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bunny-rambles · 2 years

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Fleeting moments, sudden kisses

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characters; Albedo, Childe, Diluc, Kaeya, Xiao, (separate) and gn reader

cw/tw; minor swearing, very minor mention of fighting on Kaeya’s, other than that it’s pure fluff (but still, let me know if I’ve missed anything.

word count; 400+ for each character

notes; to combat my writers block, I dug out something from my ‘ideas’ drafts and decided to write it and I really like how it’s turned out. It’s my first time writing Diluc so I’m kinda nervous (thank you so much for the tips, Hazel <3) I hope you all enjoy

Please reblog if you like this!!

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Albedo

A quiet sigh slipped out of your lips as you rubbed at your forehead, eyes fixated on the paper in front of you. You could hear the sound being echoed by your counterpart beside you, who was equally stumped. This problem had eluded the both of you for a few days now, and neither of you were coming up with a solution anytime soon. The words were starting to blur together from how hard you were staring, as if the paper had the answers you seeked, making the passages jumbled with sentences that didn’t exist. And it didn’t help that the fire beside you was starting to dim again, yielding to the harsh conditions of the snowy mountain you were stuck on.

Cerulean eyes scanned the information in front of them, pale fingers tender against the page of the old book, as if one wrong move would make the brittle pages crumble. You were envious of the treatment… You hadn’t even realised a small pout was forming on your lips. You let a quiet huff of breath before shaking your head. Focus, Y/N, this was not the time to start getting jealous over a book of all things!

“Is everything alright?” A warm voice asked, the sound wrapping around you like a snug blanket, a comfort much needed.

“Hm?”

“You’ve been staring at my hand for a while. Do you perhaps need a break?” The alchemist asked, eyes flitting between the work in front of him and your gradually warming face.

“Oh, I- I hadn’t even noticed.” You chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of your neck to soothe yourself. It was embarrassing that you had been caught… But, now would’ve been the perfect time to take up his suggestion. You had been going at it for hours, after all. Before you could respond, Albedo had already closed the book and was shutting your own that was in front of you, rising from his seat.

“The fire has gone out. You must be cold.” He stated matter-of-factly, already beginning to shed his coat. The words on your tongue died along with your resolve as he placed the fabric around you, his hands lingering on your shoulders for a moment longer than they should’ve. Your own hands reached up to grasp at the clothing, your cheeks now a prominent pink.

“Thank you…”

“Of course.” He nodded, a subtle smile forming on his lips. As if your heart couldn’t take anymore, the blonde prince leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek, before whispering in your ear quietly,

“Anything for you, dearest.”

Childe

You waited. It seemed like forever that you waited. Day in, day out, you waited - for good news, for bad, for something, anything. And now, your patience has finally been rewarded.

You stood quietly, nervously wringing your hands together, nibbling on your bottom lip. You were sure it was today. You double- no, triple checked the letter to make sure. You didn’t want to get it out in case the shaking of your hands caused you to drop the precious cargo, but you were certain of the words.

Today.

Ajax was coming home today. No more incessant, aggravating waiting. He would be here soon, wrapped up in your embrace and you weren’t letting go anytime soon. The Fatui would have to go through you if they wanted Tartaglia back. There was no Tartaglia when he was with you, only Ajax - only your soulmate.

In the distance, just beyond the murky fog, you could see the outline of a large ship coming closer. The horn it sounded off rang in your ears as you took a few steps forward, making yourself stand out from the bustling crowd that was also there, painfully patient to see their loved ones. Your breath hitched when it finally pulled up at the docks, your fidgeting hands freezing once they balled up into tight, anxious fists. And then the doors opened.

As one, the group pushed forward, greedily taking up the space at the front, knocking you out of the way. You wanted to shout in frustration, for now you couldn’t see the exiting passengers, could not see the unruly red hair you so desperately wanted to see. You were sure you screamed his name as your hand reached out towards the boat, but it was too late. You had been pushed too far for your voice to be heard above the ravenous crowd. Defeated, you stumbled backwards, a shaky sigh leaving your lips.

Just as you were about to give up, to go home and wait for him there, you were swept up by a pair of familiar arms, being hoisted up to a certain height before warm lips crashed into your cold ones. You weren’t sure whose tears were wetting your cheeks, but one thing you were sure of was you were where you belonged and so was he.

Here, in your shared, loving embrace, he mumbles against your lips - “I’m home, beautiful.”

Diluc

The gentle clink of glasses being put away echoed through the room, only to be drowned out by you happily humming to yourself as you put yet another glass back in its place. With your lover being busy with ‘external affairs’ away from the winery, you took it upon yourself to help Adalinde out with the piling housework since the winery was short staffed at the moment. But if anything, you were thankful for this opportunity- the less work Diluc had to worry about when he got home, the better, and you were more than happy to assist anyway.

He had been back for quite some time now, but you were sure he hadn’t even noticed you were here. You were tucked away in the kitchen, after all. You did hear both Elzer and Adalinde mildly scold him for being gone for so long though, which made you chuckle quietly under your breath, then you heard the telltale sound of his footsteps heading up the stairs to his room. Hopefully, he had been convinced to get some rest - you knew how hard he worked, day and night, sometimes it felt like he never stopped. If for only a moment, he could relax because you had lessened his load, then you would take up every menial duty you could. It was nothing compared to what he did.

You were down to the few dozen glasses when suddenly, you felt the presence of another behind you. Bleary eyes peered over your shoulder, noticing the neatly placed dishes and other utensils that had been placed back in their original spot after being cleaned thoroughly. You heard a mumble, the deep timbre sending small jolts down your spine.

“What's that, dear?” You asked quietly, turning your head slightly towards him to listen while you continued your cleaning.

“… Did all this?” You could barely make out what he was saying, but you nodded anyway.

“I did. Did I wake you?” You asked, only to receive a shake of his head, his impressive but messy mane springing upwards from the motion. Hesitant arms wrapped around your middle from behind, pulling you into his broad chest, his head burying itself in the space between your shoulder and neck.

“Diluc?” You questioned, a soft gasp escaping your lips when you felt his lips against your skin as he spoke.

“….Thank you.” He mumbled quietly, before more firmly pressing his lips against the bare side of your neck. You were sure your face matched the shade of his fiery hair, your hands halting in their actions before you carefully placed the glass down, sure you were going to break it if you held it any longer.

“…Bed.”

“Huh?”

“Bed… Come to… with me.”

“But-“

“I’ll finish it later.” He grumbled, nuzzling further into your shoulder. You sighed in defeat, raising a hand to run your fingers through his unruly hair, which he sluggishly leaned into. You smiled softly at that.

“Alright…”

Kaeya

“You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

“Hm? Do what?” A sly voice questioned, chuckling at the blank look you gave him.

“Kaeya.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a date, aren’t I allowed to be a gentleman?” Once again, another silky laugh was uttered from those sultry lips. Slick bastard.

He was right, this was a date, perhaps the first one to be officially titled as that, even though the two of you had been an item for quite some time now. With his claim as the Cavalry Captain and you were with your own job, it was almost impossible to get any free time together. Most of it was spent at the tavern or at home, curled up in each other’s arms. It was more than enough for you, but it seemed that your partner thought otherwise. He wanted to show you how much he cherished you, even if it did mean that he was rather… What was the word? Cheesy, about it.

“But you didn’t have to dress up! I thought we were only going to Good Hunter!” You whined playfully, playing with the single rose in your hand he had gifted to you when you opened the door. It wasn’t as if he was trying to steal the limelight, you too had taken the time to put on your best clothes. You had wanted it to be special, and it seemed he also returned that sentiment.

He laughed quietly, taking your hand in his own and leading you out of the doorway. “But isn’t it fun? I should’ve done this when I asked you to be mine.”

“Wasn’t asking me in the middle of fighting abyss mages enough for you?” You teased with a smirk. Ah yes, you remembered. The two of you were just about to confess to each other when all of a sudden, the abyss decided now was the perfect time to ruin the moment. But, you couldn’t exactly say it wasn’t memorable when Kaeya decided to yell about his feelings for you in the middle of the battle. Why did he decide to do it then of all times? Then, when you had to focus on not being hit by the hurricane of water being hurled your way, and not the beating of your longing heart? It wasn’t as if you were any better, screaming at the top of your lungs that his feelings were returned.

“Hm, I suppose so, but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“What exactly did you have in mind?” You asked quietly.

“Well…” He started, before lifting your hand towards his face. “I would’ve done this,” He chuckled, kissing your hand gently, his icy eyes trailing up to meet your own, “Before asking you to be mine.“

Xiao

The wind gently tousled your hair as your hands glided across the stems of the flowers almost expertly, a curious immortal by your side as he watched in a trance.

“See? It’s easy! And you just continue to do that until…” Your voice began to fade out, your words getting lost in the spring breeze as his eyes focused on your face. Your eyes were so vibrant when you talked about something you were interested in. Even if he had lived for thousands of years, and had gathered knowledge on almost every topic by now, he was still enchanted whenever you spoke of something that intrigued you. He blinked a few times before realising you were calling his name, your face scrunched up in… Confusion? Sadness? He wasn’t sure, all he knew was that he didn’t want to see that frown on your face. You were too precious for such an expression.

“Sorry… I think I understand.” Xiao spoke quietly, hesitantly reaching out for the unfinished ringlet of flowers in your hand. He then picked a flower not too far away from him and began very carefully weaving it into the fixed stems. “Like this…?” He questioned quietly, which made that beautiful smile of yours return to your lips.

“You got it! Now for the best part…” You hummed, taking the crown from his hands and placing it gently on top of his head. “Ta da! Now you’ve got a crown fit for the prince you are!” A gleeful giggle broke out from your chest at the adeptus’s cheeks burning brightly from your words.

“I do not deserve such a title.” He huffed, folding his arms over his chest, stubbornly looking away for a moment, only for him to shyly shift his gaze back towards you again - almost as if he couldn’t help himself. “But… Your kindness is accepted. Thank you.”

Still, even when he was surrounded with nature's finest beauty, he couldn’t take his eyes off you - by far, you outshined the flowers around you. If anything, all they did was enhance how truly radiant you were.

As the two of you laid back, with your hands resting on your stomach while you rested peacefully, he continued to stare - continued to wonder how he managed to earn the honour of having you by his side. He swallowed quietly, sitting up slowly. You seemed to have fallen asleep… Which was the perfect excuse to do what he had been wanting for the entire time he had spent with you. Carefully, with the tenderness of a falling petal, he placed a gentle kiss atop of your forehead.

“Sleep well.”

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youreallyshouldtalkmore · 6 months

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Dark Imagination_ Part 7

A.N: Thank you so much for all the likes, reblogs, comments, etc!! I appericate it!! I'm glad that you all are liking the story!

Genshin Impact MasterList

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The next day was fraught with a tension so thick one could cut it. It was like no one wanted to be the one to tip the balance. Barely any words were exchanged that night in the coven, between you and them or even between themselves. It was as if words had ceased to have meaning. You found yourself thankful as it afforded you time to be in your thoughts. Thoughts that drifted this way and that until that following night as you watched the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky. Turning from the window, you exited your bedroom and strode purposely down the familiar hallways.

They would be waking fairly soon.

When they emerge from their sleeping chambers, they were quite surprised to see you waiting at the entrance of the hallway. They were all stunned as you turned to them without preamble, “We need to talk.”

Then you turned and walked away, expecting them to follow you.

Silently, they exchanged looks. Alhaitham was the first to begin to follow you, without looking back at the other two. Neuvillette followed second but paused when he realized Zhongli seemed frozen. Then he turned, hands leaning on his cane. Despite being one of the Seven Vampire Lords, Neuvillette knew he must have been the most scared out of the three of them. It took a moment for Zhongli to gather himself to raise his head and begin walking. He saw approval in Neuvillette’s eyes as he passed. He snorted silently. Like he needed the approval. Though, it did help to gauge that he wasn't losing himself.

You and Alhaitham had already been waiting, sitting down on the couches, as Zhongli and Neuvillette wandered in. Even Xiao stood in the shadows in the corner of the room. You had asked him to be present, so Xiao obliged but would not participate in the pending conversation.

Once everyone was settled, you spoke, "Xiao explained, I should make a decision by tonight if we needed time to see the witches again."

"He's not incorrect." Zhongli spoke. He realized that not one person here told you how you would get home. Perhaps he should have done so day one, but somewhere in him, he was loathed to admit he hadn't wanted you to know.

“So, what do you wish to do? Have you made your decision?" Alhaitham asked, folding his arms.

You hadn't looked at them since you sat down, and instead were looking at your clasp hands in your lap.

"....I…never thought that vampires were real. That even another world existed, much less vampires. They were only ever stories in my world. One of millions of stories. Fantasy. I loved fantasy as it was….an escape. A friend. The only one I had."

"You…surely you had friends?" Neuvillette asked softly. He could not imagine someone like you not having friends. Many in fact. Why would someone not want to be friends with you.

You shook your head, "No, I didn't have any friends."

Zhongli breathed, "That's unacceptable."

"Indeed." Alhathiam spoke.

"I concur." Neuvillette added.

You smiled lightly at this. Why did that warm you? You continued, "Either way, I made do and would have continued, but then I was brought to this world."

There was a lull of silence.

A silence was testing all three vampire's patience.

Alhaitham breathed. What was your decision exactly? He could not discern with all this setup. It was close to driving him to distraction. He barely managed to finish one book in the past several days because his mind was far from what was on the page.

An unfortunate, fortunate thing, depending on the point of view.

You licked your lips, "I mean, if it's not too much trouble…I…I…."

Why was this so hard? Either decision would irrevocable change your life. Was there a wrong choice, or was it that you just had to choose?

"...I….would like to stay."

You finally got it out, and you swore the room froze. You risk looking up to find three pairs of eyes riveted on you.

Neuvillette was the first to speak, "Allow me to clarify, you wish to stay? Does that mean you consent to become this coven’s Blood Mistress?"

You nodded.

"And to clarify that, you'll let us drink your blood?" Alhaitham asked.

You ducked your gaze but nodded.

They both turned to Zhongli who seems to have frozen into stone.

"Breathe, my friend.”, Neuvillette murmured, “She is staying.”

"My lord?" Xiao had appeared next to Rex Lapis and ventured to touch his arm.

Zhongli stirred then before reaching up to rub his temples, "I…. am fine. I heard. You have my gratitude, Miss. Y/N."

Xiao gave you a thankful smile and bowed once in gratitude. You only shook your head.

Neuvillette glanced at Alhaitham, "I think, it's right that the oldest vampire among us should have the first taste, no?"

"I have reading to catch up on." The scholar said without preamble before disappearing on the spot.

Neuvillette stood and smiled reassuringly at you, "Is this acceptable, madame?"

You nodded with wide eyes. Neuvillette inclined his head once before walking out of the room without a backwards glance. Xiao sketched a bow before disappearing, leaving you alone with Zhongli.

No, you thought with a shiver, Rex Lapis. It was obvious the way he was looking at you that it was Rex Lapis.

You swallowed as his amber eyes captured yours. You were dimly aware of Xiao reappearing briefly in the room with a tray of tea. He set it down before disappearing again.

Then Rex Lapis broke your gaze, looking down at the tea. Wordlessly, he fixed two cups of tea. Why did it seem he was doing it at an agonizing pace, each movement measured and unhurried?

Yet, his eyes kept cutting towards you, as if you’d disappear at any given moment. Finally, two cups were made to his perfection before he picked up one and sat it down in front of you.

“Something to calm the nerves.” He murmured as he glanced outside. It seemed the rain was receding, he thought in amusement.

You swallowed nervously, “May I ask a question?”

Rex Lapis blew over his tea once before responding, “Always.”

“Will I turn into a vampire?”

He looked at you then, eyes piercing, “Do you wish to be?”

You ducked your head, “I said I'd become this coven’s Blood Mistress. I've already accepted whatever that entails.”

Rex Lapis chuckled, “You humans come up with clever ideas. I do not have to turn you. Blood Mistress or Master naturally have their lives extended. Some chose to become a vampire, but that is not a decision you need to make any time soon.”

You breathed, “Ah, I see. Good to know.”

You didn’t think you had any more strength to make any more life altering decisions right now.

Honestly, just getting to this step required all your brain power in the last few days. You weren't sure what you would do if you had to think about turning. You just barely began to stay up to 2am…..sometimes.

Rex Lapis stood and crossed the room in one stride to sit next to you, “My, my you are trembling, my dear.”

He took the cup out of our hands after sitting his own down, placing it next to his own. Then he placed his gloved hand over yours.

It seemed you were a bundle of nerves right now. Not only from making this decision, but also from the new reality facing you.

A gloved hand came under your chin and lifted your head. His lips were inches from yours, making you gasped lightly.

