#quee n
Text
it took us a hot minute but the badges are done. reblog to receive your badge
#destiel#putin#quee n#queen elizabeth#sans#sans undertale#reigen#arataka reigen#mp100#mob psycho 100#historical events#supernatural
45K notes
·
View notes
Text
Here the Drawings of Monkey Queen i did for summer break:)
@monkeyqueenofficialartsandfanart
#digital art#auroraqenajdrew#artists on tumblr#x y/n#monkie kid x reader#monkie kid fanart#monkey quee!reader
39 notes
·
View notes
Text
I think it's funny the queen died after tommy moved to america
5 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Good for her.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
I need more content of these two fuckos i made in my head
#it’s a bunny that can become another version of himself where he doesn’t talk and has big eyes surrounded by shadow and this robot drag quee#n who has a lot of feelings about whether she’s human or not#and also she’s a rat#and the bunny being part of another persons body can relate to feeling less than human at times#so they bond and talk and relate because sometimes the rat also goes into a state where she cannot feel just as the bunny has trouble showin#his emotions in this specific state#also they call eachother babe platonically
0 notes
Text
"So? Whatever." Pt.2
pairing: dave lizewski x popular!fem!reader
summary: after closing a deal with dave to let you borrow his comics while he pretends to tutor you, he finally comes over to your house. he’s confronted with the fact that despite your reputation of being damn near perfect, you have your own insecurities and issues. you’re confronted with how much you enjoy his company, despite having your reservations about him before.
word count: 2.4K
♡ LANDING PAGE ♡
notes: thank you for the likes and the reblogs, I really appreciate it! I really enjoy writing for this reader, there’s something so fun about being able to be so playfully mean. Please let me know if you’d like a part 3, and comments are greatly appreciated too!
[unknown]: hi, it’s dave! hope I typed in the right number lol
You look at your phone as it buzzed, squinting to see if you recognized the contact as you dried your hair off from the shower. You sat down on your bed and swiped up, smiling at the name. At least he didn’t forget to text. You saved his number under a new contact and started typing a reply.
[y/n]: sorry, I know a lot of daves. are you the one from the party last saturday, or the one from the football game?
[dave]: lizewski? the one who lent you the venom comic? brown hair, glasses?
You grinned to yourself, laying down on your stomach on the bed.
[y/n]: I’m just messing with ya, nerd. I remember you, how could I possibly forget?
[dave]: right
[dave]: sorry
[dave]: could you send me the address? and what type of comics you want me to bring?
You sent him your location and a couple of screenshots of your favorite franchises.
[y/n]: think you can work with that?
[dave]: yeah, totally! I’ll be there at 2 on saturday, is that ok?
[y/n]: totes, see ya then x
Dave stared down at his phone, eyes fixated on the little “x” you added to your last text. Everything from that day had already felt surreal, and now he was actually texting you. Or, well, he assumed so. This could all very well still be part of some really shitty prank, but you did seem genuine in your request. And what kind of guy would he be to just assume you were out to get him, just like all the others?
A smart one, probably.
But it was too late for second thoughts now, as he stood in front of the driveway to your house. It was huge, nothing like the houses in his neighborhood. He guessed that’s what all that lawyer money was good for. He walked up to the front door, his hand shaking a little as he reached out to ring the bell. He heard footsteps, taking a deep breath in and mentally prepared himself to be met by you as the door opened.
Instead, he was met by the eyes of an older man, slightly taller than him, who seemed less than pleased to see him at his front door. He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow as he looked him up and down. “Can I help you, son?”
Dave gulped, hands getting clammy inside his coat’s pockets. He was not ready to be confronted by your dad, especially because he’s the one you were primarily hiding things from. “I-I’m here to tutor—”
“My daughter?” He cut him off before he could say your name. “You the kid that’s tutoring her?”
“Y-Yes sir, that’s me.” He pulled out his hand, silently cursing himself for not wiping it on his pants before because of how sweaty it was.
Your father looked down at his hand, but before he could even shake it, your voice was heard from behind him. “Daddy, that’s for me!” You walked down the stairs, making eye contact with Dave as he tried not to melt right then and there because of what you were wearing. He usually saw you wear your cute, well put together outfits at school, but seeing you in your cute comfy shorts, with your hair put up… He only realized he was staring when your dad addressed him again.
“Alright, get inside. And shoes off.”
He obliged, quickly taking his shoes off as your dad walked back into the living room.
Not long after, he was met with the sight of your room. Shelves adorned with trophies, a vanity, a queen sized bed with a TV in front of it, a plush sofa, and a huge closet… He was pretty sure he’s seen whole apartments less nice than your room. But nevermind that, he was in a girl’s room, in your room. That was intimate no matter the scenario.
You sat down on your desk chair, legs crossed as you turned it on its wheels to face the boy scanning your room. He looked like he had landed in another dimension, eyes wide as he examined his surroundings.
“What’s so interesting?” You asked, not sure if he was looking for something or if he was just genuinely this impressed by your room.
“You have… A lot of trophies…” He fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt.
You looked over to the shelf, smiling proudly. “All from cheering.” You pointed to the tiara on the shelf above it. “Besides that one.”
He remembers when you won prom queen in your junior year, though he’s not sure if he’d count that as a trophy. He’d never tell you that, though.
“So, you gonna give me my comics or are you just here to inspect my private property?”
Your comment snapped him out of his daydreaming and he quickly took off his backpack to take out a plastic bag filled with comics. “I-I didn’t know which ones you wanted specifically, so… I just took all the ones from the franchises you showed me.” He took the pile out of the bag and you got up to take them from him.
“Careful, it’s—“
Your arms almost gave out to the sheer heft of the pile before he caught them. “Jesus christ Dave!”
“S-Sorry, sorry, I didn’t realise they weighed that much combined!” He looks panicked, hoping you didn’t hurt yourself when the weight pulled you down.
“You carried these all the way here?” You looked at him in shock. There was no way he was that strong, not without you knowing about it. “What are you, some kind of secret body builder?” You watched him put the pile down on your desk, seeing the muscles in his forearm. Maybe you were wrong, you just hadn’t been paying as much attention to Dave as you apparently should have been.
He avoided the question, simply sitting down on the carpeted floor across you with his back against the side of your bed. Frankly, he knew he’d be better off saying nothing when it came to his physique, afraid it might reveal too much relating to his vigilante activities.
You looked through the pile, finding the sequel to the previous comic you had borrowed from him and pulling it out. Dave took his own comic book out of his backpack, and when he looked back at you, something had clearly changed.
Your face was now adorned with a pair of round, thinly rimmed glasses.
He blinked a few times to make sure his own eyes weren’t deceiving him, but no, he was seeing things right.
You look up from your page and raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t your mommy ever tell you it’s rude to stare?”
“You wear glasses.” He said, eyes fixated on your face. His usual aversion to eye contact seemed to have vanished all of a sudden.
“What?” You realized you hadn���t thought about it when you put them on. You didn’t usually have company over while you were reading stuff. “Oh.” Your face suddenly felt a lot warmer, embarrassment washing over you. “Yeah, I uh… I need them to read, at least. I get through the rest of my day without em just fine, they just look so… Stupid.” You paused, looking back at his face and realizing how mean that must have sounded to him. “Not that you look stupid! You look, uh… You look smart! Real smart, it’s just… They don’t suit me and I…His expression hasn’t changed one bit since you had put on your spectacles. You looked so different, in a good way. A really good way.
“Pretty.” He muttered.
“What?” You broke out of your embarrassed rambling.
“I think you look pretty. With the glasses. They suit you.” He smiled demurely, hoping that didn’t gain him some creep points.
You stared back at him. You’d been called hot before, sexy, gorgeous… But hearing him call you pretty, it was something else. There were no intentions behind it, he just needed to say it, like it felt right. You blink, trying to cope with the fact that the nerd you thought you had an upper hand on had turned your brain to mush with a single compliment.
“Yeah, uhm… Whatever…” You went back to reading. “…thanks.”
He smiled to himself as he picked up his own comic book again. You were surprisingly fun to talk to, it was almost as if he didn’t feel like he was getting judged for everything he was saying anymore.
And he could definitely get used to that.
A few hours pass as you both peruse through the pile. The silence is comfortable, only being broken if someone flipped a page or grabbed a new comic. He looked up and saw you holding the Spider-man collector’s edition he took a page out of, seemingly very immersed in the story.
“Do you like Spider-man?” He spoke up, hoping he didn’t annoy you by taking you out of the story.
“Oh, uh…” You adjusted the glasses on your face as they kept slipping down your nose a bit. “Yeah. He’s like… pretty cool I guess.” You had so much to say about him, so much you wanted to gush about, but you couldn’t help but still feel a little ashamed about your interest.
Dave looked at you expectantly. He knew that look, the same look he had whenever someone would call him any type of name at school for being a top shelf dork.
And in that moment, you realised you both had something in common. Except he lived his life unashamedly being a dork, and you were concealing it.
“Alright, so,” You got up from your chair and sat down on the floor next to him, your shoulders touching as you held the comic to your chest. The excitement nearly poured out of you as you couldn’t contain your words, going over everything you liked about him. His background, his personality, his originally handmade suit, his unique powers…
Dave watched you speak with a dreamy smile on his face, your face glowing with happiness. He never thought you’d looked more beautiful, just unapologetically being yourself in front of him. He didn’t once try to interrupt you, he wouldn’t dare to, you just looked so cute gushing about this comic book hero.
“And the fact that… He’s just some kid, right?” You looked into his eyes as he nodded along with you. “Like, he never got any special training, or fancy gear, or anything like that. He could have lived every day of his life pretending he never got bitten by that spider, and live happily ever after, but no! He took matters into his own hands, because he wanted to make a change, because he cared about the people around him.” You smiled, not realizing you had grabbed Dave’s arm and were squeezing it a little to emphasize your words.
He blushed, feeling like that description fit his own endeavors pretty well. He looked into your eyes and for a second, felt the urge to lean in. It took about as much strength as it did to carry those comics to not do so.
You let go of his arms and held your legs close your chest. “But that upside down kiss with MJ… That’s gotta be bullshit. There’s no way you can kiss someone like that.”
“I don‘t know,” Dave responded. “I feel like it would be kinda fun. It doesn’t look that hard.”
“Oh yeah? How would you know?” You turned your head to look at him and gave him a cocky grin.
His face flushed pink and he regretted saying what he said. He just gave you the perfect bait to tease the ever living hell out of him. “W-Well, I… I can imagine that… From my experience… It’s…” He stammered.
You let out a soft giggle, amused at his embarrassment. “You’ve never kissed a girl, have you?”
Dave gulped, words stuck in his throat. But you had opened up so much to him, it wouldn’t be fair to not do the same. “I, uhm… No. I haven’t.” He let out a bit of a defeated chuckle.
