” Sakura sent you a smile. “This is Kalpas, by the way,” she waved to the man who showed up with Rin. He still looked angry; the only difference was that you were up close now instead of far away. “He actually works with Kallen, but we were friends long before they met.”

With a polite smile you held out your hand in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.” Kalpas grunted and looked down at your hand but made no move to return the gesture. After a few seconds of awkwardly standing there, you were about to pull your hand back when Rin reached up and took hold of it.

“You’re supposed to shake hands!” she said. “Like this!” The girl shook your hand harshly up and down way too many times, but you appreciated her enthusiasm. When she finally stopped, you gave a small laugh and pulled your hand back to rest on the strap between your shoulder and your bag.

“Well, I gotta get going,” you nodded your head in the direction of your car. “I’ll see you on Monday!” The three of you waved as you walked off and Kalpas remained still as a statue, brooding as always.

“I don’t think it’s me,” Derek shook his head. He had invited you over to play some video games on the weekend after the two of you had spent the week prior texting. It was meant to be a relaxed date, but you both knew you were testing your soulmate bond. The fact that you both were struggling with a game as simple as Mario made it apparent that the bond simply wasn’t there.

Turning to look at him, the grimace on Derek’s face matched yours. “That’s what I was afraid of.” You sighed. “I really have enjoyed talking with you though.”

“Oh same here!” he was quick to agree, bringing back a bit of your smile. “And you don’t have to go, we can keep hanging out. I just don’t want to act like there’s something going on between us when there’s not.”

“Right, no I get it. I actually have some errands to run so I’m gonna head out, but we should keep in touch!”

“Yeah of course!”

You stood from the couch with Derek following as you grabbed your things and stood by the door. Both of you were clearly uncomfortable and you couldn’t wait to get out of this apartment. The smile you gave as you left was forced, but so was his. You both knew there weren’t any errands, you just needed some space for now. Derek might make a good friend in a few weeks but the disappointment of not finding your soulmate was hard to ignore.

On the bright side, you only had the rest of this week before your next baseball game, and you’d already scheduled with Nick for him to be there. Given that Derek wasn’t your partner, and you only had two choices to begin with, it seemed likely Nick was your soulmate, but you wanted to be sure.

Over the past week you had felt like you got along better with Derek, but you may have just been too focused on one person; or maybe you and Nick just hadn’t found the right topic to talk about. Regardless, you were excited for this Friday.

“Your soulmate gonna be there tonight?”

“I hope so!” The workday seemed to drag on forever. It felt like your computer knew you wanted time to go faster, and it was intentionally freezing on every document you tried to open.

Even though you potentially had your soulmate waiting for you, the teams were balanced out like you still weren’t matched. That way, if Nick is your soulmate, you would be able to tell.

He was right on time, giving you a wave and a huge smile that you returned. As soon as the game started, your eyes were practically glued to the scoreboard, waiting for your team to pull ahead. But it never happened.

You ended up losing so badly that your team forfeited after the seventh inning.

“So…”

“Yeah.”

Your voice was quiet, the disappointment clear. Nick for his part at least seemed to be putting on a brave face.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” he said. “I keep going to games and thinking I’ve found my soulmate only to come up with nothin.”

You winced, feeling bad for adding to his list of not-soulmates. “I hope you find them soon?”

“Same goes for you!”

The walk to the dugout was too long and you could feel the pitying eyes of your coworkers on you the whole way.

“No luck?” Kallen looked up from where she had squatted to fuss over Rin’s hair.

“Nope,” you popped the ‘p,’ frustration evident. “I wouldn’t be so bummed but that was my last lead. That means my soulmate walked off before I even saw them and who knows when I’ll see them again.”

“Want me to pull up the surveillance footage?” Kallen joked and almost fell over when Sakura nudged her.

You gave a nervous laugh, “while I’m sure you have cameras everywhere, I think I’m all set.” That would be a fun conversation to have. ‘Yeah, I think we might be soulmates so I had my coworker’s wife pull up some secret police cameras to find out who you are and where you live. Wanna get food this Saturday?’

I'm gonna be honest, I know very little about Kallen, I kinda just made her character up as I went oops?

#azaryawrites #kalpas x reader #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #hi3 x reader #x reader #soulmate AU

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