“Are you frightened?”

“Yes.” Why lie, when he could hear your heartbeat?

“You have nothing to be frightened about. I will not cause you any undue pain.”, He caressed your cheek, his own lips parting, and you saw the fangs glinting in the darkness.

His thumb rested on your lips as his other hand came around your waist, pulling you to him.

His voice seemed to deepen as his amber eyes glowed. He whispered more to himself, "I've waited so, so long. Too long…I…"

His eyes darted to your neck. He seemed to be in a trance as he brought his lips closer and closer.

Then suddenly he was snatching himself away from you, slapping a hand over his mouth.

Over your own heartbeat, you heard him mutter, "No, this is wrong. I shouldn't be doing this."

You gazed at him, who had his head turned away from. You heard him muttering under his breath. It just occurred to you. You were frightened of this new reality.

Was he as well?

Your eyes soften as you reached up and gingerly turned his face back to you, pulling his hand down.

He went because he felt he had no choice.

Your voice was barely a whisper, “I've already agreed, so you are doing nothing wrong.”

"You say that, but I hear your heartbeat. You are afraid. You even admitted as much."

"As are you."

Rex Lapis looked as if you slapped him.

You gave a teasing shy smile, “You aren’t?”

"Is this what you call fear? Fear that I would hurt you despite promising you are safe with me. Fear that you would come to regret your choice? If that is fear, then yes, I am afraid."

You gave a smile that seemed to become the moonlight itself, making his breath hitched.

"Your words comfort me more than you know." You guided his hand to lay at the base of your neck, lowering your eyes.

Rex Lapis brought one hand up to pull his glove off with his teeth without his eyes moving away from your neck. Then he quickly did the same with the other before tilting your chin.

“Forgive my disturbances, then.” He spoke as his arm snaked around your waist once more. His other hand ran a fingernail down your neck.

Strange…. You thought vampires were supposed to cold, be he was fairly warm. Your eyelids fluttered, as he dipped his head to your neck.

Then, his tongue dated out, running over your skin once. Twice. You clung to him became you couldn't do anything else. You shut your eyes with a grimace as you felt his teeth sink into your neck. You felt him shudder as he tried to bring you closer to him.

It hurt but then, a warmth followed, filling you down to your bones, making you sigh.

You felt yourself float for seemingly a long while before finally Rex Lapis pulled back, “No more….no more…."

He seemed to be telling himself this as you pried open your eyes to look up at him. He had his own head tilted back, and you could see the stain of your blood on his lips before he licked them.

After a few minutes, he lowered his head to look down at you with a soft smile, "Thank you, my dear. That was worth the wait."

Then he turned and picked up your teacup, “Please drink. You may feel yourself weakened. I shall have Xiao bring you some food to replenish the blood I took.”

You reached for the cup but found your hands were trembling as you accepted it. Zhongli used one hand to hold it over yours to steady you.

You drank.

When you finished, Zhongli took the cup and placed it on the table before leaning over and kissing you on the forehead.

Part 8

#genshin impact #genshin impact fanfic #genshin impact fanfiction #zhongli #zhongli x reader #neuvillette #neuvillette x reader #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #vampires

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demonpoxballad · 2 years

Text

The Last Name - oneshot

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Word count: 1.8k

Summary: There’s one more name from the past bouncing around Bucky’s head. One more scribble ripped from the pages of Steve’s old book. Another person to make amends with. Except this one is different: he can’t remember doing anything wrong. No murdering or enabling of evil plans. No threats or political conquests. In fact, Bucky can’t remember much of her at all.

Warnings: swearing, description of panic attacks, angst, fluff

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Hey! Omg we're back! I guess this is the start of r moving in with Bucky after their time in Finland hehe. If anyone has anymore ideas for oneshots please let me know because I love writing this story so much <3

(really hoping this gets into the tags but my posts haven't been recently so please reblog if you liked this!)

New York, present-day:

Brooklyn loomed over her, on all sides. There were moments of respite: ivy winding up ornate stairs, handbag dogs with their jolly trots, the odd break from crowds. But it was overwhelming, she had to admit. At every alleyway punctuating their walk, she would tug Bucky away into the damp darkness. Her breath would heave, and her back would get soaked through from leaning on the wall, and he would just hold her face until she could go again.

“Nearly there,” he promised her. “We’re nearly there.”

“Okay,” she nodded, standing up straight and hoisting her bag back onto her shoulder. “I’m ready.”

“We can get a cab, y/n. This is too much, we should get a cab.”

“No, no. I can do this,” she protested. “I need to do it at some point, so it might as well be now.”

She pulled Bucky back onto the sidewalk, not paying any attention to his exasperated headshaking. If she would be living here from now on, she had to get used to the crowds. Her body still remembered the ebb and flow of them, though; Bucky trailed behind the whole way as she ducked and weaved like a local on a tight schedule. And she enjoyed the anonymity of cities, as well. She told herself that no one she encountered would ever see her again, let alone remember her well enough to describe. She was safe here. A nobody.

“I’m warning you,” Bucky told her as they approached his apartment block. “My place is a very sad affair.”

“It can’t be any worse than my fucking homemade shack, Bucky.”

He chuckled. “Okay. Fair enough.”

He led the way up the stairs, checking over his shoulder frequently to see that she was still right behind. She had to glance up quickly from his butt each time. He unlocked the door and dumped his stuff on the floor, watching as she ventured inside. She disappeared into the bedroom, taking in the empty bedframe and dry wet-room. Bucky was still embarrassed, she could tell, as she flopped down onto the grey loveseat. She resigned herself to looking as comfy as possible, spreading her knees and letting her head fall back, until he learnt to relax as well. It didn’t take long; he soon wandered over from his hiding space behind the kitchen counter to collapse beside her.

“Worlds colliding?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“Does this feel weird? Like worlds colliding?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he said. “More than that, though, you know?” He turned towards her and smiled. She instantly felt like a giggling teenager. “You make this place feel a lot better.”

She smiled back. “I’m glad.”

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She found herself jolting internally, her eyebrows jumping. Perhaps it would take a while for her to get used to this. To being looked after.

She reached for Bucky’s hand on his thigh. “I’m good. Tired. This is a lot.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

She shook her head in refusal.

“We just have one more thing to do today, though,” he said.

“Buy a mattress?” she teased.

“Hah. Other than that.”

She tapped a finger against her chin in mock thought. Then a grin and a cheer: “Sam!”

“Sam,” Bucky affirmed.

***

“Last time I came here to see him,” Bucky said in her ear, his hand on her elbow. “They tried to arrest me, so just - ”

“Oh, shit,” she moaned.

“ – it’ll be fine, I promise.”

She stopped in the middle of the parking lot, eyes pleading with him. She really didn’t need any trouble.

He couldn’t argue with her. “Okay, it’s fine, I’ll call Sam,” he rummaged in his jean pocket for his phone, and she handed it to him from her own back pocket, “and he can come down to get us.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey!” a voice boomed across from the entrance. It was the man himself. “Here they are!”

“You should cancel the call,” she murmured in Bucky’s ear, meanwhile smiling and waving enthusiastically over at Sam.

Bucky fumbled with his phone, pressing buttons at random.

Sam held his phone out as he walked over. “Buck,” he shouted. “Why’re you calling me?”

“Shit,” Bucky murmured. She couldn’t help but snicker at him. “I – uh,” he called back at Sam, “we were just – never mind.”

Sam walked straight towards her, and she took hold of his outstretched hands gladly. “It’s good to see you,” he told her.

She found herself a little speechless. Sure, she knew Bucky, and he was a superhero too, no matter the tortured past. But Sam was well-adjusted, and kind, and handsome, and Captain America . . .

“How’s it going?” she managed to say.

The men hugged in that specific macho way, and she couldn’t help but grin at them. It was nice to see Bucky as a functioning member of society.

They walked inside together, Bucky’s arm tucking her into his shoulder. She reached over to pat his chest, holding up an innocent peace sign when he stared incredulously at her. “Bro,” she teased. He shook his head, chuckling. Getting past reception was blissfully uneventful with Sam as their chaperone.

“I’ve gotta say,” Sam said as they entered the elevator. “I can see how you managed to seduce this robotic mope into a European cottage romance.”

“Yeah?” she said.

“Yeah. You’re pretty.” He grinned. His smile was so dreamy. “Bucky never told me that, and the KIA pics don’t do you justice.”

“I’m right here,” Bucky complained.

Sam held his hands up. “I’m just saying what I see.”

“Um. Thanks, Sam,” she said, trying to catch Bucky’s eyes to smile at him. He was glaring studiously at Sam.

“Okay. I’ll stop now. It won’t happen again,” Sam said.

“Yeah,” Bucky replied. “You do that.”

They sat down in Sam’s office together, him on one side, and her and Bucky on the other. She took in the full-length windows, the plushness of the seat beneath her, the monochrome palette. It suited Sam well, and at the same time, not at all.

“Sorry about the set up,” Sam said. “I promise this isn’t an interview.”

“That’s okay,” she said. Bucky shuffled his seat closer to her and put his hand on her arm rest. She kept her own cradled in her lap.

“It’s more of a job offer,” Sam said.

“What?” She glanced over at Bucky but he was no help, only offering a nonchalant shrug. She’d have to have a stern talk with him later about surprises, and how much she really didn’t appreciate them.

“Bucky’s told me a lot about how you work,” Sam carried on. “And I’ve done my own research as well.” He leaned forward onto his desk, fiddling with a pen sat there. “You’re not just skilled, y/n, you’re empathy personified, a guardian. I need that kind of compassion around.”

She shook her head. “I know Bucky has probably told you his version of events, but it’s a sugar-coated - ”

“Stop it,” Bucky interrupted.

“What? I’m telling the truth.”

“No. Stop it. I’m serious.” His expression was resolute, eyes piercing her own.

“Bastard,” she whispered.

Bucky leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. She tried not to ogle at the way his biceps swelled. “Let’s just listen to what Sam has to say,” he said.

Sam was trying his best and failing not to smile. She didn’t feel like she knew him well enough yet to tell him off for enjoying their squabbling.

“Um. Okay,” he began again. “I do have a specific mission for you, to start off. How about I brief you next Monday, and you decide if you want it? I think it will suit you well, even with your time off. But no hard feelings if you’re not interested.”

She wasn’t worried about hard feelings. She was worried about soft, caring, disappointed-not-angry ones. Could she say no to Captain America? More importantly, could she say no to Bucky?

“I’ll think about it,” she told them.

“Working with Sam really helped me,” Bucky said, tapping her hand. “I had forgotten that could do good things, given a proper choice. Help people, even.”

Bucky and Sam smiled at each other, a distinct sense of understanding floating across the room. She felt sick to her stomach.

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s fine,” Sam said. “That’s great, thank you.”

A long silence ensued. The men looked sheepish, their body language all twiddling thumbs and shifty eyes.

“Is there something else?” she asked.

“Fury,” Bucky said. “He’d like to talk to you.”

“Oh.”

They didn’t give her time to process.

Sam spun in his chair, pressing the button on a comically small remote. NFJ flared up as a hologram icon, hovering in the corner of the room. Standing up, Sam laid the remote down on the desk in front of her.

“Just press this twice,” he pointed.

They both left the room. She barely registered Bucky standing up next to her, nor the gentle kiss on her forehead before he walked away. She sat still, in front of the remote, for a period of time that felt just like falling.

And she still hadn’t moved an inch when Fury appeared himself, grainy but real before her.

She raised a finger to her mouth, biting down and trying to hold back tears.

“They told me to wait until you connected, but I didn’t want to,” he said.

“Right,” she replied. “Hi.”

“Hello.”

“You didn’t fancy taking a short vacation to good old C-53?”

He laughed. Her own face remained sullen. “How are you?”

“I’d like to hate you,” she told him. It had been a long day already, and she didn’t have the energy for niceties.

“Okay,” he agreed. “But?”

“I don’t think I can. Not anymore than I hate myself, anyway.”

Fury shifted around on his feet. “That’s good to know.”

She strained to listen for background noise from his end, maybe for some foreign languages or strange dialects, but there were none to be heard.

“I’m sorry I fucked the mission,” she said.

“No, no,” he consoled. She’d never seen him look so remorseful. So out of control. “I’m sorry for leaving you on your own.”

“Did you hear about the widows? And all the super soldiers?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. Fury knew who she was. And she knew him. It was a relief to share this guilt with somebody.

“I’ve thought about you every day since,” he said.

“Same.” They shared a smile.

“I wish I could be there,” he said. “I might have even hugged you.”

She chuckled. “You’re a busy man. I understand.”

“You’re important to me,” he stressed.

She thought about Bucky. She imagined his eyes as he smiled, the crinkles at the edges, the luminous quality to his irises. His head on her lap on the day that he found her. And the peace they had carried between them ever since. She didn’t want to be angry, or sad; she’d already had a lifetime of that. No more.

“I understand,” she repeated.

(really hoping this gets into the tags but my posts haven't been recently so please reblog if you liked this!) Taglist: @mayasreadingnook @writing-for-marvel @howlermonkey69 @ginger-swag-rapunzel @cuddlycalcifer @bambamwolf87 @twinerd14 @violets-library @hallecarey1 @cjand10 @navs-bhat @themorningsunshine

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky barnes fanfic #soft!bucky barnes #the winter soldier #angst #bucky barnes angst #fluff #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #bucky x reader

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companionjones · 2 years

Text

Last Time

Pairing: Severus Snape x Reader

Fandom: Harry Potter, Wizarding World

Summary: Severus visits Lily for the last time.

Warnings: Heavy themes of death

*******

“Go ahead. Take all the time you need. “I’ll be right here whenever you’re done.”

Severus approached the block of cement he was, sadly, all too familiar with. He only addressed the right side of the grave.

“Hello again, Lily. I apologize for it being so long since my last visit...”

He hesitated, staring at the carved words. “The fact is...I met someone...and I feel...I feel like I have finally moved on from you.”

A quick smile graced the potion master’s lips. “That feels so freeing to be able to say. I know we never discussed it while you were...still here, but you must’ve found out as soon as you moved on. A part of me feels like you knew even before...Who am I kidding? You’re you and I’m sure I didn’t conceal my feelings as well as I thought I did in my naive youth.”

“You just didn’t feel the same way...which I forced myself to accept; however, the inadequacies of my failed attempt at that shown through for years to follow.

“They were never more obvious, my remaining feelings for you, than when I met Y/n. I despised Y/n at first, though I know it was because of how much they remind me of you. The both of you are alike in several ways, but in many others, I don’t think you could be more different.” A smirk twitched across Snape’s face. “You both are the kindest people I’ve ever met in my life, of course, but Y/n has a threshold. I don’t believe there is a person alive who can hold a grudge as long as they can. And my god, do they have a wildness to them that I have never known,” he chuckled, “With you and me, you were the one to keep me from spiraling, but now I find myself the one calming things.

“I have never been happier. Y/n is someone I see myself spending the rest of my life with, and that is exactly what I plan on doing. Y/n doesn’t know this, but I have a ring in my pocket. I have kept it there for about two weeks. I’m just looking for the right time. Maybe that is something you can help me find.

“I realize James and his dogs would have likely made comments that I came here to tell you this because I still have romantic feelings for you, but I can finally say with my entire heart that I have fully moved on from you. I have come here to tell you this, Lily, because you always have been, and always will be, my best friend. In that way, I will always love you. I simply could not imagine taking such a big step in my life without telling you. I know you will always be with me, and I know you will still be with us if we take another step after this one, perhaps a child.

“That wouldn’t be so bad, wouldn’t it? You somehow stomached having Harry.”

Severus stayed with Lily a few moments more, but then he excused himself to live the rest of his life.

“Are you ready?” you asked as he approached you. You stuck out your hand to him.

“Yes.” Snape took your hand, kissed the back of it, then interlaced your fingers. “I believe that, for the first time, I am ready.”

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, I have more stories over on my page. You should check out my masterlist, and have a nice day, night, and whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

#severus snape #severus snape x reader #snape #snape x reader #alan rickman #companion jones #last time

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adamnedmartyr · 2 years

Text

A Twist of Fate - The Story of Yoko / Minamino Shuichi

[ I will post this to his about page after work, but here's my Kurama's story to the point the show starts. Please do not repost or reblog. This is my personal interpretation of Kurama's life. ]

He had started life in a very different state. Awareness was existent in only the barest sense of the word. It was remembered only in flashes of the first several years of his life, the black and white of survival and not. He remembers nothing of a mother or a father or a family. There was only himself and his wits and his speed to ensure that he would live to see another sunrise, another sunset, to continue to see the cycle repeated.

As the sunrises and sunsets followed one after the other, slowly, he began to change. By the time he realized it had happened, he could not pinpoint the moment it had begun, so gradual it was even in retrospect.