An idea sprung alive in your head, a dangerous but intriguing glint in your eyes as you bit your lower lip slightly.
“Would you want to?”
Dave had heard you say a lot of shocking things, but that might just take the cake. His cheeks burned hot as the blood rushed to his face, his hands staying steady on his own thighs to not show they were trembling a little. He didn’t know what to say, this was all happening so quickly.
Before he could respond, you were leaning in, eyes on his soft lips, only inches apart—
“Sweetie! Come down for dinner!”
Your eyes snapped open and you pulled back, looking at Dave before glancing over at the door. Thank god they didn’t come up to knock, that would have been the death of you. You take a deep breath and get up, gesturing with your hand for him to do the same. “You should uh… Probably head out.”
He sat there a bit longer than he should have, a million thoughts going through his head before the sound of your voice finally got through to him. “Right, sorry… Don’t wanna overstay my welcome.” He gathered his comics and went downstairs with you to put on his shoes and coat again.
You opened the door for him and he looked back at you to say goodbye. “Thanks for having me over, I had a good time. I hope you did too.” He smiled shyly, hands in his pockets.
You smiled back, reaching up to ruffle his brown curls. “Don’t mention it. And don’t die on the way back, shit’s dangerous out there these days.”
He nodded, giving you a quick wave before heading out, the feeling in his chest warming up his entire body. He felt like he could take on anything, a feeling that would absolutely come in handy later when he’d be face to face with New York’s criminals.
You went back upstairs and sat down at your desk, noticing he’d left something. It was the special collector’s edition you’d been gushing about earlier. You ran your fingers across the damaged front page, smiling to yourself.
Dave was looking in the mirror, adjusting his costume a little and checking if he had everything he needed with him. A buzz of his phone got his attention, and a giddy boyish grin spread across his face.
[y/n]: so, same time next week? xx
@nephilimsss
(lmk if you'd like to be added to the tag list for this fic and other dave lizewski works!!)
#aster writes#kickass x reader#dave lizewski x reader#dave lizewski x fem!reader#dave lizewski#kickass#kickass 2#aaron taylor johnson#atj#aaron taylor johnson fic#aaron taylor johnson x reader#aaron taylor johnson kickass#atj fic#kickass x fem!reader#kickass fic#popular girl x loser boy#popular girl x nerd boy#popular girl x geek#popular!reader#davemath#aster writes kickass
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
YANDERE!knight x PRINCESS!reader
you could tell I'm in love with royal stories?
warinings// alot of skipping times,mentions of a
k!$$,reader is an illegitimate daughter,one bad word
reference;you,y/n,your highness,my lady,her
"curse" "pathetic" "shame"
you've heard those words alot in your life.
You were an illegitimate daughter of the king,The result of a forbidden relationship,A reminder to the queen of her husband's cheat.
your biology mother has died when she gave birth to you and your father,the king,has taken care of you ever since.
he has been nice to you,He didn't differentiate between you and your sister at all,he was giving you everything you need everything you want,like you were a real royal figure.
but it was.
when the king died everything has changed
the queen has treated you like shit,well she didn't make you become a servant or smth,she always said she didn't want to see your face so that's why.
but you've been alone,no one dared to talk to you.
your "sister" didn't say anything about you or treating you wrong she simply...act like you never been there.
yeah everyone was calling you "princess",respecting you.
the servants kept serving you(even though they won't talk to you),you had your own garden even!
but to be all alone between a lot of people was torturing.
so you were visiting the village/city every week. everyone adored you.
you were so kind, gentle, you were...angelic.
you could hear gossiping in the halls as you walk
talking about a personal knight for the princess,your sister.
You laughed internally,praying for whoever that person was. your sister was...a bit grumpy, you've never interacted with her before though.
as you were heading to your favorite place,your garden,you saw your sister heading somewhere and that usual frown on her face.
there was a big man behind her,wearing armored clothes.
he looked at you from the corner of his eye,you waved at him with a smile.
ignore
oh yeah,of course.the queen has warned him from you,like everyone else.
you sighed as you continou your way.
8 P.M.
you wasn't a fan of social interactions or gatherings.
but here you are sitting in the corner. there was ball,everyone was noisy, dancing and drinking.
you were far from everyone, just sitting in the corner drinking your drink in peace.
untill you hear footsteps coming your way,you swear if it was someone want to dance with you too you're going to snap out-
"sorry for interrupting you,your highness" someone talked in a firm tone
you look up to see...your sister personal knight??
"i think it's a bit dangerous for you to sit all alone here,anyone could take advantage from this situation"
you place your drink down and smile
"don't worry I'm capable to defend myself"
"forgive me,your highness, i didn't mean to offend you or something, i just thought it would be right to tell you."
"it's okay you didn't say something wrong"
....
there was an awkward silent
"want a drink?" you broke the silent
"i don't have the right to want anything while I'm in your presence,your highness"
how could he answer so quickly-
"don't be like that...it's a ball for everyone to enjoy"
no answer
you sigh as You sign to the servant to bring another drink, as the servant bring it to your table.
you're confused why he didn't go away but you give him his drink anyway.
"your highness it's really not necessary i-"
"you dare to refuse my offer?"
".....no i don't. thank you,your highness"
you smile slightly as he took it
after some minutes you started "why didn't you went away?"
"do you want me to go,your highness?"
"no-no i mean why didn't you?"
"may i know why would i?"
"didn't..-the quee-i mean her majesty tell you about me?"
"yes,she did"
"but you're still..."
"i understand your point,your highness. but i don't understand her majesty's point"
"in any way?"
"forgive me but i was watching you sometime by now"
"wait-what?"
"we're in the same palace i would definitely run into you,and I've heard the commoners talks about you quite often and by what i heard you were too good to them that's made me curious as why her majesty doesn't want anyone near you"
"oh"
you was too stunned to talk...oh was everything you managed to spit out
you wanted to tear up right now, it was just a normal few sentence someone could even mistake it as an offending to them, but for you..no one has said such things like that or even talked to you in the first place
you bowed your head down
the knight speak as if the realization hit him
"i didn't-i didn't mean to offend you,your highness"
"no you..didn't" You raised your head but looked away "i appreciate what you just said,thank you-...uh may i know your name?"
"my name? he cleared his throat my name doesn't matter I'm just your servant,your highness" he said with more respect
"it's a command"
"senor"
"what a strange name,but it's a beautiful one. I'm Y/N if you didn't know my name earlier heh"
"it's such a honor from you to tell me your name,your highness,but if it's not a bother i feel more comfortable calling you "your highness" "
"of course, go with anything makes you comfortable. even though i don't think we'll interact again" you mumble
"if you'll excuse me your highness, i have to go back to my position" he bow and go back when you nod
you didn't want him to go, it was a nice feeling to talk with someone again
(the villagers doesn't count because you couldn't have a proper conversion with them because they'll be too tense to talk with you)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
after that interact with senor he have been noticing you more he's not ignoring you that much
he would react to your waves with a nod from a far or small movement so you'll know that he saw you
your sister wasn't caring much if he was there or not so you'll take this opportunity to steal him away sometime even if he wasn't approval of your idea
by time you grew closer and closer each time he even visited your personal garden! and became less offical with you but not much
you were too happy to find someone to talk to and spend time with
as for the queen,she's so busy with her duties to even noticing something, maybe she just set this rule and never cared if it broke?
5 A.M.
you and senor where walking in the forest by the river
you planned to go alone in the first place but when he saw you he said it's too dangerous to go alone
"so..you say you knew my father?"
"yes, my lady i did. he had saved my mother from death."
"was..your mother ill?"
"yes, my father wasn't there and i was young to have a job so she was the one working but when she fell down i couldn't do anything....then one day i saw his majesty's court and ran to him the guard has stopped me from going near but i kept shouting for him to help us..then he commanded the guard to let me go as he begin to listen to me, the next thing i know is a lot of money placed in my hand"
sob
senor looked at your way as soon as he heard you sobbing
"my lady are you-are you crying? i-i didn't mean-"
"it's so sad" sob
he just looked at you with big eyes don't know what to do..you..hugged him his hands was in the air where to place them?!
beat beat
shit you were too close,your body pressing against him. did you feel his heart beat? because i think even the village could hear it now
finally he decide to place his hand on your back.
you were talking but he couldn't hear you now, he's more focused on your position.
he was feeling that for a while now but he just denied it. no impossible how could he fall for the princess?
control yourself senor!
"thank you for your kind words my lady" He pushed you back a little
"I'm-I'm sorry i couldn't control myself" you walked back to give him a personal space
your foot slips from the edge as you fell down in the river.
"my lady!" senor yelled as he swim after you
his armor made it difficult to swim fast but eventually he catchs you.
he saw a rock and hold on it "hold on my lady I'll save you" he said between his breath
sitting at the groumd holding you against him, he was panicing now, why hasn't you opened your eyes yet??
"my lady, y/n,are you okay? wake up!"
cough cough
"oh god you're alive"
you opened your eyes slowly, your view still blurry becouse of the water
he made you sit straight as you coughed the water inside your chest
"are you okay?"
you nod as you looked at him.
"thank you. you're really my hero" you giggled
that wasn't a funny thing! you were about to die he should be mad now, scold you even.
but again he's heart start bounding. your hero? your...and you were his lady, he couldn't control himself anymore.
the next thing you see is his lips against yours,it was a long deep kiss he wanted for sometime now.
senor could care less if it's forbidden he was about to lose you seconds ago you're just paying for scaring him to death.
when you return you got a long harsh lecture from the queen on how you were just a wight on her to take and useless
was it? you don't know anymore. all you could think about is that kiss and senor, what was he doing now?
my back hurt :') i have exams soon so i just thought why don't i write something before it?
I'll make this a series too
hope you liked it!
have a good night/day
#yanderexreader#yandere x reader#yandere oc#yandere knight#yandere oc x reader#yandere x you#yandere x y/n#yandere knight x reader
259 notes
·
View notes
Text
Regretevator headcanons. for sillies.
world stuff;
the "lobby" is called the ground floor! there is no actual ground floor, but its the closest they got.
all of the characters have places that aren't the place they get on at they can go to, like how poob and pest get on the elevator at the train station. they don't live there or just go there as a job or anything, its just where they go to get "picked up" in a way. exceptions for like those who have some kind of thing to them though - like infected or DRretro.
the elevator in some ways is treated as if an actual transportation method - you can get on for free to go wherever it takes you for fun, but if you have somewhere to be you can pay to get there. its advertised as both.
Wallter's species created grey stuff, and its not meant to be consumed by humans or anything - although its a bit too late for that.