Retrospect. It is an odd concept. To look back from a point and to see the patterns, the history, to understand that much has occurred prior to lead one to where they have found themselves.

He wouldn’t have understood it were he as he was when first he was born, but then, that was the entire crux of the issue, wasn’t it? He wasn't the same, and each day he grew farther even still from that simple creature.

Then, on one day that began like any other he had witnessed––but, oh, he has been remembering them now, the moods of the forests and the humors of the sky, the portents of storms and the patterns that they followed, the mannerisms and speech of those two-legged beings he watched from a distance––… on that day, something felt different.

He felt different.

He soon realized why.

He had heard one of the creatures tell a story once upon a time, a myth they called it. It was the first time he realized there was a name for him, for those like him.

A kitsune.

The legend went that if a kitsune were to survive to 100 years, its power would be great enough that its original form would no longer hold sway over it, that the creature would be able to change its form at will.

For each hundred years after it first gained its ability to shift, were it clever enough to survive, it would grow another tail until it had nine tails and reached a state not unlike omnipotence.

During its life, it would gain the powers to know a person’s heart and soul, to enter into a person’s sleeping mind, to manipulate mortals––through various means––and even, by these means, to subtly shape their futures. Some were benevolent, others not, some simply mischievous.

What sort would he be? he had wondered even as he took his new form.

The answer had been several hundred years in the making, shaped by experience and hardship, and it would seem that he was ever caught somewhere between mischievous on the best of days and absolutely ruthless when crossed. He was a heartless figure. His adventures were terrifying stories that those lesser than him told to one another by firelight with nothing short of reverent awe and a healthy dose of fear.

‘Yoko is the King of Thieves,’ they whispered. ‘Few places there are that can stand to his wiles.’

‘Though, if he can’t steal it, he’ll just as easily kill you and take what he likes regardless,’ they said, glancing around them, as though they might summon him with their words.

‘Even his own pack aren’t safe. He’ll cut them down if they give him cause,’ they murmured.

Eventually, he grew tired of dealing with his pack of fools, and perhaps overconfident in himself, in his ability to make his own way, to leave his own mark, without any others to hold him back.

He wanted more.

He wanted the world.

Underestimating an opponent is the first step to defeat.

He had been pursued by one of those elite hunters from the Spirit World, tasked with ceasing his ambitions.

It had been a lucky shot. It had to be. He could accept no other answer.

Yet, the cause and the level of skill, or lack thereof, made no difference to his wound.

It would be his death.

Unless…

A happy couple, married and expecting their first child. They had no way of knowing that tragedy would find them only a few short weeks later. It was fated. Even in his state, he sensed the fragility of the being that would have been their son, if he were strong enough, if he could have survived. As it was, it was an exercise in futility. He wasn’t and he couldn’t.

Not as he was…

Wasn’t it amusing? Such a twist of fate. The odds of finding him. That one as powerful and cunning as him… would rely on a weak human boy meant to die.

That both of them would have need of the other…

It wasn’t a possession. It was a merger. In desperation to survive, he bound himself to that dying boy, with the last of his energy ensuring the survival of the one who would some months from that moment be named Shuichi… as well as his own.

Shuichi was born to the Minamino family at the beginning of March, as though to celebrate the start of Spring. He was quiet, even from his first moments, with vibrant green eyes that watched everything and everyone with a keenness that might have led someone more fanciful to think he could actually understand everything going on around him.

There’s something to be said for such people. Any who might have had such a thought would have been right.

Very little changed about the boy as he grew from infant to toddler, moving into pre-school and so on. He remained quiet, pensive, and aloof. Polite but cold. Intelligent and almost self-sufficient from the moment he could take his first steps.

He was calculated in any shows of interest toward his parents and even more so in regards to any sort of affection. It was a matter of survival, he thought, to keep them well enough pleased with him, but what need did they have for more than that? They were humans. He needn’t waste his time with their humdrum lives, and certainly not when he had made his calculations.

By age ten, his energy should have rebounded enough that he could leave this wretched body and this tedious existence to resume his quest for power and recognition, reclaim his crown, and wreak havoc on his enemies.

Yet, already fate had twisted once in allowing him a chance to survive, and it would soon place him on a path not only to survive but to live, perhaps even to thrive.

It began with a death, however.

His human father was killed in an accident. His human mother was inconsolable for a time, though she tried even still to care for him, to redirect all of her energy into raising him to the best of her ability. Long days at work to supplement their income and thankless hours at home wore her down. He could see her spirit breaking over the years under the weight of it all, under the indifference bordering on condescension of her son and her general uselessness in his upbringing, and he didn’t care. What did it matter to him?

It was approaching his ninth birthday, soon to mark another year nearer to his escape with only one remaining when… he began to notice something…

Her face looked more gaunt. Her hair lacked its usual luster. She looked… fragile.

It wasn’t long before he found out why.

She was ill, he learned. A rare disease. There was no known cure, only experimental treatments.

A year passed. He was ten.

He… didn’t leave. It had nothing to do with her. He simply hadn’t regained his energy as quickly as he anticipated. Nothing more.

Eleven would have been far gone before he could even notice it had passed had it not been for another party she made certain to throw him, no matter how unwell she felt.

He started to take up odd jobs from neighbors for some extra money to buy school items without dipping into his mother’s funds. It had nothing to do with any consideration toward her being able to afford her treatments and medication. He merely wished to be more independent of her to survive another year in this hell.

Twelve arrived in much the same fashion and still, still the silly woman insisted on celebrating his birthday, on fussing over him when he brought home another good report from school. Still she wasted what energy she had on the child who had never had any use for her.

He began to shop for groceries on his way home from school and to run some of the other errands for the household. It simply made life easier for him, to have a bit more control, to do things as he liked without her bumbling them.

Thirteen.

The illness progressed unhindered even by the treatments, each one only buying a little more time for her to waste away, growing weaker and weaker.

He didn’t care.

He started cooking their meals. Simply because he wanted to choose what he ate instead of the meals she would prepare, meals that would take too long to make because she would drop something or she had to sit down lest she collapse.

Fourteen.

It tired her too much to be on her feet, though still she tried, insisting she help him with the household chores.

It tired her too much even to sit on the couch and do little things like knit and crochet, though still she had made him a scarf and a hat when the winter had turned bitter.

It tired her too much to do simple things like eat, though she still pushed on with a smile on her face, telling him not to worry.

Fifteen…

She wouldn’t last much longer. That much he knew with certainty. She was a mere shadow of who she had once been when this all began, only barely more alive than her son had been when he bound himself to the boy.

And with that realization, he had finally allowed himself to consider the truth he had long denied.

Her impending death did not leave him with a feeling of relief that he could continue his plans unhindered… It brought only worry, dread… and guilt.

The woman had been so vibrant when first he saw her. Full of life and potential.

Fifteen years. That was all it had taken for her to break.

That was all it had taken for him to break her.

Only nine, in truth, were he to account for when the first symptoms of her illness appeared.

It weighed upon him.

Retrospect. It is an odd concept. To look back from a point and to see the patterns, the history, to understand that much has occurred prior to lead one to where they have found themselves.

And where had he found himself?

In and out of the hospital with a dying mother, her ungrateful son turned dutiful too late that he might care for the spirit he had shattered.

It was his fault.

She had saved his life, even though she hadn’t known it.

And he had destroyed hers…

He doesn’t expect Hiei’s reappearance in his life.

He doesn’t expect to take any interest in the other’s scheme.

He doesn’t expect to discover exactly what he needs to set his wrong right, to spare the life of the woman who had spared his own, who had raised him with such unconditional love and selfless devotion when he had never done anything to deserve it, when he had done quite the opposite, in fact.

What he expects, however, doesn’t matter.

All that matters is that he can set it right, and he will, no matter the cost.

Yet, already fate had twisted once in allowing him a chance to survive, and it will now, at last, start him on a path not only to survive but to live, perhaps even to thrive…

It begins with an almost death, however, his own, as he stares down into the Forlorn Hope and affirms that his greatest desire is the health and happiness of his human mother, for which he is willing to trade his life.

Except…

He doesn’t, though it isn’t for lack of sincerity or intention on his part.

No, the newly appointed spirit detective interferes, offering his own life for a woman he has only just briefly met, and thus the mirror spares both their lives even as it grants his wish.

And thus, his new path begins…

#|| a fox is a wolf who sends flowers || { about kurama }

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theweasleysredhair · 3 years

Text

If You Love Me Let Me Know [S.B.]

Character: Sirius Black

Word Count: 4050

Requested?: Yes/No

Summary: Y/n decides she isn’t going to wait forever for Sirius to make a move... maybe he needs a nudge in the right direction. In which Sirius gets extremely jealous over the prospect of Y/n going on a date with someone other than himself.

Tags: @gracemayhateyou @criminalyetminimal @lenalxvegood @iprobablyshipit91 @potterverseimagine @slytherineheir @kpopgirlbtssvt @rexorangecouny @awritingtree @hemmoporro @thisismysketchbook @acciotwinz @shadowsinger11 @aaannabbanana @lestersglitterglue @anyasthoughts @lxncelot @harrypotter289 @starlightweasley @slytherinsunrise @valwritesx @hufflrpuffforfred @cappsikle @kiwi-sloan @potter-redheads @pigwidgexn @twinkyjohnson @sarcasticallywitty15 @tyyyweasley @afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff @wonderful-writer @marauders-loving-queen @vogueweasley @marvelettesassemble @thisismynerdyself @gcdric @loony-loopy-lupinn @gloryekaterina @tinylumpiaa @girl-next-door-writes @locke-writes @susceptible-but-siriusexual @inkhearthes @sehunasbitch @nkjktk | message or send an ask to be removed! unfortunately, my taglist is closed until further notice due to hitting the max. amount allowed on one post!

A/n: is this me... writing for sirius? oof it’s been a while, huh? anyways this was a fun lil fic, hope you enjoy!!

~*~

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST MY WORK! REBLOGS ARE ABSOLUTELY FINE! <3

+ + + + +

“I just don’t understand how this could happen!” You wailed dramatically as you followed Lily into your potions class, “Why me? Why do bad things always happen to me? I just, I can’t deal with it anymore!”

Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly at you as you fell gracefully across your shared desk, a hand over your heart as you mocked your heartache.

Your eyes were shut, a proven mistake as you heard your professor’s voice suddenly speak out in front of the class, “Miss Evans, could you please enlighten me with why Miss L/n is laying on the desk in such a fashion?”

You sat up on said desk, eyes wide now and mouth dropping open as you realised the students already in the room were staring at you.

“Someone ate the last piece of toast at breakfast, sir, and she’s being dramatic about it,” Lily replied monotonously as you scrambled to your assigned seat beside her.

“Well, Miss L/n, as much as we’re all devastated you missed out on your... toast... I would thank you to keep your eccentricities outside of my classroom, preferably far away from myself, do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.”

The professor narrowed his eyes at you, and for a moment you wondered if he was going to take house points away, or give you detention - insolence, he usually told you off for. And speaking out of turn. Not particularly fair considering you didn’t think you’d said anything that bad half the time.

But then the professor’s attention - and much of the class’ - had moved to the group of Gryffindor boys who had ran into the room, out of breath.

They rushed to their seats, still laughing about something or other, ignoring the scolding of the professor, his requests for them to quieten down and take their seats falling on deaf ears.

Your eyes followed Sirius Black as he made his way to his desk - the one diagonally behind you - his long hair falling into his face, tie undone and shirt untucked, making your heart race as he shot a wink over at you when he noticed you looking.

Turning back down to your work, a smile growing on your face as you traced shapes on your parchment before you with the tip of your finger.

Sirius Black was both the bane of your existence and the love of your life. Dramatic? Perhaps. True? Most likely.

He was obnoxious, loud and extremely cocky. He also flirted with you - a lot. In fact, at a distant glance, you could be mistaken for dating, his arm constantly round your waist, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered sweet nothings to you.

It wasn’t a secret you fancied him. He knew, Lily knew - practically the whole school knew. However, he never moved to make things official, never asked you out nor mentioned any feelings, and after a year of that, you were beginning to think he just enjoyed your attention, rather than liking you the way you wanted him to.

The lesson began soon after the class quietened, the professor’s voice lulling you into almost falling asleep when suddenly you felt your hair moving around you, making you jolt up and flatten it back down. You frowned as you scanned around the room, your eyes landing on a cheekily grinning Sirius, and suddenly you understood.

“Stop,” You mouthed, still attempting to keep your hair from flying about around you, shaking your head at him.

He shrugged, as if he weren’t doing anything, an amused smile on his face at your constant attempts to keep hold of your hair.

As you turned back to your work, Lily nudged you and raised an eyebrow, shaking your head, “He’s trying to get my attention, I’m not sure what for though-“

“Mr Black!”

You jumped as the professor yelled out his name, eyes widening as you looked over at Sirius, who had a crumpled ball of parchment in his hands and appeared to be mid-throw, James laughing at him from beside him.

The professor grabbed the parchment and shoved it into his cloak pocket, before pointing at the dark haired boy, “10 points from Gryffindor for disrupting the class.”

“But-“

“And another 10 points for answering back,” the professor added on, his eyes darting around the class before landing on Lily, who was quietly continuing on with writing her notes, “Please change seats with Miss Evans - perhaps separating you from Mr Potter here will force you to concentrate on my class.”

Sirius’ eyes lit up as he realised he was moving to be sat next to you, “Not a problem at all, professor!”

Lily picked up her belongings and headed over to sit besides James, her seat quickly being taken by Sirius, who couldn’t help but grin as he caught your gaze.

The professor resumed his lesson, leaving Sirius free to lean over to look at your work, frowning as he saw all your notes, “As if you’re actually listening to that boring old fart.”

You rolled your eyes and pulled your parchment away from him, “Unlike you I want to pass my exams, even if he is a boring old fart.”

Sirius watched as you wrote, your eyebrows furrowing just a tad in concentration, gripping your quill as you moved elegantly across the page.

“Too bad you didn’t get the chance to read my note,” he spoke casually, watching the professor march up and down at the front of the class.

Curiosity got the better of you and you placed your quill down, “Why, what was on the parchment?”

He shrugged casually, shooting you a lazy grin as he leant back in his chair, “Might’ve been me asking you to come join me at the Black Lake later tonight.”

Your heart sped up and your breath caught in your throat as you turned to face him, bringing your bottom lip between your teeth. After a year of dragging it out, did he finally just ask you out?

“With you? Uh, sure,” you replied in what you hoped was a nonchalant way, hands nearly shaking as you picked your quill back up.

“Great! Should be good, Prongs is bringing Lily, and I’ve already asked Marlene and Dorcas...”

You didn’t hear the rest of his sentence as you felt your heart plummet at his words. You swallowed harshly, staring down at your parchment and willing yourself not to react.

He’d asked other girls too. Of course he wasn’t asking you out. He never was.

The end of the lesson finally arrived and you quickly grabbed your things, not bothering to say goodbye to Sirius, instead heading over to Lily, who linked you as you headed out of the classroom, leaving Sirius and his friends behind.

You were laughing at something she said when you heard your name being called from behind you.

You turned slowly, half expecting to find Sirius, however you instead were met with a rather attractive Ravenclaw - Zachary Bryant, if you recalled correctly - nervously biting his lip as he arrived just before you.

Lily squeezed your arm and whispered an “I’ll meet you in the library” before heading off down the hall, leaving you in the emptying hallway with the brunette boy.

“Zachary, right?”

“Yeah!” He nodded a tad too enthusiastically, almost in excitement over you knowing his name, and you smiled at him warmly.

“How can I help?” You asked with a small shrug.

Zachary opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, as if thinking what to say, as if he didn’t think he’d get this far, before finally speaking, “I was um... well, you’re really rather pretty, and of course smart and funny and- and I was wondering if maybe you’d like to... accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

He was extremely different to Sirius - a polar opposite in fact, shy, earnest, kind - but maybe that’s what you needed. If Sirius wasn’t going to ask you out any time soon, why not go on dates in the meantime? Zachary was sweet after all, and super cute with his curly dark brown hair and sincere smile.

“Sure!” You replied, making him breathe out in relief.

“That’s amazing! Thank you! I mean- I didn’t expect-“ Zachary stuttered, the tips of his ears turning red in embarrassment.

You laughed, enjoying how flustered he was getting, “Not at all, I’m looking forward to it!”

***

James slid into the chair beside Lily, pressing a kiss to her forehead before nodding over at you in greeting.

“Abandoned the rest of your entourage?” You asked with a grin and a raised eyebrow, wondering why the usual motley crew weren’t following behind him.

“Couldn’t find ‘em. And Padfoot has the map. Thought I’d find you two in here, so well, here I am,” he gestured to himself with a grin. To be fair, he was right - you and Lily could always be found in the library. Mostly because when you needed to get work done, the place was usually Marauder-free.