Relationship/Character stuff;
Pest thinks Wallter is an easy target, primarily because of 1. how they're completely clueless when he steals from them, and 2. because they've got a good amount of money. it makes pest care even LESS about his thievery!
Wallter thinks woodworking is overrated, yes, but he originally was just able to let it be an opinionated thing for him. then he got in a few petty arguments with Mark and started having an active... "distaste" towards it (QUEE
Wallter and Poob are friends entirely because they both talk a fuck ton, and both understand eachother over eachothers rambling. don't ask how.
Pest started actually liking Poob a bit when he saw them kill someone. it got worse. kill them both right n
ok thats it please enjoy
#regretevator#poob regretevator#pest regretevator#wallter regretevator#mannequin mark#mannequin mark regretevator#partybeetle#wallmark#wallmark regretevator
218 notes
·
View notes
Text
“you cant ship kinger x caine! caines a ai and has moon!!!!! AND KINGER HAD QUEE-“ I. D. O. N. T. C. A. R. E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DONT CARE. its HARMLESS FUN!
103 notes
·
View notes
Text
Visiting - Chapter 11: My Favourite Work of Art
(Moodboard by @cutesyscreenname)
Pairing: Professor!Ben (College AU) x OFC Lydia/fem!Reader (reader POV/2nd POV)
Summary: Seeking a change of scenery after her life falls apart, Lydia crosses the Atlantic and arrives in a small New England town, to spend a year expanding her intellectual horizons as a visiting professor of art history at a small liberal arts college. Her growing friendship with Ben Morales, professor of Hispanic literature, forces Lydia to confront the fallout from her past - and raises unexpected questions about the future.
Chapter summary: Work stresses and the pressures of an impending public talk threaten to derail Ben and Lyd's attempts to do Valentine's Day their way, while news spreads of their romance among the student body.
Word Count: 10k (I'm...sorry?)
Rating: Explicit (MDNI; 18+)
Content (series and chapter specific): Professor Ben College AU; Ben and Lydia are contemporaries; canon is not a thing here; slow burn; idiots to lovers; smut; fingering; oral sex; safe PiV sex; enthusiastic consent; strong language; alcohol consumption; praise kink; self-esteem issues; body and weight insecurity; office sex; students thinking people in their 40s are 'old' (they aren't); some references to previous emotional abuse; references to stress; some minor angst; fluff central and I'm loving it
A/N (further notes at the end of the chapter):
The title for this chapter comes from Chet Baker's 'My Funny Valentine'.
youtube
Thank you to everyone who's shown so much love for this pair so far - every comment, reblog, like, interaction, ask is just a joy to me.
See the Series Masterlist for an outline of Lydia's story and background.
Chapter 10 - Chapter 12
Cross-posting to AO3 (and if you're reading on there, too, and yelling along in the comments - I love you, thank you!)
@julesonrecord and @lunapascal - thank you, extended family members of the dorksicles.
Taglist:
@lunapascal , @julesonrecord , @tessa-quayle , @vermillionwinter , @iamskyereads , @tieronecrush , @perennialdoll247 , @love-the-abyss , @imaswellkid , @intheorangebedroom , @javierisms , @fuckyeahdindjarin , @littlemisspascal , @khindahra , @pedrostories , @readingiskeepingmegoing , @rhoorl , @red-red-rogue , @princessanglophile , @katareyoudrilling @survivingandenduring , @trulybetty @fictionismyreality @sunnywithachanceofjavi , @joeldjarin , @lahoozaherr, @s-u-t, @its-nebuleuse
“Okay - dirty gin martini for Lyd, whiskey sour for Evan, and for me, a negroni sbagliato -”
Ani pauses, looking expectantly at you and Evan.
In unison, you look at each other and pronounce: “with Prosecco in it”, in your sultriest tones, before giggling as Ani settles back into their dark red leather chair, drink in hand.
Evan raises his crystal-cut tumbler. “To us. And to our people.”
“Our people?” Ani arches an eyebrow.
“David, Cass…” He turns in your direction. “And of course, the other half of dorkdom’s greatest love story: Benjamin.”
You roll your eyes, raise your glass, and take a sip of the ice cold cocktail. “To our lovely people.”
Ani and Evan sip their drinks contentedly. You’d tried to meet for a drink every week or so, schedules permitting, since you came to Barrow, and Evan had been adamant that the routine would continue now that you were, in his words, “sickeningly loved-up”.
“Speaking of our lovely people,” Evan asks, reclining in his chair, “what are your V-Day plans?”
Ani scoffs audibly. “V-Day. Fuck, Ev. Me and Cass are going to a nice hotel for the weekend at the end of February, and I’m sending her one of those ridiculous heart-shaped cookies on the day, iced with the message Fuck Heteronormative Capitalism.” They trace their hand through the air, as if illustrating the inscription. Then, a little more quietly: “And, uh, a nice bouquet of her favourite flowers, obviously.”
Evan sighs happily. “I knew you were a romantic, Ani Sen. We’re sending flowers too - David said some shit about how we’re appropriating and queering the established gestures of heteronormative romance, but I know he just wants some cool blooms in his apartment.”
“Everyone loves getting flowers,” you add. “I bet even the most performatively straight dude wouldn’t say no to a really nice hand-tied arrangement.”
You become very aware that both Evan and Ani have trained their gazes on you.
“And what, pray, has love’s young dream cooked up for the great festival of lurrrrrve?” Evan rolls his rs with relish.
“Uh…” You stare at the olive in your glass and take a fortifying sip of your martini.
“We haven’t really talked about it yet. It’s just been so busy and stressful lately - for Ben especially, but for me too. I’ve got that big public talk at the end of next week, you know, and he’s got that big submission to the college board about the diversity and inclusion plan, and that’s due on 15 February, of all days, and it’s hard, because it’s all still so new and so lovely, and we’re having such a gorgeous time, and we love each other so much and we’re trying not to be stressed, but we kind of are, and yeah - yeah. I guess it just hasn’t been on our radar.”
Ani squeezes your hand gently. “Oh, babe. It’s okay, it’s not like it actually matters, right? If your relationship has to conform on one day, then you’ve got bigger problems. And you two are so happy. Even if a bit stressed. Right?”
You nod. “Really, really happy. Fuck, it’s just my overthinking shit again. Should we do something, is it bad if we don’t, is it too late to arrange something at this stage…”
Evan clears his throat. “Girl, you’re spiralling. Again. Look, I’m sorry. Please don’t feel you have to do something just because of me asking.” He sips his whiskey sour as you smile over at him.
“I am making him a gift, though.”
Evan and Ani wheel around in their seats dramatically.
“OH FUCK YOU MISS OH NO PLANS SO STRESSED OH DON’T MIND ME JUST MAKING A GIFT!” Ani shrieks.
You lean over in your seat, laughing hard, grateful for all the love in your life here: the warm, platonic love of your friends as well as the extraordinary, unique love you shared with Ben.
Deep down, though, you know you should probably ask him about Valentine’s Day. Just in case.
“Hi baby, it’s me!”
You close Ben’s front door behind you and drop the key he’d given you on the hall table. The house seems oddly quiet. It wasn’t particularly late, and you could see the lamps were on in the front room, so you assumed he was up. You take off your coat, hang it up, and wander in the direction of the living room.
Since getting together properly - becoming an “us”, as you’d said that cold Saturday morning a month before - you had not spent a night apart. Within a week, he had a drawer at your place and you had one at his; there were two toothbrushes in each of your bathrooms, now; and while you still valued having your own place, for now, you had begun to settle into a kind of loving domesticity stretched across two locations.
If you’d been twenty years younger, this would have been moving worryingly fast. Now, though, it felt right in every way. You’d both been through enough to know what you wanted, and to know how you felt about each other. Even in the midst of a stressful time, each passing day only deepened the love that was still so new. Each tiny act of love, however practical or mundane, strengthened the bond between you.
An example: Ben was astonished when, one evening at your place when you realised he’d not only removed your laundry from the dryer but carefully folded it and placed it in the basket, ready for you to put away (he still didn’t really know where everything went), you’d thrown yourself at him for a huge hug, tears in your eyes.
“I just folded your laundry, baby, it’s not a big thing! Why are you crying?”
You looked at him, slightly blurry through your tearful gaze, thinking about what you could say to explain. That you’d spent over a decade in a relationship where your partner wouldn’t even think of taking your laundry out of the dryer, let alone folding it and neatly leaving it for you to put away. That you’d become so attuned to a partner doing absolutely nothing to make your life better or easier that you had come to see even the tiniest gesture as a major one.
Instead, you’d leaned in and kissed Ben softly on the mouth. “I’m crying because I’m so happy. Because you’re the kindest, most loving man I’ve ever met. And you love me.”
You open the door into the living room now, slightly mellow after your martini, and discover Ben sitting up, asleep on the couch: glasses askew, papers and notes for the diversity initiative scattered around his sleeping form, and (somehow, miraculously) his laptop still safely on his knees, his broad hands resting lightly on the keyboard.
Your heart melts at the sight. You tiptoe carefully over towards him, afraid of startling him and sending the laptop flying.
“Ben?” you whisper, very gently stroking the crown of his head before lifting his laptop onto the coffee table. “Hey. It’s me.”
He blinks awake and his eyes pop open as he turns and sees you, smiling warmly at the sight. “Lyddie. Hi, darling. Shit… was I asleep?”
You sit beside him on the arm of the couch, not wanting to disturb the random spread of paperwork, and feel his arm wrap around your waist. “You were. Fuck, baby, you’re working too hard on this.”
He shakes his head drowsily, rummaging around for his notes and looking for his laptop. “It has to be perfect.”
You put a hand on his, to still his movements. “No such thing. And even if there was, it won’t be perfect if you’re writing it half-asleep, Ben.” You look in the direction of the kitchen. “Did you at least eat?”
He nods and smiles cheekily. “I did, but only because some sexy art historian came over last night and brought enough lasagne to feed the five thousand. Or at least, to feed two academics for a couple of nights.”
“Sexy, huh?” You lean closer to him, admiring the line of his neck as he looks up at you, eyes scanning your upper body for a moment before meeting yours again. “Well, now that I know you’re fed and watered…why don’t you put away the work for tonight and take a sexy art historian to bed?”
Ben trails his hand under your sleep shirt, gently stroking the soft flesh of your breast with his thumb as you kiss languidly, your hand reaching into his boxers.
He shifts on top of you as you tug down his shorts and hitch up your knees. You feel him resting hard and heavy on your soft belly as he continues to kiss you, one hand caressing your face with the greatest care.
But it’s pretty obvious he’s fighting sleep. His eyelids are heavy, he struggles to keep his eyes open, and when they’re closed - even as he kisses you - you feel like he might just nod off there and then. No one wants their boyfriend to fall asleep on top of them, of course - but he’s got a good excuse. And he’s trying so valiantly to stay awake that your heart swells with affection.
“Baby,” you murmur. “Baby?”
“Mmmmmfh?”
“Baby, look at me.”
His beautiful dark eyes barely peek at you from under his heavy lids, and you can’t help but giggle.
“Darling, you’re nodding off. You need to sleep, love.”
Ben looks disappointed in himself, even as he shifts his body off you and back to his side of the bed. “I’m so sorry, Lyd. I shouldn’t be falling asleep on you like that, that’s not fair.”
You turn to face him and reach for his hand. “Ben, you were asleep on the fucking couch at 9.30pm. You’re getting up really early to go to work on the project. It has nothing to do with me or you or what we feel for each other.” You kiss him softly. “You’re just really overworked.”
He trails his long fingers over your hip. “Well…maybe. But I want you, darling. You know that, right?”
You nod. “Of course I do. And you can show me tomorrow, hmmm? So get a good night’s sleep. You’ll need it.”
He grabs you with a growl and pulls you in to him, holding you close as you squeal delightedly. “You too, baby. I’m a man of my word.”
“And I’m a woman of mine.”
The two of you blink awake at 6am after a blissfully uninterrupted night of sleep, feeling thoroughly restored.
“My lovely girl.”
“My handsome boy.”
A lazy kiss and cuddle soon becomes more urgent: hands roaming under each other’s nightclothes, seeking to discard them as quickly as possible; soft giggles as your head gets stuck in your sleep shirt turning to gentle sighs of pleasure as he dips his clever fingers between your legs; low moans from him as you straddle his body and take him inside you; cries of mutual pleasure as you come in quick succession.
You turn your heads to face each other as you flop back onto the bed, sweating, sated, and wide awake. Ben looks at his phone.
“Not bad going for quarter to 7 in the morning, huh?”
You laugh out loud, turning to rest a hand on his tummy. “What’s that Dusty Springfield song?” You sing lightly: “Just a little lovin’/Early in the morning/Beats a cup of coffee/For starting off the day”
Ben is staring at you like you’re a marvel. “Well, shit. You really can sing. Is there anything you can’t do?”
You flash him a sceptical look. “If I start listing all those things, we’ll be here all week. But thank you.”
He reaches over and pulls you to him for another cuddle.
“Hey, Ben?” you ask, head resting on his shoulder. “Do you…do you want to, like, do something, for Valentine’s? I understand if it’s not your thing, I’m not a fan of the cheesy stuff but I thought -”
“Fuck. I got you a - no, never mind what I got you. But I completely forgot about making actual plans.” He traces a line along your shoulder. “Other than spending time with you, of course.”
“You know that’s fine with me, love.”
He shakes his head lightly. “No, we should at least go for dinner.” He kisses your forehead, nose pressing against your scalp. “It’s been a very long time since I had a Valentine.”
Later that morning, you pop your head into the faculty office, where Susan is typing rapidly and humming contentedly to herself.
“Hi, Susan. You don’t happen to know what room Ben’s in for his ten o’clock lecture, do you?”
She looks up at you and beams, a dreamy look in her eyes. “I remember this phase with Nick. Couldn’t stay away from each other.”
“Well, uh, not quite…” You hold up the dark blue hardcover notebook in your right hand. “He needs this for the session and I’m not sure if he knows he left it at home. I’d like to get there before the lecture starts, so if you know the room…?”
She gives her head a little shake, as if snapping herself out of her reverie, and with a few clicks of her mouse brings up the master timetable. “Okay… yep. Aubyn Building, room 015 - that’s the small-ish lecture theatre on the ground floor.” You thank her and are about to dash off when she calls you back.
Susan’s smile has become slightly menacing as she stares you down. “We’re all so happy for the two of you. But don’t you dare hurt that lovely man.”
You gulp audibly. “I promise I won’t. Um…yeah. See you later, Susan.”
You arrive at the lecture room with five minutes to spare, and most of the students are already sitting in the tiered rows, chattering brightly to each other as they whip out their laptops and tablets to take notes (or, let’s face it, do anything but take notes). Ben, dressed in a chartreuse green sweater with the collar of his white button-down shirt just visible, is standing at the podium and staring into his messenger bag with a puzzled expression. Though the lecture theatre is not particularly large, he’s wearing one of the radio mics available in the bigger teaching rooms, to ensure his voice will carry without strain.
You bounce quickly down the steps in your denim pinafore dress and floral-print blouse, brandishing the notebook. “Looking for something?” You keep your voice low, not wanting to make a fuss in front of Ben’s entire sophomore option class.
He raises his head and turns, smiling in surprise and delight. “I was starting to wonder if it had fallen out on the way over here this morning,” he says, taking the notebook and looking at it like it’s a Shakespeare First Folio. “I’d have been in trouble without this today.”
You shrug. “You’d have been fine, you know this stuff inside and out. But I remember you making revisions to the lecture in the notebook, so I’m glad I got it to you in time. See you later.” You turn and walk back towards the stairs to the exit.
“Thanks baby, love you.” Ben’s tone is casual, because telling you he loves you is now a kind of reflex for him, and vice versa.
Except right now, he’s got a radio mic on, and his sweet, nonchalant declaration of love has just been broadcast to the entire lecture theatre. You’ve never seen a classroom full of chatty students fall silent quite so quickly before.
You try to look back as subtly as possible. He’s flushed pink at the podium, the colour stark against the white of his collar and the green of his sweater, eyes wide and panicked behind his glasses as he stammers and stutters. All the while, the students swivel their heads looking at the two of you, whispers and giggles starting to build in their ranks.
“It’s okay!” you mouth to him. “See you later!”
The eyes of the students bore into you as you make your way towards the classroom door, trying desperately to avoid any accidental eye contact. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a handful who are also taking your class this semester - some of whom you’ll see for a seminar in just two hours’ time.
Oh, fuck.
As you walk back to your building you try to reason with yourself. It’s not like you’re hiding your relationship, even if you’re not going around broadcasting your feelings for each other to all and sundry, and it’s not inappropriate or against the rules for you to be together. The students would probably have worked it out at some point. Hell, you got the feeling some of them already thought you were together. And it’s not like Ben had uttered something graphic or overly intimate, right?
All he said was he loves you. In front of a whole class of students. Who heard every word.
You buy a coffee from the little cart outside the library and try to reassure yourself. “It’s fine,” you think to yourself. “They’ll forget it quickly and move on to the next drama.”
Your seminar with the sophomores has been reassuringly drama-free thus far, save for some knowing glances from the students who’d been in Ben’s lecture earlier that morning. The students are working in small groups on exercises you’ve set around image analysis, using iPads to zoom in on a selection of visual sources and referring back to the set text for that week as they put together their commentary.
You glance out the glass-panelled door of the classroom, just in time to make eye contact, unexpectedly, with Ben as he moves down the hallway. He grins at you, and your face immediately breaks into a smile.
“Omigoooood, they’re so fuckin cute!” It’s not clear if the student realised quite how loud they were being, or whether they meant for you to hear, but their whispered comment immediately attracts your attention. They flush and sink down a little in their seat, looking like they might be about to burst into tears. “I’m so sorry Lydia, I didn’t mean…”
You bite your lip and think for a moment, folding your arms as you bring yourself to sit on the desk at the top of the room. “Y’know what? Get it out of your systems.”
The students stare at you, open-mouthed. “You mean…?”
“I mean: get it out of your systems, in whatever way you want. Within reason and appropriate personal boundaries. But only if you promise to focus on the sources afterwards, okay?”
They nod, looking at each other as if to confirm that they’re not being set up. One girl shyly raises her hand. “Um…so are you and professor Morales…”
“We are a couple, yes. Next quest-“
The babble from the students drowns you out.
Awwwwwwww she’s so fuckin cute I mean of course he would wanna be with her dude he was never with Professor Arden what the fuck dude girl don’t get upset you were never gonna get with a professor I don’t care what you read in stories I thought they were together already do you think they’re getting married omg what if they have babies no don’t be silly they’re probably too old it’s just so nice that old people can fall in love
At the sound of “old people” you call a halt. “Alright, I think you’ve got it out of your system. Fair?”
A student near the back lifts their hand. “You’re happy, though, right? You look happy.”
You nod and smile. “Yeah, I’m happy. We’re happy. Okay, so, if we return to what Hall says he-“
Another hand. “Does this mean you’re gonna stay at Barrow?”
You feel your heart sink and you try to keep a bright expression on your face. “Haven’t got that far yet.”
A girl near the front looks panic-stricken. “Oh my god. Is Professor Ben gonna leave with you?!” Her classmates look equally stressed out by the thought, looking at you as if you’re about to take away their favourite pet.
“I… no? I don’t…uh…” You try valiantly to suppress the panic building in your own chest. “Like I said. Haven’t got that far, not for you to worry about. Okay?”
They nod, but eye you suspiciously for the rest of the session.
Ben is packing up his things when you knock on his office door later that evening, ready to go home. It’s his busiest day in the week and you haven’t even been able to meet for lunch or a quick coffee. He looks up from his bag, smiles at you, and then immediately flushes pink again.
“I’m so, so sorry about earlier, Lyddie, I completely forgot where we were and then the radio mic and oh god, I’m sorry, I’m so-“
You stop his anxious train of thought with a little kiss to the lips. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been fretting over that all day?”
He shrugs, but his eyes answer in the affirmative. You move in for a little hug.
“Darling, it’s fine. They’d have found out sooner or later, even if I wasn’t quite expecting a mass announcement to your option class.”
“I know, but… fuck. You know what students are like.” He closes the flap on his bag and reaches for his woollen coat and sky-blue scarf, hanging on the coatstand. “Evan told me that - and I quote - our ‘shenans’ had completely derailed his queer theory workshop group, because they wouldn’t - and I quote again - ‘shut the fuck up about it’.”
He switches off his desk lamp and you both move into the hallway, Ben turning back to lock his door. You stroll down the corridor and around the corner towards the stairs that lead to the main entrance.
“I should probably warn you,” you offer, “that you might hear some rumours about you leaving.”
He turns abruptly, looking completely lost.
“Remember you walked past my classroom today? Well, my seminar group asked me if I was staying, because of us. I said I didn’t know…and then one of them asked if you were going to leave when my year was done.”
His eyes widen.
“And you said…?”
You have no idea if your answer is what he would have wanted you to say to them.
“And I said no, I don’t know, haven’t got there yet, etc.” You exhale. “I just worried that you might hear it back once it’s been filtered through the student rumour mill a few times.”
Ben reaches for your hand as you reach the door of the building, giving it a squeeze. He’s quieter, not saying much but continuing to hold your hand as you walk with him towards the staff secure bike shelter, where he unlocks his bicycle and pops his messenger bag in one of the panniers on the back.