“Ahh, so you didn’t want to see me, you just couldn’t find your friends?” Lily asked with a smile, gently nudging him.

He threw an arm round her chair and nodded, “Yeah, that’s right, that.”

You shook your head at him, though couldn’t help but laugh at your best friend’s boyfriend.

“Did you set a day to go?” Lily asked, shaking her head at James and instead continuing your conversation from before he arrived.

“Well Zachary said he’d meet me outside the Great Hall on Saturday afternoon and we’re gonna go to The Three Broomsticks, have a nosy round some of the shops, maybe grab some food. Should be nice!” You grinned at her.

“Wait, you’re going on a date?” James raised an eyebrow, sitting up straighter in his chair and removing his arm from Lily’s in shock, “With Bryant?”

“Yes I am,” you nodded, clearing your throat and looking up at him, finding him narrowing his eyes at you, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Babe, you’re Padfoot’s girl, he kinda called dibs,” James shrugged as if it were no big deal, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up on the table. Lily nudged his legs, shaking her head at him and he reluctantly moved them back down again.

“What do you mean he ‘called dibs’? I’m a person not the last bloody chocolate biscuit!” You replied indignantly, crossing your arms over your chest and furrowing your eyebrows.

James widened his eyes a little, but continued with making his point. Besides adding the official labels, you and his best friend were... well you were together, right?

“He... well, he always says you’re his girl. Kinda made it extremely clear to the rest of the lads here. Or, well, most of them I guess, besides Whatshisface who’s asked you. You’re off limits to everyone else, unless they want a very angry Black to come after them,” he said it so casually, like it was common knowledge.

“Sirius Black, despite whatever he may have claimed, has never asked me out, nor made a move. As far as I’ve been made aware, he has no feelings towards me, none that he’s mentioned anyways, and that is why I have agreed to go on a date this weekend with Zachary,” you replied adamantly, anger seeping into your voice.

Lily reached out and grabbed the hand closest to her, giving it a squeeze. You offered her a small smile, before sighing.

“Look, I keep waiting for him to make a move... but if I’m waiting on him, I could be waiting forever. I don’t have forever. Zachary wants to date me now and, sometimes, a definite now is easier than a maybe later,” you shrugged, “Sirius... he knows how I feel about him. Everyone knows how I feel about him. I’ve made it clear. Very clear, in fact. He’s not done anything about it, which only makes me think he’s not really interested enough in making us more. I can’t just turn down other guys that are.”

You sighed, collecting your belongings from the table and shoving them into your bag. With a half-smile shot in James and Lily’s direction, you bid them goodbye, heading out of the library doors.

***

“You’re going on a date with bloody Bryant?”

You looked up from your place on the couch in front of the fire, where you were busy reading a book your mother had just sent you by owl, to find an angry Sirius, fists clenched, eyebrows furrowed as he practically glared down at you.

“Yes? Yes I am,” you replied simply, before looking down at your book, though you were no longer focused on reading.

Sirius collapsed on the couch across from you, elbows resting on his knees as he stared at you, not saying a word.

You sighed, closing the book slowly and placing it carefully beside you, “Can I help you?”

“Why would you choose Bryant? Of all people. He’s-“

“He’s sweet, he’s smart, and more than that, he actually asked me out. And I’m looking forward to going. Unless you can think of anyone else I should be going to Hogsmeade with?” You asked casually, yet pointedly, staring at him expectedly as he fumbled with his fingers, mouth gaping as if he didn’t know what to say.

“N-No... you should go. I’m sure Bryant will be a great date. Quiet, meek Bryant,” Sirius spat his name out as if it were poison, a snarl set on his features. He wasn’t happy, very obviously in fact, but since he didn’t say anything to make you not want to go on your date, you nodded.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a book to read,” you faked a smile and grabbed your book, opening it to a random page and pretending to read, ignoring Sirius’ presence.

He had ample opportunity to stop you going, ample time to have you to himself.

Too bad that he didn’t take it - that he never took it.

***

Saturday arrived quickly, and you were looking forward to meeting up with Zachary. Lily had helped you choose the perfect outfit, and you’d spent slightly more time than usual doing your hair and makeup. You took a last look in the mirror before grabbing your bag and lipgloss, and exiting the door.

You headed down the stairs from your dorm, dressed and ready for your date, feeling nervous yet excited.

The common room was empty bar Sirius, who was sat on the couch nearest the door, and a couple of first years. You felt your heart beat a little faster as you took in the sight of him - black jeans, black t shirt, hair messy from the amount of times he’d ran his hand through it.

He stood up as his gaze caught yours and you smiled a little at him, mouth opening as if you were going to say something, before closing it again when you realised you didn’t know what to say.

“You’re still going on the date?” Sirius asked softly, hands clasped behind his back as he rocked back on his heels.

You smiled at him, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear as you replied, “I have no reason not to... do I?”

Perhaps it was foolish of you, to hope he would say yes. That you shouldn’t go because he didn’t want you to, because he wanted to be the one to take you on a date instead.

Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets and shook his head at you, though his mind was screaming at him to tell you to stay - with him.

“Have fun.”

You pressed your lips together and nodded, “Thank you, I will.”

With that, you turned on your heel and headed out of the common room, feeling like you wanted to cry out of frustration. You would’ve stayed in a heartbeat for him.

Sirius watched you walk away, staring at the door even after you’d long disappeared out of sight, before sighing angrily. He shook his head at himself, disappointed that he didn’t say anything, questions swirling around his mind.

Would you have stayed if he’d asked you to? Or would you have left him anyway?

He collapsed onto one of the empty nearby couches, letting out a loud, frustrated groan into a pillow and receiving a couple of looks from the first years, though he didn’t pay them any notice.

It was his fault, he knew, that he was feeling like this. Because he hadn’t said anything - because he never said anything. You’d given him the chance, and plenty of opportunity and he hadn’t taken it. From fear or something else, he wasn’t sure.

He stayed laying on the couch, face buried in the pillow, thoughts of you and this Bryant kid plaguing him. Would you kiss him whilst on your date? Sirius grimaced at the idea - he hoped not.

Time passed slowly, at least, in his mind, feeling like hours had passed by the time his friends arrived in the common room to join him, though at most it could’ve only been around half an hour.

He was pouting, arms crossed as he slouched in the armchair he’d moved to, grumbling things to himself every so often and completely ignoring half the things his friends were saying, not replying to James’ jokes or Remus’ witty remarks, and barely glancing at Peter when he offered out some of the sweets he’d picked up in Hogsmeade earlier in the day.

“Alright, what’s up with you, Padfoot?” James rolled his eyes, fed up of the lack of responses from his usual partner in crime.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Sirius mumbled, though anyone could see from one glance that he was not, in fact, fine.

“He’s mad because his girlfriend is currently on a date with someone else,” Remus said with an almost smug smile, half enjoying how grumpy and jealous his friend was being over the girl he should’ve asked out a long time ago.

Sirius shot a glare over at him, “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“But you want to her to be, don’t you?” James grinned, moving to lie down across the couch he was on, arms resting behind his head.

“Yes... no... I don’t know!” Sirius sighed, sitting up and hugging a pillow to his chest, “I don’t know what I want, I just know I like her and I don’t want her out with anyone else. But I don’t know if I want a relationship.”

“Well... you couldn’t really expect her to wait around for you to make a decision on this, could you?” James said pointedly, nodding over to him, “As she said to me and Lily, she’s waited long enough. You’ve been stringing her along for over a year now. Either date the girl or let her date someone else.”

Sirius frowned at that. He wanted you more than anything, but was afraid he might hurt you accidentally, or let you down. What if he said something he didn’t mean and upset you? He couldn’t handle that. It was better to keep you as a friend, right? One that he flirted with a lot.

He sighed to himself, bringing his knees up to rest his chin on them. He wanted to be with you, all of his doubts be damned. Friends don’t wanna snog their other friend against a wall do they?

And that’s what Sirius wanted to do to you.

James words bounced around his head as he paced up and down the room later in the evening. His friends had retired to their dorm room, leaving him alone to wait up for you - you still weren’t back from your date and it was nearing curfew.

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as he paced, ideas of what you could be doing making his hands curl into fists and his heart pound.

Why didn’t he just stop you from going?

Why didn’t he just tell you how much he like you?

Why-

“Sirius?”

He looked up immediately, eyes widening as he watched you enter the common room through the portrait door, a concerned look on your face as you watched his frantic pacing.

“Y/n!”

All thoughts of what he wanted to say left his head, all he could do was stare at you blankly, glad you were back, and hoping your date didn’t go well.

“What are you doing still up?” You asked, your eyes taking in his dishevelled appearance, “Were you- were you waiting for me?”

Sirius swallowed, wondering how to answer, before words began tumbling from his lips, unable to stop himself, “Um... uh, yeah. Yeah I was. I’ve been waiting for you ever since you left. I shouldn’t have let you go on the date, I didn’t want you to go. I was just too much of a coward to say anything at the time. But I kept thinking about... what if he kissed you? Or touched you? I didn’t like those thoughts. So yeah, I’ve been waiting here like you’ve been waiting for me because I’m an idiot and didn’t do anything to show you how I feel.”

Your heart was racing. You’d wanted to hear those words for over a year now, waiting through flirty conversations and near-kisses, hoping he’d give a sign he wanted to be with you.

“And how do you feel, Sirius?” You asked tentatively, dropping your gaze to your feet.

“I love you. I’m in love with you. And I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. I should’ve- I should’ve. And I don’t know if your date went well, or if you’re planning on going out again, but if you still feel anything for me, please don’t. Just... be with me instead.”

He ran a hand through his hair, swallowing again and he stood in silence before you. He’d finally said it - admitted to you that he loved you. His heart was pounding, waiting for your response.

“I’ve waited and waited and you never said or did anything. Why now?”

“Because I’ve realised that anyone could come along and take you from me and I don’t want that,” he admitted, his voice dropping to barely a whisper, “I wanna be the one that takes you on dates. That kisses you and touches you. Please let me be that guy. Please.”

You stared at him for a couple of seconds, shaking your head, then broke out in a smile and stepped towards him, “It’s a good job my date was just mediocre then, huh?”

His eyes shone as he stared at you, disbelief and relief running across his face as he watched you walk closer to him, stopping just in front of him.

“You know I love you Sirius. If I’d have known all it would take was going on a date with another guy to make you admit your feelings, I would’ve done it a whole lot sooner,” you grinned.

Sirius hesitantly reached out to grab your waist, pulling you gently towards his chest and holding you there for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe he had you in his arms.

He looked at you, eyes darting across your face, taking in your features as the corner of his mouth curled up into a smile, “Does this mean I can kiss you?”

“Yes,” you nodded, the word barely escaping before his lips were on yours, pulling you into a desperate kiss, one you’d waited a year to feel, pouring all the feelings he’d kept hidden into the kiss, as you ran your hand through his dark locks.

“Guess you’ve got official dibs on me now, huh?” You laughed as you pulled away a little, Sirius still chasing your lips, “Guess I really am your girl.”

“Damn right, and I’ll make sure everyone knows it. Especially that git who took you out. You’re mine,” his grip tightened on your hips as he rested his forehead against yours, smiling at you lovingly.

It may have taken him a year, but he was finally yours, and you were his. And as he pressed his lips to yours again, you smiled into the kiss.

This was definitely worth the wait.

#sirius black x reader #sirius x reader #sirius black imagine #sirius black imagines

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svchengss · 3 years

Text

two halves | l.mh

PAIRING. mark lee x reader

GENRE. fluff, heavy angst

WARNINGS. major character death, grief

WORD COUNT. 2.4k

SUMMARY. right after his death, mark watches how you cope with the loss

A/N. i saw this one tiktok and it kinda inspired me to write this

// just to let you guys know, reblogs and feedbacks are appreciated !! thank you for reading :D

white walls, white room.

mark scrunched his face, his eyelashes slowly fluttering open, the dark brown iris adjusting the size of the pupils due to the brightness of the walls reflected upon it. a soft groan vibrating from his throat, he assessed his surroundings where nobody or nothing else is present. he looked down to inspect his clothing, hoping that it would give him any clue of this room or space he’s in - an all white outfit. this scene looks exactly like the one in the movies where the characters realize they are dead. except this time, he really is.

THE REALIZATION.

the muffled sounds of cries and sobs rang through his eardrums, triggering a reflex to wake up from the state that he thought was a slumber. he is lying on the hospital bed with the light blue clothing piece, faint light illuminating the space where people are huddled up around him. he waved his right hand in the air to let them - who he later remembered as his family members and friends, know that his eyes are already open. nobody moved even the slightest, the atmosphere being very much dead, scent of medicine intoxicating his mind.

then he saw someone who he holds very dear to his heart - you, enter the hospital room, dropping onto her knees as soon as she saw his state of condition. in an instant, he shot up from his lying position and ran over towards the crying you, shoulders shaking and all. bringing his hands to hold you in his embrace, not even a glance spared by you brought a hundred and one questions to him. why didn’t anybody acknowledge him when he woke up? why can’t you feel his touch?

“mark lee. time of death, 10:23 pm,” the tall doctor with glasses rested on the bridge of his nose announced before leaving the room, holding the clipboard close to his chest. mark gauged the monitor screen next to the bed, the line indicating his heartbeat is no longer showing spikes going up and down - instead becoming a flat line, deafening beep present with it. then he sees himself still laying on the white sheets, eyes still closed and no signs of breathing evident. a surge of panic rushed through his veins.

this can’t be real.

mark rushed into the bathroom, a surprised gasp leaving his lips. his body is semi-transparent, the shape of the toilet bowl can be seen through his left shoulder. his body shakes with terror, slapping himself in the cheeks multiple times just to make sure that this whole fiasco is just a nightmare.

oh my god. no, this is real.

mark stood in the back of the crowd, witnessing the funeral of someone and that someone being him. of course, he’s never expected to get the sight of his own service. his mother is standing beside you, her hands rubbing circles onto your back in an attempt to calm your mourning state. you’re still looking ever so pretty, a black chiffon dress on your body with white pearl necklace on your collarbones and your wavy black hair hanging down your shoulders. not that anybody else would notice, it’s someone’s death after all.

“stay strong, y/n. he will always be in our hearts,” the same rhythm of sentence in tones full of pity being directed towards you. mark’s sister enveloped you into a warm hug despite the chilly atmosphere, whispering comforting words into your ears before getting into the family’s car. you’re not going back home, not yet when you still feel reluctant to let him go.

“why did you leave me?” the only coherent words from your hoarse voice can be heard. mark, who is crouching next to you, is holding his tears back. instead, he sends a sorrowful smile - not that you can see him anyway. is there any way to let you know of his presence?

“goodbye, love. i’ll see you tomorrow. i promise,” you dusted the back of your dress from any dirt or debris, leaving a rose on his tombstone. the thing is, he doesn’t want to part from you. and that’s why his figure is seated beside you in the cab. he grazed his thumb on your knuckles, making you feel tingles rushing through. you pushed the slight thought away, you must be tired to be feeling things.

you slowly opened the door to your apartment, you and mark’s to be exact. the whole house is making those memories make their presence in the back of your head again. the kitchen where you two baked cookies for christmas last year. the bedroom where you snuggled upon his chest, not wanting to start your day just yet. the piano where he sang those cheesy songs for you. the living room where you slow danced at 3 in the morning. his favourite mug resting on the countertop, probably will not be used again. this whole situation is too overwhelming for you. you feel weak.

with each day passing by, you didn’t even miss one without a visit to his resting lot. you would tell him stories of how your day went or something that you read which would made him ponder. the words carved on it are already etched onto your brain.

mark lee. a son, a brother and a loving partner.

the clock hanging on the grey wall has it’s arms stretched out to display the time - two in the morning. you can’t sleep just yet, not having any for the past few days even. dark circles are appearing around your eyes, not yet recovered from the puffiness from all the crying. mark’s heart aches everytime he takes upon your state. he feels very guilty, not that death was his choice after all. it’s simply fate, a cycle of life, a destiny that every single creature on this planet will end up with.

you’ve taken the whole month off work, still feeling ever so helpless. in fact, you can’t even remember the last time you’ve stepped out of the apartment, the night before his passing perhaps? you’ve completely shut yourself out from any interactions - deactivating your social media, not accepting any calls. you just need time to heal.

as if you’re being controlled by some type of mastermind, you shoot up on the balls of your feet, pulling away from the couch. those images of you slow dancing with mark, hands in each other’s holds, your chin rested in the crook of his neck and being ever so engrossed in love are coming back more often now. you trudged to the vinyls arranged neatly on the shelf, picking one before placing it on the turntable - frank sinatra, one of his all time favourites.

holding your hands up at about his usual height, you start twirling around. you can almost see the outline of his smile, his features right in front of you. except, he is. he’s been observing your moves the whole night. mirroring your current position, as if you can really see him, it’s a miracle for him. overjoyed actually, he doesn’t realize the salty tears streaming down his cheekbones and so are yours.

“thank you for coming, dear. it’s a pleasure seeing you in what, weeks?” a laugh escaped the woman’s lips. you reciprocated her hug before stepping into the living room. it’s been a long time since you’ve been here, was it in january? mrs. lee had invited you over for a simple dinner, checking up on how you’ve been. you can see that the family is still struggling over his passing, the way his sister’s eyes are not twinkling as usual makes it hard to cover up the lie.

“you see, this was on his high school graduation day. he was very happy that day, doing all sorts of dances and stuff. finally escaping from hell as he said,” she giggled. she’s been displaying all sorts of memoirs to you, photo albums and photographs scattered on the wooden floor. to be honest, you’ve never seen these before. all smiles mark lee, easy to notice among the crowd. not that he’s changed, he’s still that boy now. mark just sat on the couch - his favourite spot, observing the throwback session going on. if he’s still here, his sister for sure is going to tease the hell out of him.

“he told us so much about you, you know? as if everything reminds him of you, that boy is lovestruck. really,” that sudden confession made your tongue dry, unable to find a perfect response. you were really that special to him.

“drive safe honey, you can come over whenever you want. you know you’re always welcome here, right?” mrs. lee handed you the small box filled with some things you’re going to keep. she kissed both of your cheeks, mr. lee standing behind her giving you a small wave. a small smile crept up onto your face before igniting the engine, turning your wheels out of the housing area.

the netflix show is playing on the television, the faint voices of the characters playing in the background. you’re sitting on the floor, flipping through the photo journal you two decorated throughout your one year of relationship. you can see his little scribbles and doodles, often a little dinosaur symbolising your always grumpy personality.

in one photo, a golden birthday hat is nicely placed on your head with him kissing your right cheek. you remember clearly, a surprise party for you last year. in the following ones, they are mostly candid shots - you blowing out the candles while he looks at you full of love, him eating a portion of your dish while you pout your lips. you would say it was the night of your life, spending it with the guy who stole your heart.

the next page of the journal is a shot of mark taking a photo of you in the park. you suppose it was taken by donghyuck? that one picture of you was stuck as his lock screen wallpaper for a while, you remembered getting so embarrassed over it. mark would give you the same excuse every time you questioned him about it, implying that the sight of you would light up his whole day. cheesy really, but that was what remained as memories of the past, tied neatly in your heart.

the rain trickling against your window eventually made you doze off to wonderland, creating the perfect chance for mark to browse through the journal in your hands. carefully lifting it from yours so that you won’t be stirred from your sleep, he settled down in the space beside your sleeping figure. slowly turning the pages, he smiled fondly at each photo holding a thousand moments that can’t be recreated ever again. some of them would make him giggle. he kneeled down slightly to place a soft kiss on your forehead, making you squirm a little due to the faint touch.

“give him a chance. i’m not saying that you should forget mark but it’s been months, you should live up a little,” yerim’s voice sounding concerned from the other end of the line. perhaps she’s right but you just need more time. but how much longer? you’re afraid you yourself have no specific answer for that enquiry.

you’ve been feeling better by now, welcoming people back into your life and carrying out the same daily routine of yours. going to work, buying groceries, going to the drive-thru and whatnot. of course, the void is still obvious - coming back home to an empty atmosphere instead of him waiting for you on the couch, sometimes dozing off, no more weekend cafe runs. but at least you’re trying your best. you bid your goodbyes before tapping the red button, ending the call. plopping the device onto the mattress, you stared at the white ceiling, deep in your own thoughts.

you should give him a chance. live up a little.

yes, you should.

getting hold of the phone and immediately opening the messages app, you searched for jungwoo’s number. he’s been trying to take you out for dinner for a while now. you still remember his exact words, whenever you’re ready he’s always there, waiting for you. you’re not really sure about that particular question but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, right?

typing in the words ‘okay, sure’ is already a pressure for you but you still proceeded to press the send button. glancing at the clock showing the time, the notification ping redirected your focus onto the screen.

jungwoo: cool, is tomorrow night okay with you? i’ll drive, of course :)

tomorrow night. okay, tomorrow night.

an elegant red gown is wrapping your curves perfectly, a thin necklace with the seashell charm around your neck while your lips is decorated with the dark red tone, highlighting your poise appearance. hearing the doorbell ring, you tidied up the dresser as your eyes landed onto the picture frame holding a photo of you and mark. a sad feeling crept into your heart but you pushed it away, opening the door to reveal jungwoo in a black and white tuxedo.

you would say that the dinner went well, none of his questions or chatters crossing any borderline. he’s just so polite, even you are amused. feeling comfortable with his presence, the small gap in between is eventually closing down since you’ve learned so much about each other during the other few dates. one night completely changed it for you, him offering you a dance at some event he’s bringing you with.

you observed that his moves are slightly similar to mark’s - not completely of course, mark’s is very unique and very…mark-ish. for the first time ever in the recent turn of events, you flashed a genuine smile. one that is not just for show, one that only comes out when you’re truly elated, one that you only manage to give to certain. mark just observed the scene from a distance, admiring how you’ve managed to find the spark of happiness you once lost.

alas, mark saw his other half become full again with another, her eyes twinkling with the same joy but this time, it’s not him in the reflection.

156 notes · View notes

dreamingmanip · 3 years

Text

"MADNESS LOVE"

*GIF NOT MINE*

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Warnings: None (if I need one let me know in my ask!)

Prompt: NONE

Word Count: 1,860

A/N: Okay, this time I didn’t use any prompt from my board on Pinterest. I came with the idea last night (thanks insomnia), and I thought I could make it in 2 parts. Let me know what do you think in my ask, is always open for you. If you want t, like it and reblog it. Thank you very much!

A/N 2: I’m gonna pin this imagine so you can easily find it on my page, I will do the same when posting part 2. :)

A/N 3: This awesome gif is from Pinterest but, it comes from Wattpad. Her account is Ariana-Fic and you can find it in her fic “Soldiers in Intelligence”.

Being a cop wasn't easy, putting your life in danger to protect and serve others sometimes wasn't successful. It was 50/50, every morning you will be walking out home not knowing if you could come back.

It had been three weeks without a person in the unit. Detective Jay Halstead had been wounded in a crossfire in a covert operation; when one of you got hurt everyone took responsibility even if it wasn't that way, only for some it was harder to try not to blame yourself for what happened. You had blamed Hailey for not covering Jay enough even though you knew it wasn't her fault, you even avoided her a few days after that.

She was her partner way long before you were assigned to Intelligence by Sergeant Voight.

Narcotics helped Intelligence in a case; it was your case but somehow their case intertwined with yours at some point, both departments agreed to work to stop the overdoses in the area. You were the best at CO, so it made sense for Sergeant Voight to pick Jay, one of his best undercovers for a purchase. Your skills didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the Intelligence Unit, even for someone with experience like Jay. After the case was over he offered you a spot in his Unit, you doubt it for a moment, you were good in Narcotics, good pay, accumulated vacation days, Voight wasn't known for being a patient person and some co-workers encouraged you to take that step by commenting on how crazy you must be not to accept such an offer.

You were well received by all, perhaps except for Sergeant Trudy Platt, who didn't like strangers or new people in the district. Jay was among the first to congratulate you when you arrived, for a moment you thought you'd be partners but Voight wouldn't break his dream team, so he paired you with Kevin Atwater, whom you've been entrusting your life and darkest secrets to ever since.

Atwater was the first one you told about the nights you stayed late with Jay in Molly's, he was the first to know how those late nights became visiting his apartment, to end up arriving together one morning, to the district. He had told you about Voight's rules and how he was firm with them after Jay's last relationship had gone bad with his partner and that had affected his way of working a bit.

Jay and you decided to go slowly, the only one who would know about you two would be Kevin, it was agreed at least, but Hailey Upton was very good at her job so she soon realized what was happening between you. She had supported you, although she did not agree to hide this from her sergeant, she wanted to see her partner happy.

They were all at their desks, doing paperwork on a case they had closed the day before, when Trudy appeared on the stairs.

"Guess who came back from her mandatory break."

You looked up from the papers in front of you to look at a smiling Jay Halstead, who was looking at Trudy with a raised eyebrow.

"Nice to see you too, Trudy."

"Yeah, now try to get away from the bullets for a while, I don't want to have to worry about any of you for a long time."

Kevin and Adam were the first to approach him, joking and patting him on the shoulder. Kim and Hailey were next, giving him a loving hug before heading back to his places. You had stood up to lean against your desk, your arms crossed over your chest, Jay leaned closer, although he kept some distance, the mocking smile still on his lips. You were the first to speak.

"I see you survived, Halstead."

"Hey, don't say it like that, I'm going to think you're not happy to see me alive."

You pressed your lips together so as not to smile because of his comment, it was the game that both played in front of everyone else, the sarcastic comments to pretend that they were not getting along as well as they should. You nodded and looked at him.

"It's good to have you back."

Jay's smile widened and he put his hands on his hips.

"Look at that, you're happy to have me here."

You rolled your eyes and sat back in your chair when Voight left his office, leaning against the doorframe.

"How are you Jay?"

Jay nodded his head looking at his boss.

"Good, Sarge."

"Good, because I just hung up with the Superintendent and he wants to acknowledge what you did. Tomorrow there will be a public event, downtown."

You all clapped for a moment, before Voight continued speaking.

"Now try not to die until tomorrow."

Without saying more he returned to his office. Jay went to his desk to catch up on all the overdue paperwork, from time to time you looked up to observe him, you were glad to have him back but the moment you knew about the award, you felt a bitter taste in your mouth. Why were they going to decorate him when he almost died?

You stood up and went to the coffee room, took one of the cups on the wall and poured yourself some, you still felt that bitter taste in your mouth. You heard footsteps behind you and looked over your shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Jay asked, taking another cup, reaching for the pot and pouring himself some coffee as well. You leaned a little to look towards the door, checking that no one was around to hear you. You started to get tired of that, checking over your shoulders to see if no one could hear your conversations or whatever you were doing behind closed doors.

“Uhm, yes, I’m just a little tired. We have been in some paperwork duties from a few cases from the past weeks.”

You took a sip from the cup, making a little grin at the taste of the coffee.

“Well, just for the record, I know when something’s bothering you. We have been together almost a year.”

He looked satisfied with himself, and you couldn’t deny it because he was right, Jay knew you so well almost since day one. You looked at him and gave him a little smile, his mood was good after dealing with a grumpy man at his house because he couldn’t get back to work after being shot, and you definitely didn't want to be the one to screw it up.

Kim walks into the room without realizing the interruption she just made or how you take a little more distance between you two, starts a little chat with Jay and you decide to go back to your desk.

Later, in the locker room, you were finishing picking up some things from your little blue locker, putting them in the gym bag you were carrying that day when Kevin appeared next to you, opening his own locker.

"I don't see you so happy today, you were quiet for most of the day, man you didn't even laugh at Ruzek's nonsense. I thought having Jay back would make you feel better."

You sighed and took a seat on the bench, rubbing your hands over your face before looking at your best friend. You played with your lower lip a bit before speaking.

"Kevin, am I crazy for wanting more in this relationship? I mean, we've worked well without anyone knowing, what difference would it make if we did from the knowledge of Voight, of our friends?"

They both fell silent when an officer entered the room and moments later he left the room, you clenched your fist and struck the cold metal in front of you, you felt frustrated and helpless. Kevin sat next to you, rubbing his hands together as he took his time answering you.

"Y/N, you are a pretty strong woman who knows what she wants, don't let anyone make you feel like you can't, not even some of my friends. If you want, I can talk to him, you know man to man" .

His comment made you laugh a little, releasing a bit of the tension in your chest, you bumped his shoulder with yours, pushing him a little.

"Thanks Kev. I don't think that talk is necessary but I will take it into account for future problems."

"Whenever you need me, girl."

You took your bag, Kevin had helped you lift your spirits but you knew you had to do something with your feelings, for better or for worse.

Jay was in the kitchen when he heard you arrive, a smile formed on his face as he came out to greet you, an ice cold beer in his hand and a hockey game in the background on television. He walked over to you to kiss your forehead, took your bag and set it aside by the door.

"It took you a little longer than usual to get here, I'm sorry I didn't wait for you. Trudy wanted me to fill out some forms for tomorrow and I left earlier."

You couldn't look at Jay without stopping to think about the consequences that your words would have, you knew about his past and you didn't want to be the evil witch who would ruin what you both had until that day. You settled next to him, resting your head on his chest while he watched the game and he made imaginary shapes on the skin of your arm.

It took you a few minutes before you could form a sentence, your voice lacking the strength you had gathered all the way to his apartment.

"Jay, what if we tell Voight we're together?"

Your voice caught his attention, looking at you completely confused.

"Y/N, we both know that we can't say anything at the moment if we want to continue working in the same unit."

You slowly sat up again, turning a little so you could face him, Jay was sure of what he was saying, it showed in his face and in the confidence with which he had spoken.

"Jay, I'm tired of having to hide from everyone, like what we're doing is wrong. Voight will understand if-"

"I've been through this before Y/N, I know what I'm talking about. I also refused to hide my thing with Erin, but things changed. If we tell this to Voight he will remove someone from the team and we know it will not be me."

You felt the air come out of your lungs, as if someone had hit you, Jay realized his mistake when you stood up, he began to move his head trying to speak, he left the beer on the coffee table trying to take your hand .

"Y/N, it's not what- it's not what I meant ..."

Unaware of your movements, you started to take your things in a frenzy, Jay seemed to be talking to you but you couldn't identify his words or what he was trying to tell you, you just left.

To be continued...

#Jay Halstead #jay halstead imagine #jay halstead x you #chicago pd #chicago pd imagine #hailey upton #kevin atwater #hank voight #adam ruzek #kim burgess #molly's bar

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yaku-soba · 3 years

Text

in love with your love

༶•┈┈ general m.list

༶•┈┈ kyoutani kentarou x gn!reader | fluff

tags/warnings: set in the second and third year of high school, getting together <3

word count: 1.36k

a/n: a repost frm my old blog; i’m sorry i disappeared again but i had family issues to sort through :”) hopefully i’m back for good now

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

Most people tend to look at Kentarou and stop there.

It’s hard to explain, but he doesn’t think they see him, not really. They see his scowl, the angry pull of his brows, and immediately give him a wide berth.

In high school, Kentarou spikes a ball into the court. It flattens, ricochets to thud against the walls of the gym.

No one sees it.

The volleyball guys in Seijoh see his dyed hair, the way he barks his words. They see bared teeth and say - look, there’s a mad dog.

Kentarou walks out.

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

He meets you in the spring of his second year. Seijoh has lost to Karasuno, and Kentarou’s just lost whatever he’d thought he could have had.

(He’d tasted it. In those precious last minutes on the court, when he’d managed to bump the ball with the inside of his wrist in a miraculous save, he’d felt for a moment like he was part of a team. When he’d hit spike after spike, serve after serve, when Oikawa had set to him-

-He’d felt like they’d finally seen him.)

You bump into him in the hallway a few days after Spring High. When he looks down, a biting remark on his tongue, he’s greeted to the sight of you sprawled on the ground, clutching your head. Your papers flutter in the breeze, all butterfly wings, before settling messily on the floor.

You let out a groan when you realize that the papers that had once been in your hands are now scattered over the ground, moving to pick them up.

And Kentarou just - he just watches. He’s thrown off-centre - there’s been neither half-muttered snark nor apology. He’s not exactly proud of it, but he’s used to students muttering out a rushed apology without meeting his eyes, before running off with their things hastily gathered up.

“Aren’t you going to help?” Your voice pulls him back to Seijoh, to a hallway identical to countless others on the compound. (But something has changed, something has shifted the world on its axis, just barely.)

You’re looking at him somewhat accusingly. “You weren’t looking where you were going, either,” you say when he doesn’t reply.

“What?” He’s aware he’s probably scowling. There’s a small pang of regret at that realization.

But you take no notice, already busying yourself with arranging the papers in some unknown order. “Come on, I’ve still got to hand in this lab report, you know.”

Dumbfounded, Kentarou squats, obediently picking up the pages of your lab report before he notices what he’s doing.

(He sneaks a glance at your name and class. You’re a second-year too - from the class that’s right next to the stairs. He’s never seen you before.)

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

After that spring afternoon, he sees you around more. Perhaps you had always been there, on the periphery.

You’re hardly ever alone, always with some classmate or other.

He almost goes up to you - he doesn’t know exactly it is that he wants to say, only that he wants you to look at him.