“Oh!” he exclaims as he finishes affixing his bike lights, “I do have some good news.”
You raise your eyebrows expectantly.
“Lino’s had ONE table left on Valentine’s Day. Now, admittedly it’s at 5pm but if you’re okay with an early dinner…”
“Early dinner means more time at home with you for, um, dessert?”
He rolls his eyes, smiles, and gives you a soft kiss before putting on his bike helmet. Errant curls stick up here and there through the vents in the blue plastic and you melt all over again.
“I’ll see you at your place? Hope you’re ready for my famous enchiladas!”
You nod and wave before turning in the opposite direction towards the pedestrian route, leading off campus and towards your street.
As you walk, you find it difficult to shake off the memory of how quiet he had become after you told him about the students and their questions. Would he have answered them differently?
Regardless of how happy and comfortable and forever your relationship feels right now, you know deep down it’s far too early to talk about the future in that much detail. You don’t want him to think you’re asking him to make a call - make a commitment - that he’s probably still a long way off even thinking about.
You also know, though, that there’s an invisible countdown to the day you’ll need to have the conversation, and that it started running the moment you first kissed.
“Lyddie? You ready? Gotta go, my love.”
Ben calls to you from your living room. You’re standing in front of the full length mirror in your bedroom, stomach twisting with nerves ahead of your public lecture, and you wish to God you looked…well, better.
Your slides are prepped. Your notes are ready. You’ve run through the talk’s outline with Ani as well as Ben. “You got this,” you murmur to yourself, and try to suppress the voice that wants to chime in with a jibe about your body, your grey hairs, your wrinkles.
You blot your lipstick and emerge into the living room. “Okay, let’s go.”
Ben turns, mouth slightly open, and raises his eyebrows as his gaze takes you in from head to toe.
You tend to wear skirts and dresses when you teach. But for this talk, for whatever reason, you’ve pulled out a scarlet red pantsuit, high-waisted pants cut slim to the leg and tapering to end just above the ankle, jacket with wide lapels and long enough to end just below your ass. Underneath, a vintage-style cream satin blouse, buttoned to the neck and a black velvet ribbon tied under the collar in place of a necktie.
Black velvet pumps on your feet, oversized brass earrings, a vintage brooch your grandmother had given you on your lapel, and a slick of Lady Danger across your mouth.
He runs a thumb over his lower lip.
“Oh, god, it’s shit, isn’t it? I should have known I couldn’t get away with this, not with my fat arse and stupid tummy and ugh, it’s like I don’t realise how shit I actually look until -”
“LYD!”
You take a step back. Ben didn’t yell, exactly, but you’ve never heard him speak so firmly to you.
His face softens and he moves to hug you. “Aw, god, Lyd, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s just - please stop picking holes in yourself. Please. You do it so often, it’s like an involuntary response.”
He kisses the top of your head. “I’d never lie to you, Lydia. So believe me when I say: you look fucking incredible in that.”
You giggle, head resting against his chest. “You’re just saying that.”
He breaks away, meets your gaze, and sighs. “I said I don’t lie. And I say you look…” his eyes flit up and down your body appreciatively. “You look perfect. Smart, and stylish, and so goddamned sexy I don’t know how I’m going to get through watching you in that for an hour.”
You burst out laughing. “Alright, darling man. You’ve convinced me. ALLONS-Y!”
You steal a glance at your watch as you reach the last paragraph of your paper. For once in your life, you’ve got your timing spot on.
“To bring this talk to a close, let’s situate these visual representations of revolutionary military masculinities across painting and print can help to shift our understanding of what it meant to literally embody the values of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic empire.”
The final slide. The final points. A confident “Thank you.” And, to your delight, sustained applause in the packed lecture theatre. You look up towards the back rows, dead centre, where Ben, Ani, Evan, Jen, and David had said they’d be sitting - far enough away from the front so that you won’t see them and get distracted, but within a clear line of sight from the podium in case you panic and need some reassurance.
Ani is pumping their fist in the air, whooping and hollering. Evan is applauding hard, mouthing “YES, GIRL!”
Ben isn’t taking his eyes off you, a huge smile on his face as he applauds and applauds, not showing any intention of stopping. He looks…proud. You look up at him, shrugging and mouthing the words “Was it okay?”
He nods enthusiastically, and mouths back: “You’re fucking amazing.”
When the questions and discussion are over, and the majority of the audience have filed out of the theatre, Ani and Evan come down to the rostrum to invite you and Ben for drinks to celebrate what Evan was calling “your triumph.”
“I’ll even buy you champagne,” he promises, hugging you tightly. “Well. Maybe one glass. Or two glasses. I’m not made of money.”
“I am there. I can think of nothing better than a glass of champagne right now.”
Ani grins. “Hey, Lyd? We’ll be at the Lake Bar in the hotel. You guys can just follow us whenever, you probably need to leave stuff in your office anyway. Sound good?”
You turn back to Ani and nod. “Sounds very good. The Lake Bar! Fancy pants.”
The Lake Bar is tiny but formal, the only bar in Barrow’s only hotel and certainly not your usual haunt for drinks with friends. It’s also probably the only place you could get champagne for many miles.
“Text me when you guys are heading out, okay?”
You nod as they walk up the steps of the lecture theatre and begin to pack up your notes. It’s just the two of you, at last.
“You okay there, Benjamin? I’m just going to leave this stuff in my office, and then we can -“
Before you can finish your sentence, he’s cupping your face in his big hands and kissing you like a man off to war. You reciprocate, opening your lips gladly when his tongue sweeps over them and moaning softly into his mouth. You can feel the shiver of pleasure that runs through him.
You break away, his hand stroking your cheek affectionately. You reach out to wipe the traces of your lipstick off his mouth.
“So it was okay, then?”
“Yeah, it was okay, I guess.” He laughs, warm and deep, and takes hold of your hand, leading the way quickly up and out of the theatre and in the direction of your office. You giggle as you try to keep up, Ben looking back at you every so often with a huge smile on his face.
You turn on your desk lamp, shuck off your tote bag full of notes, and exhale, stretching your arms and rolling your shoulders. “Fuck, I’m so relieved that’s done. Can I have a congratulatory hug?”
Ben drops his coat on the spare chair and wraps his arms around you, holding you tightly. Your hands feel the stretch of the cotton plaid of his shirt against his broad back, and the sensation goes straight to your core.
“I’m so proud of you, Lyddie,” he murmurs. “You’re fucking amazing. Watching you do your thing up there, so smart and funny and bright and engaging and -”
You can feel his cock hardening against you, even through his dark jeans. You raise an eyebrow and lean back to look at Ben.
“Um… does the sight of me in full academic flow do it for you, Professor?”
He blushes a little and gives you a flash of his most puppy-dog expression, brown eyes twinkling behind his glasses. “Y’know, I think it does. Especially in this outfit. Fuck, you look so good.”
He tilts his head, and the sensation of his soft mouth and coarse beard against the delicate skin of your neck makes you sigh with pleasure.
“Tell me.”
He chuckles lightly as he continues to ghost kisses against your throat. “It’s fucking sexy watching your mind work like that,” he says, voice low and warm, as your hands move up his chest to start loosening his tie. “Such an intelligent, gorgeous girl.”
His praise makes your cunt ache for him. You perch on the edge of your desk, the position so familiar from the night of the holiday party a couple of months before, and grab a tissue to wipe off what remains of your lipstick before kissing him hard as you reach for his waistband. He holds you up with one broad hand at your back, as he hastily works your blouse open with the other.
Ben’s about to slip his fingers under your waistband when this fantasy scenario made real is abruptly interrupted by a cheery, southern English voice greeting you.
“Hiya!”
“What the FUCK?” Ben swivels around, holding an arm across your chest in a chivalrous attempt at giving you privacy, while trying to buckle his belt with the other. You do up your blouse as best you can and thank the universe that you hadn’t got as far as shedding your pants yet.
“I thought you’d locked the door,” you mutter, as you stand up and Ben shifts behind you so he can do up his waistband.
“I thought YOU had locked the door.”
To your astonishment, though, the owner of the cheery English voice doesn’t seem to have realised that he’s interrupted anything, or noticed your hasty efforts to make yourselves decent.
In fact, he’s kept up a stream of consciousness chatter since he came into your office, oblivious to your and Ben’s panic. When you finally direct your attention to him he’s saying something about Napoleon and pyramids while searching for something in the brown satchel he’s wearing across his body.
“I…hi?” He pulls out an iPad covered in what look like stickers depicting Egyptian deities and looks up at you, mouth slightly open.
“Hi. I’m sorry, can you repeat all that, please? We…I mean, I didn’t catch a lot of it. Who - who are you, again?”
The man gives you a lopsided smile. He’s small, angular, and dark, wavy hair parted at the side and falling untidily over his eyes. There’s what can only be described as an aura of chaos surrounding him.
“I’m Steven!” He seems surprised that he’s having to introduce himself. “I’m a postdoctoral fellow in archaeology - well, now, actually I’m an Egyptologist by trade, in point of fact, but you don’t have an Egyptology department so I’m in archaeology, haha.” He steps towards you, flipping open the cover of his iPad. “I was at your talk just now - really good by the way, really liked some of the paintings you had in the slides - and I thought blimey, wonder if she’s got thoughts on Denon’s Description of Egypt, and then I thought oh well Steven you’ve got it on your iPad don’t you? And I said right well I bet she’d like to talk about that and I looked up your office and-”
Ben has moved to the door of your office and looks pointedly at you over Steven’s head as the postdoc swipes frantically through his files, trying to locate the book in question. “Professor? I’ll be in my office, whenever you’re finished with, um, Steven.”
“Aha! Here it is in all its glory.” Steven has found the digitised copy of the huge, early nineteenth-century study of Egypt, undertaken to document the expedition led by Napoleon in the late 1790s. You smile politely and shrug in Ben’s direction as he sighs and heads in the direction of his office.
You’d managed to keep your chat to a minimum, in part by promising to meet Steven during your office hours that coming week. A familiar silhouette appears at your open door.
“You finished talking Egyptology, Lyd?” Ben leans against the doorframe.
“I am. He’s a sweet kid, really. I mean, I don’t think he’s that young, but…” You give your head a little shake, as if resetting yourself. “Anyway. Let’s go. I’m surprised Evan hasn’t left us some furious voice notes.”
Ben steps into your office, shutting the door very carefully behind him and swiping the air to dismiss the idea as he strides towards you. “Pfffft. They’ll be alright, they’re in a bar.”
You wrap your arms around his neck, twirling the curls at the nape of his neck around your fingers. “Darling, we’re already running very late…”
“So?” He guides you back to sit on the edge of your desk and resumes his trail of kisses down the side of your neck.