(You do. You sneak glances at him out of the corner of your eye, as he brushes through the lunch crowd in the canteen to set his tray down angrily opposite Yahaba. You linger outside Seijoh’s gym, busying yourself with tying your laces, right outside of the open door to the gym.)

Third-year goes better. He ends up in your class, and as your seat-mate, no less.

Kentarou tries not to scowl as much.

He’s elated when he realizes you don’t care - you just laugh, pinching his cheeks teasingly in the way he despises but can’t quite come to resent.

(He likes the way you ruffle his dyed hair without hesitation. He likes the way you roll your eyes at his biting remarks.

Kentarou likes the way you look at him. He feels seen.)

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

Kentarou falls in love without really being aware of it.

By the time he does, it’s too late. He’s hooked on the pitch of your laugh and the dizzying curve of your lips in a teasing smirk.

This is okay, he thinks. Kentarou’s never had something like this - all he’s ever had is volleyball and a hunger he can never really satiate. He thinks it’s enough that he gets to feel something like this, even if Yahaba won’t stop teasing him.

(He can’t quite keep himself from smiling a little more around you. You speak and he’ll lean in before he catches himself. He’s never been good with words and he doesn’t remember half the things you say - only that you wave your hands around animatedly as you talk, only the way your voice rises and ebbs with the story like a tide.)

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

“He clearly likes you back,” your friend whispers excitedly once Kyoutani has passed the both of you, waving at you casually before he turns to scowl at something Yahaba had said. “I don’t know why you’re holding yourself back.”

(You wish he’d follow up his muttered thank you with a kiss on the cheek whenever you hand him a bottle as you pop into the gym, just to see how he’s doing now that he’s back to training with the team. You want him to rest his hands on your hips and kiss you senseless against the door to your classroom, you want to tug on his tie and pretend you care about the fact that you’re supposed to be on cleanup duty.)

Sighing, you pick at your bento disinterestedly, “We’re graduating soon,” you reply tiredly, “and he’s probably going to go into professional volleyball.” Despite everything, you crack a small smile at that.

“He loves volleyball. It’d be cruel to keep him from that.” You close the lid of your half-eaten bento. Your friend frowns but doesn’t argue.

(You love Kyoutani.

He loves volleyball, and that’s okay. You’ve made your peace with it.

Still, you’re not strong enough to keep yourself from the small, selfish things. You call out to him from behind the door to the gym and lean into him as you laugh, and let yourself pretend that it’s fondness you see in his eyes.)

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

It’s graduation by the time Kentarou realizes that you like him back, and it’s almost too late.

You’re standing before him, eyes downcast and cheeks the same shade of red as his palm after spiking drills, and you’re asking for the second button on his gakuran. The one closest to his heart, the one he hadn’t given to the girl who had asked him for it even before you had.

(He sees the way your lashes stutter when he leans in. He remembers with sudden, newfound clarity, the way he sometimes catches you looking at him, all soft and shit.

Oh.)

Kentarou fumbles with his gakuran for a moment before he just rips the button out.

“Here,” he says hoarsely, thrusting it out at you like he isn’t handing you his heart, “I was going to give it to you, anyway.”

He wasn’t. But that was before he’d realized exactly how blind he’s been, and he figures the details don’t really matter, not now.

Kentarou’s lost all his chances without ever really trying, but you’re handing him a new one, and he’ll take it because all he’s ever had is volleyball and a hunger that had never quietened till he’d heard your voice.

You smile, and he wonders how he’d ever thought it would be okay to leave without telling you.

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

“Are you going away?” You ask as he walks you home that evening, after a dinner that you’re going to call a date, even if it’s only in your head. “For volleyball?”

His steps stutter. “Yeah,” he says after a pause, sounding strangled. “I’ll have to call my parents weekly, though.”

I can call you, he says with every brush of his knuckles against yours, I want to, if you want it too.

“Guess I’ll have to sign up for international calls service, then,” you say lightly. I want it, I want this, I want you.

»»------------- ------------- ------------- ¤ ------------- ------------- -------------««

a/n: feel free to send me an ask / dm if you’d like to be added to my general taglist!

as always, likes and reblogs are appreciated!! :D

#haikyuu x reader #kyoutani kentarou x reader #haikyuucreations #haikyuu!!#kyoutani kentarou #kyouka writes

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deepflourishrosesstories · 3 years

Text

Warm Colours of Red and White - Part 2

Male! Koi Mer x GN! Reader

Warning: Literal ball of FLUFF

Word Count: 1.1k

LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG, please!

Part 1, Part 3

It was a bright sunny day, just like the last time you visited the park as you walked through the forest path eagerly. The rustle of leaves seemed to call out to you to continue to journey through the deep shadows of the trees. When you arrived at your normal and familiar peace place, you found the warm colours of the koi fish.

“Ryo?” Your voice rang through the ripples of the big pond and you fiddled with your hand as the sound appeared to be echoing it back to you. “A-are you there?”

For a moment, it was silent and your shoulders dropped when realizing that what happened last time must’ve been just a hallucination of some sort. Sighing, you perched yourself under one of the trees and pulled out a book, the one you prepared for the mer. It was lonely—something you’ve never experienced when staying at this part of the park. You almost froze and halted your reading when you realized the feeling, but continued on with your self-facade of nonchalance.

SPLOSH!

A name then called out to you and you almost stopped breathing. The handsome face of the pale-skinned merfolk appeared in your vision and you smiled broadly.

“Ryo,” you breathed out. Swiftly lowering the book, you dashed and crouched in front of him. “You actually came.”

“I did,” he said bashfully, looking at you with his two twinkling black eyes. The colours of his scales sparkled as his tail moved excitedly under the glittering water. “And you came back.”

“Of course I did.”

“I-is that a book?” he asked, gesturing at the book that was placed back on the tree.

Quickly fetching the item, you came back with it and showed him the title, assuming that he could read human language of English. “My favourite book,” you said fondly. Beaming at him, you flipped a page and traced the ink-sunken words carefully. “I thought you would like it as well.”

His hand hovered over the paper but then drew back when a splatter of water was about to be dropped on it. “Sorry,” he apologized, looking down at his reflection on the pond bashfully.

Taking his hand into yours, you gently caressed his silky, wet hand with your thumb. His adorable blush made you grin like a cheshire cat from amusement and shook your head. “It’s all right.”

The pond suddenly rippled violently and you glanced at the water to see his tail swishing nervously side to side. Then Ryo suddenly tensed and embarrassedly looked at you with wide eyes.

“You’re adorable,” you remarked, tilting your head.

His mouth opening, his gaze darted around you before submerging himself halfway with his nose under the water. “You’re making fun of me.” His voice was blurred slightly and bubbles escaped to the surface of the pond and you laughed wholeheartedly.

“I’m not,” you denied genuinely, poking at the bridge of his nose affectionately. Then he ducked himself fully under while you waited patiently, criss-crossing your legs over one another and laying the book on your lap.

When he jumped out of the water, he laid his arms on the rock and rested his chin on them. “You’ve got a talent for making me embarrassed,” he said, lips forming a pout.

“What can I say? You’re really easy to mess up with.” You smiled. “Do you want to listen to the story?”

“Yes please.” He shifted into a sitting position where his tail rose above the surface slightly and glowed lusciously.

Taking your eyes off of it, you started to read off the pages, the words rolling off your tongue smoothly and seemed to create small ripples through the pond. While doing so, you occasionally peeked over the book to look at Ryo who instantly lowered his head to avoid being caught staring at you. Every time he did, you smiled giddily behind the pages and listened to the constant sound of the water lapping as his tail swished. He never once interrupted and just listened to you intently with great wonders written on his face.

You were not aware of the sky turning dark and you continued to read halfway through the story; yet Ryo tapped your arm gently to get your attention. Humming in response, you halted and looked at him curiously.

“It’s getting dark,” he said softly. Smiling rather sadly, he bit his lower lip as he watched you check the sky. It was indeed getting darker where the colour turned into pastel blue to a tint of a start of vibrant orange. “You should go before the forest becomes dark as well.”

“Right.” You searched for the bookmark you kept in your bag but sighed dejectedly when you couldn’t find it anywhere. “I thought I put it in here,” you mumbled.

“What are you searching for?” he questioned, tilting his head.

“A bookmark to mark the place where we stopped reading,” you answered, pursing your lips as you took another search through the cluttering objects of your essentials. Another sigh left your lips and you were stuck with sticking a piece of napkin between the pages. Looking back at Ryo, you see him nodding to himself with a distant expression and you smiled. “Did you like the story?”

“I enjoyed it very much,” he said earnestly, a bright grin adoring him.

“That’s good to know.”

“It’s very different from the stories I’ve heard from the other folks.” He glanced at you nervously. “Perhaps I can tell you one some day?”

You almost melted at the sight of his blush but you managed to say, “I would love to.”

Surprised, you watched him as he hesitantly placed his hand on yours and cradled it gingerly. They were smooth, soft, and shockingly cold—the touch was incredibly comfortable.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“It was no problem at all.”

He rolled to his stomach and gazed up at you with an unreadable look on him. “I really enjoy being around you.”

Tenderly, you placed your unoccupied hand on his cold cheek and tilted your head to the side. “Me too.” Leaning towards him, you pecked his forehead, your lips lingering on his skin and the cold sensation leaving with you as you pulled away. “I’ll come back again soon to finish the story,” you promised.

His hands shook and his eyes seemed to moisten, but he somehow pulled both of yours to kiss them “Thank you.” His breath tickled against knuckles and you squeezed his hands back. “I’ve never expected so much kindness from you.”

How could you not smile at his words?

”Expect more to happen then.”

Writing a second part of a story that nobody knows of its existence. Anyways, I enjoyed writing this and I hope someone would enjoy reading it as well.

Part 1, Part 3

LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG, please!

#koi mer #koi merman #koi merman x reader #xenophillia #exophilia #water creature #water creatures #koi fish #monster love #monster x reader #monster boyfriend #monster fluff #fluff #fluff story #monster x reader fluff #koi mer x reader

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queridopascal · 3 years

Text

The new job (Din Djarin x F!Reader)

Part 1 of the “Ad Astra” series

Summary: as your eyes scanned the page, the words “spatial coordinates” and the phrase “writings and symbols no one has been able to decipher” made your eyes widen and your interest spike... (word count: 1.7k)

Warning: mention of food and drinks

A/N: my first ever Mando fic/series (even though we don't get to meet him in this first chapter)! Huge thanks to @hnt-escape for beta reading, and I hope you guys enjoy it ✨

Reblogs and comments are highly appreciated ❤️

NEXT | SERIES MASTERLIST

Sitting alone in your home office with a mug of coffee in your hand, you shuffled through the heap of unopened mail you found upon your return from your last expedition: advertising brochures, leaflets, bills and, at the bottom of the stack, a cream-coloured paper envelope with slightly torn edges.

Prompted by curiosity, you put down the mug and opened the letter with an old knife you kept in the first drawer: it was typewritten, dated 25th of September and signed at the bottom by a certain Elizabeth Williams.

As your eyes scanned the page, the words “spatial coordinates” and the phrase “writings and symbols no one has been able to decipher” made your eyes widen and your interest spike. Your work as an archaeologist had given you the opportunity to travel the world, discover different types of artifacts and ruins, get closer to cultures and their ancient origins; but something inside of you, a feeling in your gut, was telling you that what was described in the letter was unique and, possibly, something you had never seen before.

Without giving it a second thought, you dialed the phone number scribbled underneath the signature and waited with bated breath as you began fidgeting with a pen, clicking it open with every beeping sound coming from the other side.

“Hello?” a calm tone greeted you.

“Mrs. Williams?” you asked, clearing your throat.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Hi, I’m-”

“I know who you are, I’ve been waiting for your call.” the woman said with a smile in her voice.

“Oh,” you gasped, “I... received your letter and I would love to hear more about this artifact you mention.”

“Great. I’ll have someone pick you up tomorrow morning at 9 sharp.”

“Thanks, Mrs Williams,” you nodded, “do I… have to bring anything?”

“Your knowledge will be sufficient, my dear.”

Once you both ended the call, you took a deep breath and closed your eyes, feeling anxious and impatient for what was about to come and reliving the exact same sensations you had experienced the day of your very first excavation.

After a sleepless night, you were awakened by the furious pitter patter of heavy rain against the windows. The dark grey of the sky made every room of your house incredibly cold and humid, and you put on your favorite cardigan as you dragged your feet into the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast.

When you finished eating, you took a quick shower and got dressed in your favorite black pencil skirt and a white blouse, a matching blazer and a pair of heels completed the look. You took a seat on the couch in your living room and waited for the driver.

At 9AM there was a knock at your front door, and you immediately grabbed your blazer and your purse and walked over to it.

“Good morning, Miss,” the driver bowed his head a little and extended his gloved hand to you while opening a black umbrella with the other. “Please, follow me. Mrs. Williams and her colleagues are waiting for you.”

You put your hand in his as he walked you over to the sedan; he opened the car door and waited for you to get in, shutting it swiftly once you got comfortable in the cream leather back seat.

After a two hours drive, the car stopped in front of a wired mesh and barbed wire fence, lined with several “Military Zone” signs. A couple of seconds later, the guarded gates opened with a screech, letting the car enter what looked like a tunnel carved inside of a mountain.

The driver pulled up in front of a large white door with soldiers on either side, where an elderly woman waited with crossed arms.

“Goodmorning my dear,” the woman stepped towards you. “I’m Elizabeth. Welcome to the Falls Hill military installation.”

She hugged you tightly and you stiffened at first, looking at the two soldiers, whose eyes were fixed on a point in front of them.

“Come, I’ll show you around.”

One of the guards stepped to the side and held the door open for you and Mrs. Williams. The large corridor that extended in front of you reminded you of a war bunker: it was grey and cold, illuminated by pale neon lights, and it had the same distinctive smell you would find in the subway.

You followed her obediently, and when she reached the end of the corridor, she slowly opened a set of double doors bearing an "Authorized Personnel Only" sign; taking a step forward, your mouth dropped open in wonder as soon as you laid eyes on what looked like a giant stone ring covered with strange inscriptions.

“I've never seen anything like this,” you gulped, keeping your eyes fixed on the object.

Mrs. Williams chuckled, pleased at your reaction. “No one has, my dear.”

“Can I…?” you asked in a trembling voice as you pointed at the artifact.

Elizabeth nodded and you walked over to it, placing your hand on the rough surface of the stone to feel the engraved characters under your fingers.

“These inscriptions,” you started, turning to her, “might be hieratic or maybe cuneiform, I think I've seen some of those symbols before.”

“Perhaps you could help us with the interpretation?” she moved to stand beside you and tilted her head to the side, looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah, of course. I'll get to work right away.”

The hours passed quickly, and between one cup of coffee and another, it was already evening. The succession of symbols and characters engraved in the stone kept repeating in your mind, a mix of infinite combinations and interpretations, from the most logical to the least plausible.

Wrinkling your eyes for tiredness, you looked up from all your papers and notes, finding a new possible interpretation of the second row that made your heart race.

“Mrs. Williams, was anything else found in the proximity of this object?”

“I was hoping you'd ask me,” she smiled and motioned you to follow her.

Elizabeth led you through a hallway and stopped in front of another door, resting both hands on the opening handle.

“You are not to speak of this to anyone, understand?”

You simply nodded, your breath catching in your throat at her request.

“Mrs. Williams, I haven't issued any new authorization papers for this lady.” a baritone voice captured your attention, and you turned around only to find a soldier in uniform staring back at you.

“Colonel Shaw, it's nice to see you again,” Elizabeth greeted him with a gentle smile, but the man looked at her with a serious and impenetrable gaze.

“Mrs. Williams, I don't think I'll have to remind you that what's inside this room is classified.” he walked over to the both of you, his expression unfazed.

“She's the new addition to my team, Colonel,” she said, looking him straight into his icy blue eyes, “a world-renowned archaeologist who is going to help us decipher the inscriptions on the stone ring.”

“Exactly. Then why are you here?” he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye.

“Because,” you cleared your throat “the second row of inscriptions refers to another object, described as the portal.”

The Colonel raised an eyebrow at you and sighed, then looked at Elizabeth.

“Permission denied.”

“Excuse me, Colonel Shaw. I was told you would have given me carte blanche, especially since the government authorized this project,” she stepped towards him with her usual calm tone.

“Not for long,” he retorted, “you have one more week Mrs. Williams, the clock is ticking. And since she doesn't have any authorization at the moment, I won't grant her access into this room.”

“Then I guess I'll have to ask Captain Gallo,” she crossed her arms. “See, he was the one who helped us get started with this project and I'm sure he would authorize this young lady in a heartbeat.”

The Colonel exhaled angrily, his jaw was clenched in frustration and you smiled to yourself.

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth “You have my permission.”

6 days later

Staring at the portal, the inscripted characters on dark metal and stone looked so similar to something you had seen before, but also so different. You felt intimidated by that object, almost in awe, it was as if it gave off vibrations within the room, as if it wanted to give you clues to solve that riddle that had been keeping you and the rest of the team awake for days.

“Morning guys,” Elizabeth walked into the research lab with a box of donuts, “I brought something to eat.”

“Thanks,” you beamed at her as you took a glazed donut from the container. “I really needed something with sugar.”

“How is the research going?”

“Bad,” Linda, one of the members of the team, shook her head, “no matches whatsoever.”

“Is that so?” Elizabeth turned to you, her expression somber.

“Yeah,” you sighed, “even if the inscriptions look familiar to us, when comparing them to all the material we have available, we found no similarities. We’re missing something and tomorrow is the last day.”

“I’m gonna ask for a permit extension, I'm sure they'll grant it to me,” she stroked your back, comforting you.

“I found another reference!” Linda squealed with excitement “Shall we start with the comparison?”

“Absolutely,” you rushed to her side and took a seat on the corner of her desk, looking at the monitor of her computer.

The documents she had just found showed incredible similarities, and referred to an engraved metal fragment found a few months earlier in the Atacama Desert.

“These three symbols are exactly the same ones of the central row!” you exclaimed, not believing your eyes.

Linda nodded, then gulped, “They also say here that they found out some symbols represent a stylized version of constellations, and that this type of metal is not…”

“Terrestrial,” you added as you kept on reading the description under one of the pictures.

Mrs. Williams looked at the both of you with a proud smile, then she walked over to the other desk and dialed a number on the phone.

“Captain, we finally found a match for the inscriptions.”

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#ad astra series #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fic #the mandalorian #the mandalorian fic #mando x reader #mando x you #pedro pascal #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #jose pedro balmaceda pascal

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gallpall · 3 years

Text

canaan bubble redux as a womb for story/character arcs

I’m sure most of this has been posted about before but: ever since my initial read I’ve been obsessed with the gross bodily/gorey stuff in the Canaan redux and I wanted to organize some of my constant+chaotic thoughts!!

TM has said that a lot of the motifs/events in the bubbles are actually “Silent Hill stand-ins” for story elements and she hopes we pick up on stuff, so here’s my Attempt!

At the same time that Harrow’s mind is being made a tomb for Gideon Nav Wake’s subconscious is pulled in to act as a womb for certain plot elements right alongside it. The chronology/time period of HtN mimics a full nine-month gestation. There’s a lot of very literal imagery here (which is below the cut), but I also think we’re meant to see it as metaphorical: we’re able to glean some things about character arcs based on how everything in the bubble goes down.

I’m particularly interested right now in those ‘side’ characters in the bubble who aren’t actually dead, who barely appear in the bubble at all except to get summarily offed, all in very distinctive ways. Judith, Camilla, Palamedes, and Coronabeth.

(cw below cut for some pregnancy/insemination imagery, canonical body horror and gruesome bubble deaths rehashed)

First of all just some quotes showing some of the imagery that I’ve attributed to being Wake manifesting pregnancy trauma stuff (there’s possibly some of Harrow’s conception trauma here, too) seeping through, for the purposes of this line of speculation.

This isn’t nearly all of it, but some things that stood out to me as possibly comparing Canaan House 2.0 to a functioning reproductive system:

(ch. 21) a “collection of large, rusted pipette needles” -- turkey basters?

(ch. 35) “great, slithering, pulsing tubes” which contain “whitish-pearl bubbled globules”-- this perhaps recalls ovaries/fallopian tubes, with the ‘globules’ being follicles produced by superovulation for insemination, or corpus luteum that supply progesterone to maintain a pregnancy.

(ch. 45) “stretched webs of organ [...] like nets of sticky venous spiderweb” --uterine walls, maybe; it’s all over the windows, totally encasing them in Canaan’s rooms, and arguably even contracting like a uterus would: “every so often they would tremble uncertainly and erupt in floods of bloody, foamy water.”

in the next pgh we get some more of the tools Wake would have used to conceive/upkeep the pregnancy: “pipettes, broken glass-fronted containers filled with dark fluid,” skeletons sitting atop piles of “capsules or pills” perhaps hormones/supplements. (also holding Drearburh tools, the way Wake’s skelly would have been doomed to do)

(ch. 43) “from that hole emerged a clattering pile of plex scope slides, the type you would preserve a cell sample between“ -- Wake would’ve had to carry out the IVF process for implantation, this also seems like apparatus for that

(ch. 47) there’s the “libation” Abigail uses to summon Wake which is... well. It’s a “thin, milky, whitish liquid pooled at the base, sluggish in the cold,” and the summoning involves a bunch of ‘come’ commands, which I think might be Muir making a very elaborate jizz-adjacent “silly buggers with the emissions” joke.

Just a note, cause I’m hopeless about Pyrrwake: the Seconds’ quarters are almost completely preserved from the leaky body horror (though it’s still cold in there)--as if they represented a sanctuary in Wake’s subconscious. There are also letters in the nonagonal coffin room which spell out an anagram of “PYRRHA” (ch. 47).

So with all that in mind, I’d posit that the fake-ghost deaths are all metaphorical “rebirths” of various characters arcs for ATN. I haven’t delved into what this imagery might mean for Harrow or Gideon specifically because I know there’s a LOT and it’s probably above my theoretical paygrade (I would love for someone to tack on with that though!!) but I can talk about ‘side’ chars on a very big-picture level.

Judith’s simulacrum gets knocked off first (ch. 18); shot through the heart (both atria) while she and Marta’s ghost are trying to complete the winnowing trial. The Sleeper shoots her 7 more times after that, I guess partly just ‘cause she can, but Ortus notes that it seems like there was an element of "Anger” to it. It’s possible Wake wasn’t pleased to have someone messing around with Pyrrha’s lyctoral trial, infuriated that anyone would be attempting to replicate G1d/Pyr’s original downfall. She then ignores Marta entirely and climbs back in the coffin (now with the sword) once Judith’s out of the way.

[Marta’s] scarlet necktie looked redder too—by the time they’d gotten hold of Judith Deuteros the blood had dried hers nearly black.

Cohort red-and-whites being stained black with blood, like a certain high-collared BOE uniform... could be another little clue to Judith’s "heart” for the Emperor (and for Marta, and pretty much everything else she knew) being lost and her realigning--though not willingly, at least at first--with the other side.

Cam and Pal’s simulacrums are plainly executed (ch. 21), they have their “faces obliterated” each by a single gunshot, and it’s as if they just stood there and let it happen. In the bubble, “Harrow had never seen Sextus or Hect except from afar.” These simulacrums totally avoid having their features revealed to Harrow. I’m willing to bet their faces being obscured and then exploded is one of the clues we get to their eyes being swapped around the next time we see them in the epilogue and in ATN.

Regarding the twins: They are essentially non-extant in the bubble. Ianthe never appears because she’s still kicking and, in her own words, “doesn’t live alternate histories” (GtN ch. 15).

Coronabeth’s simulacrum scene (ch. 37) is SO vivid and cryptic. It fascinates me because it definitely is, in part, trying to tell us something poignant about the initiation of Corona’s “worse twin” arc in ATN.

[Corona] was turned away from Harrow, and her riot of hair—half-caught in a fillet, half-escaping—was soaking wet, a dark and crinkling amber in the rain. She was not fighting or arguing. She was still as a statue, and ready and waiting as a dog.

Sounds like the fake ghost preparing for that major shift in allegiance. Silas is the one to ‘dismiss’ her, with his “may the blood of your blood suffer,” which perhaps is a really Templar-y way of saying ‘now go wreck ianthe’s SHIT.’ When Harrow accuses him of sending Corona to her death, Silas asks “Death?”--as if he sees that what’s really just happened, at least metaphorically, is (re)Birth.

[Harrow] thought she saw, absurdly, a sudden gush of watery blood, as though the fog itself had been knifed; but it was gone almost as soon as she had seen it.

Sounds a bit like amniotic fluid/water breaking? Coronabeth doesn’t ever seem to hit the ocean (bodies of water=necromancy and that’s not her deal), she instead just kinda poofs, and Silas says she would have ended up “on her feet.” Coronabeth is ditching her family ties and is out for blood, and I think her charisma, willpower, and sheer desire for revenge will move her a long way in the ranks of Eden--probably even to the point of echoing Commander Wake’s ambitions and actions. I could delve into that damn portrait mirroring Ianthe’s obsession w/ Cyrus’ paintings on the Mithraeum... but that is a whole other post!

So all of these are fairly baseline observations and I think there’s a LOT more to be expounded on, if y’all wanna reply/reblog/DM with additions I would freaking love that, every time I open a page of this book I find something I missed before and it’s such a delight. Thanks for reading if you got this far!!

#the locked tomb trilogy #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #htn spoilers #shoutout to kallistoi and rusty-k for bouncing ideas around w me

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ajbwasntwriting · 3 years

Text

Daughter!Reader X Negan, Reader x Daryl: Chapter 8. Civil Unrest

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For all intents and purposes this is filler so the next chapter will be up in the next few minutes

I’ll only post more chapters if previous chapters get a good reaction so if you enjoy this please heart it, reblog it, and/or reply to it. Interaction inspires.

if you wish to be added to the tag list please dm me. All chapters can be found under the tag AJ’s Negan’s Daughter AU

In a few days you were up on your feet, your need to survive driving your fast recovery. As soon as you could sit up without nearly fainting and you could bend your fingers without much pain you started taking patients. Mainly burns and cuts. You kept your head down while working, adding to your intimidating reputation. They didn’t realise you were just trying to conceal yourself while looking for familiar faces. You rarely left the medical bay, even when it was icy cold.

Carol checked on you regularly, seemingly incredibly concerned for you. It almost pained you to suspect her to be out to get you. Luckily she seemed convinced that because you had been alone for so long that you’d take a long time getting used to the walls. Maybe she figured out that you were just biding time for leaving again.

“Are you okay?” Laura pulled you from your thoughts. You looked up suddenly, nodded, and went back to your reading. All these patient profiles from the previous physician were thorough. “Why would Emmett be this detailed with extremely basic medical care” you tought, then again he was a captive here just as much as you were. He probably had nothing better to do. “Are you sure? You look so serious.” She continued. You looked up to her. She was lying on one of the beds chewing on a piece of hard plastic. Having to keep a watch on ‘The New Doc’ would’ve been extremely boring.

“Just a lot of reading” you sat up and stretched your arms, not realising how long you had sat hunched over the hand-written pages. “Doctors have horrible handwriting and this guy sure likes to drag his point out”

“How bad is it?” She asked. You lifted the profile of another patient and followed along with your finger.

“The left Thenar has suffered tremendous infliction resulting in the loss of elasticity and possible avulsion of the tissue” You read aloud in a dramatic voice

“What?” Laura said, taking the plastic out of her mouth for a moment

“He pulled the muscle in his thumb, possibly tearing it” you flopped the paper down, rubbing your forehead.

“And all those pages are full of that shit” Laura pressed. You sighed with a nod.

“I never thought I’d be grateful to have done AP english.” you sighed

“Okay smart ass no need to show off” Laura chuckled, chewing on the plastic again.

“Please,” you sat back in the chair “My old man made me do it. ‘You already speak english so it should be a breeze’ he said”

“Those kind of parents?”

“You’re familiar?”

“Yep” Laura sat up, hunching over her now crossed legs. “My dad was a lawyer. Mom was an accountant. They kept pushing me to over achieve”

“Bet they weren’t happy with that” you spoke, pointing to your neck to reference Laura’s tattoo. Her hand went over it instinctively.

“I had already skipped town with my boyfriend before I got this.” She laughed. The smile melted away as she slowly stroked her neck. “Hadn’t seen them since. Probably dead.”

The room got a lot more quiet. It was crazy to think you both were so close in age but had gone through so much hell in the same world. But Laura was a saviour. You were Negan’s kid. If you were to be friends it would have to be at an arm’s reach.

The momentum changed when Carol arrived in, holding a small tray with cookies on them. The smell told you they were fresh. Your heart wanted to tell her to get out, but those cookies smelled too damn good.

“How’s the hard work going ladies.” she spoke with a cheery voice, setting the tray down in front of you. You were on it instantly. You took a cookie with you as you limped over to lock the door to the medical bay. “Any news?” Carol whispered

Carol had asked you and Laura to investigate the uprising of Negan supporters in the Sanctuary. Well, mainly Laura since she would know more people in Carol’s eyes. The payment, cookies. Though Laura would probably do it for free. She enjoyed the new peace that came with being aligned with the other settlements.

“Just the usual hot-heads” Laura sighed. You limped back to your chair.

“They like to complain to me.” you gently sat down. You’d only been back walking without the full splint for a couple days now but the clunky half splint on your lower leg wasn’t exactly walker friendly. “‘You should’ve seen how great we were when Negan was running the place’ and other shit”

“What do you think of it?” Carol asks you seriously. You suck the sugar off your fingers happily.

“He mustn’t have been that good if he’s not in charge anymore.”

They had their little meeting then as Carol was leaving you piped up,

“How’s the bridge team?”

“No.” Carol retorted quickly as if speaking to a child. “You are not going out there how many times do I have to tell you.”

“I could help-”

“You’re needed here Y/N” she spoke firmly.

“Yes, mom.” you groaned from your chair, earning a laugh from Laura. Carol left quickly.

“Why do you wanna join the bridge team so badly?” Laura asked through a mouthful of cookie.

“I miss the fresh air, I guess” and there’s more chances to get away from you all.

That evening you were restless. Normally it was the pain that kept you up late but it also exhausted you. You got out of the medical bed you’d claimed as your own, one of three that outfitted the med bay. You limped your way out of the medbay, not bothered if you woke Laura. The bathroom was down the hall so she would just assume you had to pee, especially since you had taken the torch dedicated to midnight bathroom visits. Being the medic gave you the luxury of a torch instead of matches and a candle.

It hurt to climb up so many stairs, with both your wounds and the cold seeping into your skin, but you’d be tired by the time you came back down anyway. You walked onto what used to be Negan’s floor. Your ‘family’s’ floor. You’d wanted to see it for a while now, out of curiosity more than anything else.

You first went to your father’s room. Pushing the door open you felt a burst of cold air whip around you viciously. The room has been stripped of its furnishings, right down to the carpets. Taken away to be burned most likely. The windows were shattered, the bullet holes in the ceiling giving away the method. It was so completely devoid of any sign of human life one would say it always had been. You closed the door and continued onto the parlour where the wives would spend their day. This room didn’t have windows but the room was still completely void of any of the glamour that once adorned it. The only remnants was the wall paper which was peeling off due to the damp.

The image of the forgotten rooms didn’t stir emotion in the way you thought they would. You imagined getting overwhelmed with emotion, but you felt nothing. No that wasn’t right, you felt a loss. Not a loss of the grandeur you had gotten to enjoy in captivity, not a loss of the fake smiles from your many ‘mothers’. You felt a loss of your father. You mourned the man you had called your father, and the idea that all that was left of the memory of him were these halls where cowards bowed to him. You felt an overwhelming realisation that the man you called ‘Pops’ had died long before ‘Negan’ formed.

Your final destination was your room. You figured it would also be empty but your room was a bit away, down the end of a hall few knew how to get too. You’d had more roaches as visitors than people. Your father had chosen it for you so the ‘common nobodies’ wouldn’t see you easily, another measure to keep you safe.

It also worked the other way as you round the corner and see a light coming from what used to be your room. The hall was lined with offices and storage rooms you knew you could dive into if someone appeared so you turned off your light and walked down the hall gingerly on your feet. You were now only a couple feet away from the door when you heard voices coming from the end of the hall, from what used to be your room.

“I still can’t believe they put this bitch here to keep an eye on us. That fucking redneck was an ass but atleast he didn’t pretend to be all fucking nice”

“It’s probably a play to get us to relax. They’ve got us locked in this factory and don’t give us nearly enough food, and they won’t let us go to the other settlements”

“We’re prisoners. They said they only wanted to lock up Negan but now we’re all starving.”

“Enough of your bitching.”

They went on to talk about how many people were on their side and their efforts to get weapons. They clearly had no idea you were listening. After all, what kind of idiot is gonna climb up over ten floors for no reason. Other than sentiment perhaps. It sounded like there were about four people in the room, but they spoke like they had a few under their influence. They were looking for weapons and a means to get back at ‘Rick and his posse’.

“We’ll bring them that bitch Carol’s head on a spike for them.”

“What about the bridge? We got people working there for food.”

“And then what? They’re just gonna keep extorting us for slave labour or let us starve.”