“So…” You pull him close to you, fingers hooked inside his waistband, and moan as his hands rove up your body, grabbing handfuls of you through the silk of your blouse.
He quirks an eyebrow and smiles, looking down at your fingers already working to undo his belt buckle. “You want to stop, Lyd, and we’ll stop. Do you want to stop?”
You lean in and kiss him as you discard your suit jacket, push yourself further back on the desk, and guide his hands under your own waistband.
“Don’t you fucking dare stop.”
“How many drinks have we had now? Two?!” Jen looks at her phone and shakes her head. “I’m starting to worry.”
“I’m not,” Evan mutters darkly over the rim of his glass. “I’m gonna win our bet, Jennykins.” He shifts his gaze towards the door of the hotel bar. “Aha! Right on cue.”
He leads the group in a slow, sardonic hand-clap as you and Ben walk sheepishly over to your table, apologising profusely as you take off your coats and hats.
“Guys, I’m so sorry!” You settle into a cosy leather chair beside Jen. “A postdoc called to my office to talk about the Egyptian campaign and…”
Jen looks at you, then at Ani, who looks at David, who looks at Evan, who casts an appraising eye over Ben.
“Well, I’ll take that twenty bucks now, Jennifer. And Benjamin? You owe each of us a drink.”
“Me?” Ben looks incredulous. “Why?!”
Jen pats her old friend’s arm and shakes her head sympathetically. “Hon, your shirt isn't tucked in properly and Lydia seems to have lost her little necktie. Be real.”
Ben’s ears turn a deep pink as he stands up and fishes for his wallet.
He’s up very early on Valentine’s Day, the looming deadline for his report and funding application pulling him, reluctantly, out of your arms and your bed.
You stir under the comforter, propping yourself up to watch him dress. You bite your lip as he pulls on his white undervest, admiring the way the ribbed cotton fabric fits so beautifully over the solid breadth of his torso and tummy. He slips on a pale blue shirt, leaving it open as he looks for his pants.
You can’t help yourself. “Ooof.”
Ben turns around as he grabs his pants, and quirks a smile at you. “Ooof?”
“Just like what I see, that’s all. Ooof.”
He grins as he sits down on the edge of the bed. “I look forward to hearing more about this later, Lyddie.”
You reach around and wrap your arms around his middle, kissing the back of his neck. “Happy Valentine’s, darling.”
In truth, you didn’t mind the extra couple of early morning hours on your own, as it gave you time to finish and wrap Ben’s gift before heading to work. You’re brushing your teeth when you hear your door buzzer sound.
“Delivery for, uh, Lydia?” It’s barely 9am on Valentine’s Day and the delivery guy already sounds like he’s in the throes of an existential crisis.
You run down to the main door and sign for your delivery: a perfect bouquet of palest pink camellias, wrapped in brown paper. You smile as you inhale their scent, and immediately put them in a vase.
LYDIA: Thank you for the flowers, love. They’re perfect. And camellias! You really didn’t have to.
BEN: No flowers for my girl on Valentine’s? Who do you think I am?!😉
BEN: (I read an article about how environmentally-unfriendly roses are at this time of year and they suggested camellias. I’m so glad you like them.)
LYDIA: I love them. And I love you.
Before you leave for work, you take one camellia bloom from the vase and cut it slightly shorter. You wrap the stem in moist paper towels, then in plastic wrap, and place it carefully in a ziploc bag to bring to your office.
“Check her out. Fuck, I love her.”
Over coffee, Ani is showing you photos they’ve got from Cass, who received her enormous Fuck Heteronormative Capitalism cookie bright and early that morning. In one, she’s holding up the heart-shaped biscuit triumphantly; in another, she’s snapped it in half with a raging expression; and finally, there’s one of her eating an enormous chunk of it, face slightly smeared with half-melted chocolate chips and frosting.
“Aww!”
Ani stares at you. “What?”
“I don’t think you’ve ever actually said that in front of me.” You smile gently. “I’m so happy for you two. Looks like Valentine’s really is changing you, huh…”
“You shut the fuck up right now or I will lick that ridiculous cupcake you’ve got.”
They’re pointing aggressively at the college canteen’s special baked offering for the big day, a red velvet cupcake topped with an extraordinary amount of frosting and covered in edible red glitter.
You chuckle and stick a finger in the frosting, picking up a generous amount before popping it in your mouth. “Aha! Touché.” Your phone lights up with an incoming call from Ben, and you swipe to answer with your clean hand.
“Hi, love! You okay? You must be really up against it if you can’t even come for coffee…”
“Uh… yeah. It’s…yeah.”
You get up from your seat, mouthing to Ani that you’ll be back, and move into the hallway. “Ben? What’s wrong?”
He exhales. “They’ve asked for another section to be added to the proposal by tomorrow. I thought I could get it out of the way quickly but then I realised it needed more data and I’m trying to find that and put the details in and it’s just complicated and I dunno it’s not really hanging together and -”
“Ben? Breathe.”
He inhales and exhales slowly. His voice is quiet and hesitant.
“I don’t think I can get it done by five, Lyd. I’m - fuck. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so disappointed in myself, and I’ll try so hard to make this up to you, I promise.”
You lean against the wall as a group of chattering students ambles past. “Darling. There’s nothing to make up to me, nothing at all. We’ll have dinner at the weekend or something, I’ll see you later tonight, it’ll be perfect.”
He’s silent for a moment, and you can almost feel his disappointment through the phone.
“Ben? Honestly, I don’t mind.”
He sighs. “Okay. I love you very much, you know?”
“I do. And I love you very much too. I’ll pop by with some coffee later, okay?”
You hang up and rejoin Ani in the staff lounge.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah…” You’re thinking, trying to formulate a plan. “Hey - what are you doing around five this evening?”
The desk light is on in Ben’s office when you call by later that evening, but there’s no sign of him. You peer through the glass panel, and there he is: sitting cross-legged on the rug in front of his desk, printed-out drafts of the various sections of the proposal spread out in front of him and a pot of coloured highlighter markers to hand.
His tie is loosened, top collar buttons undone, and his brown-framed glasses have fallen forward on his nose. From the looks of things, he’s been running his hands through his hair a lot, curls standing on end and falling this way and that, the light catching the streaks of silver that pepper his dark hair.
He looks tired, but he breaks into a wide smile when he sees you and pushes himself up to standing as you enter the room. You place the large insulated bag and jute grocery tote you’ve been carrying on a chair and he wraps you in a warm, tight hug.
“Is it weird that I really needed this hug?” he mumbles into the crown of your head.
You smile and breathe in his familiar scent: more top notes of coffee today, the spicy undertone of his cologne, the clean smell of his shower gel - your shower gel, actually - and the hints of paper and pencils that seem to be part of his olfactory essence.
“Not weird at all.” You pull away and look at him, gently caressing the side of his face. “I hope you’re hungry, by the way.”
Ben looks puzzled as you reach for the two bags, unzipping the insulated carrier and flooding the office with the delicious scent of good Italian food.
“Lyddie, what the fuck is going on?”
You reach into the jute bag and retrieve two plates, two tumblers, some cutlery, and a bottle of red wine, placing them on Ben’s desk.
“If Ben Morales can’t come to Lino’s, then Lino’s will come to Ben Morales. Okay if I move some of these papers, love?”
He nods, brow furrowed as he tries to make his overworked brain understand. You shift his work materials out of the way and lay out two table settings on one side of the desk.
“Mixed mushroom fettucine, right?” Ben nods again, and you place the takeaway container on one of the plates. “And the carbonara for me, and some sides of green salad and that gorgeous focaccia they do… Okay! Sit.”
Ben pulls a chair up to the desk and opens the container of pasta, sighing happily at the aroma. You open the wine and pour a small glass each, and are ready to settle down to your own meal when you realise you’ve forgotten something.
“Shit! Wait. Hold on.” You reach again into the tote bag and pull out two of your vintage candlesticks, cheap finds from thrift stores over the years, as well as a pack of tall white candles and some matches. Their soft light flickers against the walls of books, illuminating the lines and contours of your faces as you share this most idiosyncratic and intimate of Valentine’s dinners.
Ben raises his glass, and you clink yours off it. “How… how?”
You shrug, twirling some linguine around your fork. “I promised Ani I’d cover for them at the next open day if they drove me over to Lino’s. The guys over there were only too glad to box up the food as a takeout - especially when they heard who it was for.”
Ben sips his wine. “I still don’t know what I did to deserve you. And I still feel bad that our first Valentine’s Day plans were a bust.”
You reach for his hand, rubbing your thumb over his tattoo. “You deserve everything good because you’re you. Our plans weren’t a bust - we’re still having dinner, aren’t we?” He smiles as he concedes the point.
“And… first Valentine’s Day, hmmm?” You raise your eyebrows.
Ben looks into your eyes as he turns your hand over to hold it in his broad palm. There’s a voice inside him that wants to tell you straight out, here and now, that he wants this for the rest of his life, the rest of your lives: you, him, an “us”, forever.
But there’s another, louder voice that tells him it’s still a bit too early for that. He doesn’t want to spook you, or make you think he’s asking for some kind of commitment so soon.
So he just raises his eyebrows and grins at you. “First of many, I hope?”
His key turns in the door at about 10pm. You pop your head round the door of the living room as he’s walking down his hallway, coat and bag already discarded near the front door.
“Is it…?”
“It is…done. And sent.” He does a series of air punches as he saunters towards you, and you wave your arms in the air with delight before leaning in for a kiss, taking his hands, and pulling him gently towards the living room.
“So - there are about two hours of Valentine’s Day left. Not that expressing and celebrating love is a one-day affair, of course.”
“Of course!” he nods with exaggerated seriousness, before his expression shifts to one of surprised delight when he sees the candles flickering around his living room, the bright fire that’s burning in the small stove, and the champagne on the table.
The soft light catches his sparkling eyes. “Oh, you’re too cute, Lyddie.”
“But if you’re too tired…”
He pulls you to him and kisses you hard, hands gliding down the silk fabric of the vintage robe you’re wearing and seeking out handfuls of you along the way.
“I will take that as a ‘no, I am not too tired, Lyd’.”
He arches an eyebrow and takes off his glasses, the lenses already a little fogged up. “Definitely not too tired.” He looks you up and down, admiring the loose folds of the printed silk. “That’s a beautiful thing.”
“Picked it up for next to nothing in a second-hand shop years ago.” You preen a little to show it off. “You sure you’re not too tired?”
He nods solemnly, and you undo the belt of the robe, letting it fall open as you stand in front of him.
“Oh, my god.” Ben moves close to you, slipping his long fingers under the edge of the robe to reveal the soft flesh of your bare shoulders and the full, plush outline of your naked breasts. “Oh, fuck me.”
“That is indeed the plan, love.”
He pauses and chuckles, then eases the rest of the robe off you and places it on the armchair before exploring the contours and creases and folds of your bare form with his gentle fingertips. His mouth is open a little, as if he’s astonished by the sight of you: illuminated in candlelight. Soft. Warm. Curvy. Inviting.
“You’re the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmurs. “Let’s go to bed.”
You tilt your head in the direction of the fireplace and the cosy fire burning in the stove. He sees the soft blankets and pillows laid out on the rug in front of the hearth, and he smiles and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. You start to undress him, loosening his tie and helping him out of his shirt and pants.
He moves as if to take off his undervest and boxer briefs and you still his hands. “Uh… maybe keep the vest. For the moment.”
The light from the stove casts shadows over you, body writhing on the blankets as Ben works another orgasm from you with a quirk of his thick, talented fingers.
He’s focused his attention on you, on your pleasure, since you’d stretched out together in front of the hearth. “It’s only fair,” he’d whispered, kissing your neck and collarbones, his warm, solid frame resting above you. “Want to show you how much I love you - all of you.”
With his mouth and fingers leading the way, he had taken you on a kind of guided tour of your own body, praising every bit of you as he went. The curve of your hips. The specific shape of your mouth. The softness of your belly. The strength of your thighs. The line of your neck. The velvet weight of your breasts when he holds them in his big hands.
He sucked lightly on your nipples, tracing his thumb over the pebbled skin. “These are spectacular tits, Lyd. Better than I’d ever imagined.”
You’d laughed and wound your fingers through his hair. “Did you often imagine what my tits were like before you actually got to see them, or…”
He groaned in embarrassment, burying his head against your chest. “Maybe a little.” He lifted his face slightly and looked up at you. “I was admiring respectfully. You can’t blame me, they’re fucking amazing.”
He quickly worked his way down your body, running his mouth and tongue over the soft flesh of your middle and settling himself between your thighs before reaching his hand up to part the wet folds of your pussy, sighing happily as he did so.
“And this is…so beautiful.”
He trailed two fingers along the wet seam, slipping the tips into your cunt, before they were replaced by his lips and tongue.
One orgasm. Two. And now, what was this - three?
You whine with need. “Please, baby. Want you now.”
He shifts his body on top of yours and kisses you deeply as you wrap your legs around him, then leans in to whisper in your ear.
“Can I roll you over and take you from behind?”
You kiss him again before shifting onto your front, enjoying the sensation of the soft blankets against your naked breasts and belly. Ben grabs another pillow and places it under your head. His weight on top of you is warm and grounding, the broad span of his shoulders eclipsing yours.
He brings his lips to the back of your neck as he gently slips inside with a long, low moan, feeling the plush flesh of your ass against him as he bottoms out. Even as he starts to move, even as he picks up the pace and fucks you harder, he’s ever the conscientious, considerate lover. Every now and then he leans in to ask if you’re okay, if it feels good for you, to tell you how beautiful you are, and to remind you how much he loves you.
You can tell he’s close, and you know another peak is building in you. You reach up and pull one of the cushions from under your head.
“Can you pull back just for a second? Wanna lift my hips up and…”
He does as he’s asked and you slip the cushion under your hips, adjusting yourself until you hear him groan with pleasure and you know it’s just the right angle for the two of you. Ben slips a hand under you to cup your breast as he fucks you hard, pulling one final climax from you just as he cries out your name and spills inside you.
He pulls out and reaches to turn you round, bringing your bodies flush together and covering your face with soft kisses as you run your fingers through his damp hair. You drag up one of the blankets to cover your bodies, and you lie there, entwined together exchanging gentle kisses in the glow of the fire.
Disentangled and cleaned up, the two of you nestle together on the couch to drink some champagne: you back in your robe, Ben in a soft old t-shirt and flannel pyjama pants.
“I’m sorry this isn’t more glamorous, Ben.”
He cuddles you closer. “Best night ever, and it’s all down to you.”
He puts his glass on the side table and reaches beside the couch to retrieve a small gift bag. “Happy Valentine’s, my love. I only wish I could give you everything.”
You smile and shake your head. “I’ve got everything I need.”
The gift bag contains a rectangular jewellery box and what feels like a gift-wrapped book. “I should explain why there’s no card,” Ben says, looking a little anxious. “They were all just a bit… cringey. Is that the word? They just weren’t you. So… the book is a gift but also a card. Kind of. If that makes sense. Does that make sense?”
You kiss him lightly and open the paper to reveal what looks like a mid twentieth-century hardback book, wrapped in a bright blue dust jacket. You laugh when you look at the author’s name and title:
H.E. BATES
LOVE FOR LYDIA
“You know I’ve never actually read this?”
Ben smiles broadly, his eyes crinkling. “Neither have I, but… well. It’s self-explanatory.”
You open the book and read the inscription on the inside.
To Lyddie, for whom my love would fill countless volumes. B x
Tú
que ayer sólo eras toda la hermosura
eres tambien todo el amor, ahora.
You
who were merely all beauty yesterday
are today all love, as well
J.L. Borges, ‘Sabados’ (1923)
“I know it’s a little bit soppy.”
“Soppy?” You’re wiping away tears with the sleeve of your robe. “Ben, this is - I don’t have words, it’s beautiful. Perfect, in fact.”
“Do you want to open the other one?” He gestures towards the jewellery box, resting on your lap.
“Ohh, baby.” Inside is a fine gold chain with a little gold disc hanging from it, no more than a centimetre and a half in diameter. It’s delicately engraved with your initials, arranged in a sort of cypher design.
It is elegant, beautiful, and you can’t quite believe that someone would love you enough to even think of a gift like this, let alone give it to you. The inner doubts about whether you ‘deserve’ this kind of love are mostly under control these days, but never too far from the surface.
“It’s so perfect, darling, it’s… It’s…it’s too much, Ben, I don’t -“
“Don’t you dare say you don’t deserve this.” He looks deadly serious. “Do you want to try it on?”
The gold feels warm against your skin, and you admire the way it reflects the candlelight as you lean in and kiss him before standing up and fetching a gift box that you’d hidden behind the TV.
“Okay, now it’s your turn, Benjamin.” He takes the gift box and carefully takes off the lid to reveal something neatly wrapped in tissue paper underneath.
You settle back beside him on the couch. “I really hope you like this, and that you don’t think it’s inappropriate. But - tell me if it is, okay?”
He nods, a slightly suspicious look in his eyes, and begins to fold back the layers of tissue paper to reveal a crisp, white cotton poplin shirt with a camp-style collar decorated with red embroidery. His initial uncertainty rapidly gives way to recognition as he lifts the shirt out of the box.
A little while ago, not long after you had officially got together, you had been chatting one evening about the family photographs on display in his living room. Your gaze had settled again on the photo of his father as a young man, so uncannily similar to his son.
“Other than the hair and the fact that your eyes are exactly the same as your mother’s, you’re a carbon copy of him. You just need a similar shirt and you could recreate the image.”
Ben had picked up the photo so you could look at it in more detail together. “He had this shirt for years. It’s a traditional style, but they come in all sorts of variations. His was gorgeous, though - that embroidery was like a dark red, I think. I loved it when I was a kid and he wore it, he just looked so cool.” He’d smiled warmly at the image of Diego Morales, captured forever in his youthful prime. “Fuck, I miss him so much.”
You leaned in and cuddled him. “Do you have one? Of the shirts, I mean”, you’d asked, and Ben had shook his head.
“Never found one that was as nice as Dad’s.”
It is a relatively simple design - short sleeved, button-up, with four pockets, two on each side - but you have added embroidered details to each of the pockets, to match the collar. The shirt itself was an easy enough job - after doing your research on the exact style and its history, you’d made it one Saturday when Ben was doing an open day at the college and you could lock yourself away in your apartment. The embroidery had been more challenging, especially as you were trying to approximate what you could make out of the pattern on Diego’s shirt.
Like Ben, you were unable to find a Valentine’s card that didn’t make you want to vomit. So you have, instead, stitched a tiny message along the fabric facing just inside the collar - his initials, your initials, and the year.
Every stitch and every seam was, in its own way, a tangible expression of how much he meant to you.
Ben is silent as he looks at the shirt, taking in the details. He runs his fingers along the hand embroidery and feels the small pearl buttons. You worry that this might actually be too much - too intimate a gift for so early in a relationship, too close to the grief he felt for his father - and that you have got this horribly, desperately wrong.
“B-Ben?”
He turns slowly to you, tears in his eyes, the shirt still in his hands.
“I’m sorry, Ben, I just -“
He places the shirt back in the box and pulls you close to him. He struggles to get the words out. “Thank you. Thank you, Lyd, this is - wow.” He looks at the shirt again and bites his lip. “It’s the most beautiful gift I think I’ve ever been given.”
He notices the tiny lettering inside the collar. “Oh, fuck me. You made this?!”
You bury your head against him, mumbling into his chest. “Yes is that weird oh god is it weird?”
He laughs and wraps an arm around you. “How could you making me a version of my dad’s guayabera be weird? It’s… fuck. I love it. And I love you. So fucking much.”
“I’m so glad you like it, darling.”
His gaze is earnest as he reaches for your hand. “It means the world to me. You mean the world to me.”
You take the box and place it on the coffee table so that you can cuddle in against his broad, warm chest, bringing an arm around his middle as he enfolds you in his strong, safe embrace.
You mean the world to him. He means the world to you. Isn’t that all that matters?
The countdown to the hard decisions might be rapidly running out, but for tonight, at least, they could wait. You close your eyes and focus on the reassuring rhythm of Ben’s heartbeat.
(bookshelf divider by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more; other dividers by @cafekitsune)
Further A/N:
The song Lydia sings a line of to Ben after their morning exertions is 'Just A Little Lovin'', by Dusty Springfield.
youtube
The shirt Ben's dad is wearing, and that Lydia recreates for Ben as his Valentine's gift, is inspired by the traditional guayabera summer shirt that is thought to have originated in either Mexico or Cuba, but is worn throughout Central and parts of South America in the summer months.
#visiting fic#visiting masterlist#mr ben snl#mr ben au#mr ben x ofc#mr ben fanfic#professor ben x ofc#professor!ben#professor!ben x ofc#pedro pascal characters#pedro pascal character fanfiction#pedro pascal character fanfic#pedro pascal#pedrostories#Youtube
83 notes
·
View notes
Text
He smiles a lot more around you | E.P
Summary : Nothing much , it's just Edmund leaving Narnia and Y/n following him .
Pairing : Edmund Pevensie x gn!reader , Caspian x Liliandil
Warnings : fluff , bit of angst , fluff , English is not my first language , this fic is not proofread so there could be a lot of mistakes , a bit plotless since I'm just back from my hiatus.