You were so drawn in by their words that the door opening startled you. You charged from your spot into an open room, a storage closet of a sort. You knew it was too risky to close the door so you stood against the wall next to the door. They walked along the hall bantering loudly. You sidestepped deeper into the room, knocking something with your foot making a loud metal sound. The voices stopped and you instantly froze, holding your breath like your life depended on it. A light shun into the closet, then the other way.

“Probably just a rat” one of the voices spoke. “We can set some traps and stew it for dinner”.

They continued down the hall, their steps growing faint a minute or so later. The adrenaline began to subside and the pain from the recent strain on your leg made itself very apparent. You stepped out of the closet and walked down the hall to your old room. Maybe they left some evidence you could use to barter for your freedom.

You opened the door to your room, only illuminated by the moonlight coming from the window. Unlike the other rooms, your room hadn’t been completely ransacked. The mattress had been taken off the frame but the metal skeleton remained as well as the rug under your bed. Other than that it appeared empty. You turned on your torch to get a better view.

On your bed frame lay what had to be near a hundred dead wild flowers. Your breath caught in your throat at the site. You moved and sat on the bed frame, the metal sending a chill up your body. You placed a hand on the dry stems and something hit the ground with a thump. You moved to look under the bed as quick as you could, reaching under the bed you cut yourself on something sharp. You moved your torch on it and grabbed it again, this time from a less dangerous end.

Under the bed you pulled out the knife that had your name engraved on it. The metal shun bright in the light as if lovingly polished until it’s inevitable abandonment. You hadn’t realized you had begun to cry until a tear fell onto the blade and began to fill the engraving.

~Tag List~

@bodeckersbitch @lauren-novak @aestthete

#AJ's Negan's Daughter AU #twd negan #negan fic #negan twd #negan the walking dead #the walking dead negan #negan x daughter reader #daughter reader #daughter x negan #daughter reader x negan #twd daryl #daryl dixon #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #twd carol #carol peletier #the walking dead carol #twd laura

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the-gay-prometheus · 3 years

Text

(AU Segment) “Second Chances”

Ok so- after almost two weeks I finally freakin finished it. It might be a little messy because I have done absolutely zero proof-reading on it because I’m just happy to have finally finished it 🙃

Anyways...

This is another little segment of my work-in-progress Frankenstein AU that still has yet to have a solid plot other than “Victor agrees to live with the creature on the mountain they meet on as an alternative to creating a companion for him. And also Henry comes to live with them too because he can’t stand to be without his boyfriend™.” An actual plot is in the works but... I’m currently thinking about revamping all that I have of it so far and also completely changing the setting of it.

No warnings needed for this segment to my knowledge! Just a nice moment of interaction between Henry and the creature with a little bit of clervenstein toward the end. It’s not super long but it is 5 google docs pages single spaced so uh- it’s also not super short - just a lil heads up.

Likes, comments, reblogs appreciated as always if you feel inclined to do... any of those things.

Oh! Also- before getting into it - I still need name ideas for this AU. I want to do something like “The <blank> Prometheus,” but I don’t know what word I want to put there so uh- if anyone has any ideas... send them my way ;~;

Henry pulled his coat tightly around him and shuddered as he stepped out into the frigid night time mountain air, clouds of mist drifting away from him with each breath. He glanced around, searching the moonlit ledge until his eyes set upon a cliff just a short climb above. On that cliff sat a familiar tall figure, staring upward into the starry sky as his long hair drifted in the chilly breeze. Henry rubbed his hands to let friction warm them, then made his way toward the cliff. He took his time to carefully climb up, then sat down beside the figure - his lover’s creation - who leaned away as soon as he sat beside him.

“You should not be out here,” the creature mentioned. “It is far too cold.”

“Neither should you,” Henry answered, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

“The cold does not affect me in the same way that it affects you,” the creature countered simply. “I am fine - you should be inside with Victor.”

“Actually, I was just talking to Victor. He agreed that I should come out here and try to talk to you.” The creature glanced toward him, his yellow eyes ever so slightly glowing in the dark of the night, but turned his face away after only a moment, pulling the hood of his cloak over his face. “You don’t have to hide from me, you know. I’m- I’m not afraid of you.”

“I do not doubt that you are not afraid - I cannot imagine you would be out here if you were,” the creature replied. “I am merely sparing you from the sight of me. I know well that I am a hideous wretch.”

“I don’t think of you as a hideous wretch.” Henry paused, looking up toward the sky. “I think you are… fascinating, really.” The creature pulled some of the fabric of his hood away so he could look back toward Henry.

“Fascinating is not a word I think many would use to describe me.”

“Well - I’m not ‘many,’ now am I?” Henry glanced toward him with a smirk, but the creature simply turned away with a shaky, labored sigh. Henry’s smirk turned to a more solemn expression as he returned his sight to the stars. “It’s true, though. I think you are… incredibly fascinating.” The creature didn’t reply, except to shrink away from him and cling tighter to the edges of his cloak. “I mean, think about it - how many people get a second chance at life?”

“Victor can argue whatever he wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are very much a person. Sure, you may have been made rather than born, but what difference does that make? After all, there are plenty of people who would argue that regardless of birth, all of us are intelligently made. And just think - how lucky you are to know your creator while the rest of us are all destined only to wonder,” Henry explained. He turned to look toward the creature with a sympathetic smile. “Of course, unlucky for you it happened to be Victor, who can barely take care of himself let alone an entire other person,” he joked. The creature couldn’t help but smile a little - it was true, comically true, in a way. His creator was no god, he was just a young man searching for answers and glory, but who left himself and everyone else behind along the way. “Anyways, with regard to your first question, I would say it is. In fact, I would say that’s the best kind of second chance. You’re not burdened by any preconceived notions about what life is or about how the world works, you started your new life with no worry of money or the trivial squabbles of man; you just existed as you were and as you are, perhaps a bit confused and a bit lost, but when you emerged into the world what you saw first shaped you in a way that most people have not been exposed to.”

“Is it a second chance if I cannot even recall the life… or perhaps I should say lives I had before?” the creature began, tracing over the scars on his arm as though he were trying to find memories within each graft of skin that existed there. “For that matter… am I even a person?” He paused, his hands dropping to his knees. “Even my own creator would argue that I am not.”

“Most people awake in their first moments to find a mother’s embrace or a father’s kind smile. From the moment I took my first breath I was not just miserably alone, but actively feared and hated, Henry. This is not the kind of ‘second chance’ I would wish on anyone,” the creature said quietly, staring down off the cliff’s edge into the dark valley far below. Henry sighed softly with a shiver from the cold.

“I… I am afraid I do not understand your meaning.”

“You know that now, but did you know that then?”

“I mean - did you know that the reaction you saw was a reaction of fear?” The creature thought long and hard about that statement, trying to recount the memory he had chosen to repress.

“I suppose not,” he replied at a length. “I was… confused, and somewhat afraid myself, but I did not understand the meaning of his reaction. I thought it was normal. How should I have known any differently?”

“So what did you do? How did it affect you in that moment?”

“I tried to follow him but I was… still unsteady. He was far too nimble-”

“Ha! Victor? Nimble? That’s funny,” Henry interrupted with a laugh, though he quickly stifled himself and cleared his throat. “...Go on.”

“For my unsteadiness, he was far too nimble,” the creature restated, giving Henry somewhat of a disappointed glance before returning his gaze to the valley below. “So, assuming that I was simply not meant to follow him, I decided to wander elsewhere.”

“Which means in that moment, you had no assumptions of mistreatment, correct?”

“In that moment, yes, that is correct.”

“And where did you go, then?” The creature looked up to him, brow slightly furrowed from confusion.

“I have… already told you this story before, Henry,” he mentioned with uncertainty. “Why must I tell it again?”

“Because I want you to hear yourself tell it. And this time, I want you to actually think about how you felt in each moment,” Henry answered with certainty. The creature stared for a moment, then dropped his gaze downward once again.

“I found myself in a nearby forest,” he began. “It was cold, and dark, and I was still afraid, but I looked upward and saw the moon and the multitude of stars against the night sky. For some reason this sight gave me… comfort. I had no words with which to describe what I saw or what I felt, but it was a moment of serenity. The days following as I learned more about my surroundings were much the same. My fears were allayed by a sudden sense of curiosity and wonder at the life which surrounded me - and everything was certainly alive. Yes, the flora and fauna, but also the stream as it rushed along its way, and the stones in their cold stillness. I felt…” He paused, lifting his gaze to the horizon. “Connected; to all of it. I did not know who or what I was, but I knew I was alive, and for the time being, that was all I needed to know.”

“Those were your most formative moments. Unbound by the values and traditions of our time, blissfully unaware. The rest of us may have had people in our lives from the moment we were brought into this world, but for many, that isn’t necessarily a good thing. We become biased from the very moment we learn how to speak, taught and told how to think or act. Yet there you were, untethered, and instead of finding your sole connection in the eyes of mankind, you found yours in the purity of nature itself.”

“What good has that brought me, though? I happened upon mankind regardless of my contentedness within the woods, and promptly yearned for a place among them, only to be beaten and shunned away for no cause other than my appearance alone. Mine is a miserable existence.” The creature turned away after he had spoken, clenching his eyes shut and gritting his teeth at the sudden pang of sorrow that throbbed deep in his scarred chest.

“Tell me how you see the world,” Henry answered, resting a shivering hand gently on the creature’s arm. The creature heaved with a breath, holding back tears as even a simple comforting touch such as this was so rare and so precious to him.

“It is,” he began, taking a moment to think. “a cold, dreadful place full of hatred and malice.” His voice, though clearly wrought with pain and some slight sense of anger, sounded uncertain. Henry looked to him.

“You’re describing the world of men. Describe the world itself to me,” he insisted. The creature didn’t respond for a length of time, instead shuddering as he held back tears, but then finally breathed a heavy sigh and opened his yellowed eyes and stared off into the distance beyond the peaks that rose and fell across the horizon.

“The world is…” He paused as he gathered his thoughts again. “The world is a dawn chorus, each bird singing sweetly in its own tune, somehow both melodious and cacophonous all at once. It is... the painted sky as the sun sinks down to dusk, the way each color blends and shines, and the way the clouds glow with golden light, a fleeting work of art that fades into darkness and is never the same twice.” He breathed deeply, slowly closing his eyes as his expression of concentration and contemplation turned to a contented smile. “It is the way the stars shine brightest when the moon hides itself away, and the pale silver gleam that all things acquire when the moon is at its fullest. It is the silence of a heavy snowfall and the deafening roar of thunder, the glitter of ice and the blinding sight of lightning. It is the lonely shriek of the fox and the communal cry of the wolf, the powerful bellow of an elk and the gentle bleat of a deer.” His eyes reopened and he turned toward Henry, who was now staring up at him with a look of astonishment on his face. “The world is wonderful and terrible, familiar and strange, lovely and frightening. It is like fire, which both warms and burns, dances and destroys. Though it is not always kind, I am inclined to search for the beauty and kindness that does exist within it.”

“Incredible,” Henry breathed, dropping his hand from the creature’s arm to wipe away the tears that had welled in his eyes. The creature flinched and turned his gaze away as Henry’s hand fell away, instinctively reaching up and placing his own hand in the open space that Henry had left as though he just needed to feel something there, as though he wasn’t quite ready to exist alone again. “That’s what makes you a second chance worth taking,” Henry continued, smiling as he put a hand over the creature’s. “I am absolutely sure that none of those who were used to make you saw the world in such an awe-inspiring, beautiful way.” The creature turned to him with a curious tilt of his head.

“How can you be so sure?” he asked, slowly pulling his hand away and bringing it up to his face as he inspected each stitched-on piece of skin that covered it.

“Well… People tend to take on the views of whatever surrounds them for their first true moments of consciousness, I’ve found. It leaches into who they are. When we are surrounded by the life we’re meant to have - a life free from the confines we created for ourselves in the name of ‘civility,’ - we open ourselves to exactly what makes us human to begin with.” The creature opened his fingers, gazing at Henry from between them.

“And what is it that makes…” He hesitated, eyes shifting from side to side as he considered what he was about to say before locking with Henry’s once again, “us human?” Henry grinned, warmth filling him despite the cold for the joy of hearing the creature speak of himself as one of them rather than as some horrible thing.

“Curiosity,” he replied simply. “Curiosity is what makes us human, but far too many of us have lost our sense of it. Yet here you are, curious and full of wonder. How many of those whose parts made you can say that they felt the same in their lifetime? I’d hazard to guess very few, if any.” He lifted a shaky, shivering hand and gently pushed the creature’s hand down so they could see each other truly eye to eye. “You are their collective second chance. Yes, it hasn’t been easy. Yes, you have done things you have come to regret. Any other man would have become all but lost to his misery, but you, in your endless search for the good and beauty you found in your most precious moments of life, have chosen not only to try to be better, but to never lose sight of that same inspiration that made you who you are. I can’t imagine a better second chance than one such as yours - regardless of the hardships you have endured and have still yet to endure.” The creature stared at him, mind reeling with what he had just heard. Leave it to Henry Clerval to once again make him feel not just like somebody worthy of life, but somebody worth celebrating. He blinked away tears, retracting his hand to wipe away those which had already fallen upon his pale yellowed cheeks, and was just about to speak when a new voice took both his and Henry’s attention away.

“Do you… mind if I join you both?” Victor stood behind them, wrapped in a large, heavy wool blanket. Henry smiled, moving over to make room for Victor beside him.

“Not at all. I could use the extra warmth,” he mused. Victor smiled slightly, shakily walking over and sitting close to Henry. Henry took one end of his blanket and wrapped it around himself, making sure the other end was also fully covering Victor so the two of them were snug within it. The creature watched them for a moment, then turned his eyes toward the stars.

“Long enough,” he answered softly, pressing himself closer to Henry and laying his head on his shoulder. There was silence between the three of them, Victor slowly closing his eyes and breathing a soft sigh as Henry wrapped his arm around him and held him close.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked suddenly. Victor glanced up at him.

“Henry says I am… incredible,” the creature mentioned, breaking the silence for no reason other than that he was still processing all that had just been said. Henry looked to him with a smile.

“And he’s right to say so,” Victor answered after a long pause. Both Henry and the creature looked to him simultaneously in shock. Victor opened his eyes and looked up at them both. “I’ve just been too blind to see it.”

“That almost sounded like an apology,” Henry remarked with a smirk. “I thought you didn’t do apologies.”

“I don’t,” Victor grumbled defensively. “Not usually, anyways. And that wasn’t an apology, it was… an observation.”

“I appreciate your… observation, Victor,” the creature murmured, unsure of what else to say or how else to respond. After so many months of hearing his creator berate him and call him such horrid, disgusting names, it was still always a shock when those rare moments came that Victor acknowledged his existence in a positive way - much less rare now that Henry was here, of course, but still rare all the same. Victor, also unsure of how to respond, simply glanced up at him and muttered,

“Your appreciation is duly noted.” Henry chuckled softly at the awkwardness between the two of them, and gently tapped Victor’s shoulder.

“I think it’s time we get some rest,” he said quietly. He turned toward the creature. “As long as you’ll be alright, that is.” The creature nodded.

“Thank you, Henry. You have been very generous. I believe I will be well.” Henry gave a curt nod in return, and pulled the blanket off of himself to drape it back over Victor before standing and extending a hand. Victor gripped the blanket around himself as he reached out and took Henry’s hand with the other, the two walking off and disappearing as they helped one another climb their way back down.

“Did you mean what you said just then?” Henry inquired as they walked back to their cabin home on the ledge, hand still firmly gripping Victor’s own.

“I did,” Victor answered with a nod. As they approached, Henry reached for the door, and Victor’s hand slipped from his as he hesitated. Henry stopped just as he opened it, turning toward Victor with a curious expression. “As I listened to him speak I realized something I hadn’t quite realized before.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

“He’s a lot like you - in the way he thinks and speaks, that is.” Henry was about to respond, but Victor took him by surprise as he suddenly wrapped his arms around him and embraced him tightly. “And you’re the most incredible person I know.” Henry was shocked, as Victor was rarely the one to initiate physical contact, but hugged him even tighter in return.

The creature sat alone on the cliff, listening intently to the two voices below as he stared up at the sky. Brushing a lock of hair that fell over his face behind his ear, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His eyes followed a comet as it passed through the stillness of the stars, and smiled as he continued to recount all that had been said. As he heard the door of the cabin click closed, he rested his hands on the stone of the cliff and leaned back to look up at the moon. “How delightful, dear moon,” he began as though speaking to it directly, “to be given the second chance to be something incredible-” He paused, and slowly closed his yellow eyes with another soft sigh. “to be something human.”

#frankenstein #frankenstein au #henry clerval #the creature #victor frankenstein #clervenstein #i am once again pausing my usual angst to practice my wholesome writing #idk how that's working out for me but #hey i mean- i'm trying ;~;

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