--
Y/n stood there , clutching their sword as tightly as their grip allowed them to. The sword was in the sheath , and the sheath surprisingly was able to sustain the pressure .
They watched the three figures bid a goodbye to the King of Narnia , Caspian .. and the King of Beasts , Aslan .
Oh how badly they wished they could make the king and queen stay . How badly they wished they could make their cousin stay back too . How badly they wished they had the power to do that .
“We will definitely miss Narnia” Lucy admitted the obvious .
Y/n was just another regular seafarer.. but a close friend of the Narnian King Caspian. They always noticed how interested Caspian was in the field, and that's how they became friends .
But then , Caspian's old friends , High King and Queen of Narnia , entered their life and they couldn't be any more glad . Why? Wasn't it obvious? King Edmund had their heart and brain go insane. They fell for him first and he seemed to smile more around them (observed by Lucy) .
No feelings were communicated due to the havoc they were in , but now , y/n couldn't believe that it was the last time they would be seeing The Edmund Pevensie. They were undeniably feeling butterflies in the stomach due to two reasons
1. Edmund looked breathtaking
2. Anxiety that he was leaving
They were confused , stressed , panicked , sad and most of all , love sick .
Shall I confess?
The question kept revolving in their mind as they watched Lucy hugging the life out of Aslan . It was something that showed how dearly she loved Narnia. Y/n walked closer to Caspian , who seemed in queue for the last goodbye .
Y/n smiled at Caspian and shook hands with Eustace as he politely came to bid y/n . “You'll be missed , Eustace . But I'm happy that you've still got another visit”
Caspian nodded “Yeah , i think he'll be more mature by then” bidding Eustace a goodbye too .
Y/n and Caspian smiled when Eustace embarrassingly nodded and claimed that he had been pretty immature . He walked towards his siblings then .
“Are you going to go beyond the sea too?” they hadn't forgotten how Caspian wanted to go through it . Y/n was sure about reepicheep , who had gone through it already.
“I think I should , but at the same time , I cannot let go of Narnia , i cannot give up. I think I have motivation now ..” Caspian shared his thoughts with Y/n .
“That goddess looking girl we met? King Ramandu's daughter?” Y/n questioned , smirking a bit .
“Yeah..” Caspian blushed a bit and nodded .
“She seemed interested in you , give it a try , King” Y/n suggested , as they saw Lucy get up now , done hugging Aslan .
“You should confess to King Edmund too . I confessed to Queen Susan , even though I knew we had no future together.. if you don't confess now , he'll be gone forever and you'll be here with regret ” Caspian advised y/n.
Y/n nodded and spoke “I just want to be a happy memory in his mind” they took a deep breath as Lucy and Edmund both proceeded towards y/n and Caspian .
Lucy bid Caspian a painful goodbye . While Edmund was busy with Caspian , Lucy hugged Y/n and spoke “I'll miss you so much , Y/n”
“Likewise , Queen Lucy” they spoke and hugged Lucy back .
“It's been days since we've been here with you and yet , your habit of referring to us with our titles hasn't changed” Lucy chuckled with tears in her eyes .
“It would've probably improved if you could stay here forever” For y/n, these three people were iconic , a dream friend group .
They would miss them so much . They could already feel it . Ever since they had heard about Queen Susan and High King Peter , they knew it was going to hurt so bad when Queen Lucy and King Edmund would leave .
Lucy laughed a bit and moved aside , as Edmund came in Y/n's view . Edmund wasn't affectionate.. so y/n didn't expect him to hug them or even shake hands with them. As expected , Edmund just eyed Y/n and spoke “I wish we had more time”
Caspian felt Deja vu hit him . It felt as if the scene from three years ago was occurring again .. and he did root for y/n and Edmund to kiss .
“Yeah , i wish the same.” y/n spoke , and kept looking at him .
“I like you” .. “Huh?” they both spoke simultaneously, taking everyone off-guard, even themselves.
Y/n smiled at Edmund widely , and Edmund was shocked out of his wits .
“You.. like me back?” he questioned as he moved closer to y/n .
“You too?” y/n smiled warmly . It was the best and the worst day of their life .
Y/n stood there as Edmund slowly took the lead in kissing them . The kiss was everything that could make anyone's brain go bonkers . It was slow , passionate, yet loving and warm.
They both ended the kiss with a smile . Edmund smiled sadly at y/n when Aslan spoke “It's time to leave now , King Edmund” to grab Edmund's attention.
Edmund nodded and looked back at y/n with glossy eyes . Y/n immediately launched themselves at him , they couldn't get enough of him . They wouldn't be able to hear his voice , look at him , hug him , kiss him or even get a small glance of him , ever again. Just a small hope in their heart that Aslan would permit them to go to Edmund's world . Just a small wish , that they desperately wanted to be fulfilled .
Once they separated from the hug , Edmund smiled at y/n , just like he always did .
“I told you he smiles a lot more around you” Lucy remarked , happy for the pair .
Y/n nodded shyly and removed their pendant from around their neck . Tiptoeing , they put the pendant around Edmund's neck and whispered “Every time you miss me , clutch this tightly , and feel the surroundings. You'll notice my presence . Like this , I'll be there with you always , any time you need me.” Y/n spoke , and then , their voice broke as they continued “Keep it safe for me even when you find another lover , if I ever come to visit you .” they joked .
Edmund nodded “I'll wait for you , forever.”
Aslan heard that , and nodded . Soon , the three people were leaving through the water tunnel . Endless eye contacts were made between y/n and Edmund , conveyed indefinite words that were left unheard , untold .
Once the tunnel closed with the three people disappearing , Aslan spoke “King Caspian , this must feel unfair to you , but maybe , there is a chance to let y/n go to the other world , where the High Kings and Queens reside”
Caspian spoke “It would've been unfair to the younger Caspian , Aslan . Now , I know what I want from my life , I think I'm clear about my thoughts.. even though I'll miss y/n , i think we should let them go if there is a way”
Aslan spoke “There is .. but it'll send y/n to 4 years from now”
Y/n scrunched her eyebrows.. what does that mean?
“Aslan , forgive me for my curiosity , but why 4 years?”
“Edmund still has some things to grow up from , y/n . He is unaware of his tolerance and loyalty. He is in need to prove his loyalty and I think the time of 4 years will give him that chance ” Aslan spoke mysteriously as sudden air hit y/n and Caspian . The tunnel from between the water was opening up again ..
“Go on , Y/n . Once you step into that world , you won't be able to come back ” Aslan spoke .
Y/n nodded , bidding a happy and nervous goodbye to Caspian and aslan . Taking a deep breath , they walked towards the tunnel .
Entering in and going through the water tunnel , they entered the new world which seemed very familiar to them . They were in some weird clothes that they had never seen or worn , and they was standing under the shed on a rainy day . They had an umbrella in their hand , but they didn't know what to do . They couldn't see Edmund or Lucy or Eustace anywhere.
What am I supposed to do?
Y/n thought to themselves , when their train of thoughts were interrupted by a deep , attractive voice .. “Ughh, the forecast didn't say it'll rain!” . The voice belonged to a very handsome gentleman.. but the face made y/n's face go awed as well as tearful . They wanted to make sure before reacting , and therefore they glanced at the pendant around his neck . Their heart warmed when they noticed that it was actually still there.. he actually meant forever when he said so .
Yes , yes , yes , yes! He's Edmund! The Edmund Pevensie!
“Edmund?” they spoke it loud enough for the guy to hear .
Edmund was shocked as he turned to look at the person beside him .
“Huh? Y-Y/n?” his eyes went wide too , but his smile was wider than that . Ohh he wanted to embrace them so bad , but his clothes were wet .
The couple took a long walk to Edmund's home underneath one umbrella. They talked and laughed , and stared endlessly at each other.
Soon, Lucy was very happy to find Y/n and so was Eustace .
“I told you he smiles a lot more around you” Lucy remarked again, because it was the first time in a long time that the family had seen Edmund smiling so widely .
--
Do like or reblog if you enjoyed
#edmund pevensie x y/n#edmund pevensie x reader#edmund pevensie#king edmund the just#edmund Pevensie x gn! reader#edmund the just#narnia movies#narnia fic#narnia fanfiction#narnia imagine#queen lucy the valiant#lucy the valiant#caspian x Liliandil#aslan#narnia aslan#aslan the lion#eustace scrubb
500 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello! Do you have any headcannons for the horsemen taking care of a female y/n on their period? Congrats on the 800 followers! :)
WOW, i haven't received anything Darksiders related in a long time!
Death:
Everyone is used to the fact that death is quite capable of everything, but in my opinion, in this matter, he's quite ignorant. It's hard to say if Nephilim were able to reproduce or if they worked just like us, so you can imagine that the first time he saw you bleeding, he almost believed that he wasn't able to protect you against an attack. Then, imagine his disbelief when your only response to that was an annoyed sigh and a whispered "great, that's all I need now".
Despite this, he's fast at catching what perios is, why it's happening, and all that. And surprisingly, he's quite good at taking care of it and finding more natural solutions to it—or at least he knows who to ask for help from. Do you need help with period pain? Muira has to know a few herbs that can help you heal the pain. Do you need to relieve some stress? Let's go and try some combat skills with Draven! Your muscles are stiff, and the only thing you want is to relax. Let's try a hot spring. He knew just the right place.
War:
The first time he caught you leaking blood was in your sleep. His sense of smell is quite good, especially with you, and he almost had a panic attack once he found your nether regions covered in your own blood. Once he calmed down (you had to calm him down), you explained to him what a period is, that your race had taken care of it from the beginning, and that it's not lethal.
After this explanation, he starts to believe that human women are on a totally different level. Not only are they forced to live with this condition, but some of them are even capable of facing the pain of it! Phisycall and mentally!
Unfortunately, he's not an expert in these matters, but he will try everything to ease your pain or help you with it. He'll ask Vulgrim about something that can ease your cramps or make you ride Ruin so it doesn't stress you too much. In your private moments, he'll shield you himself, letting the heat from his body ease your poor muscles.
Fury:
If you think that you can gain some female sympathy from Fury, darling, you're wrong. Not only is she completely ignorant of what a period is, she'll dismiss any possible attempts by you to explain yourself!
Are you bleeding? Are you hurt? No? Good, then do not complain too much; we have a mission. Seriously, the only one here who shows some kind of nicety to you is the watcher, but even she is unaware of what is happening in your body.
Only after you have collapsed from the pain of the cramps and given a good shout to the horseman will Fury start to consider your condition. The female humans in Ulthane's care will share with you a few of the medicines that they were able to get and give you some spare pants, but after that, finally, Fury will start questioning you about this thing.
As I said, she's ignorant about it, but she's fast to learn. Not only that, but she'll start questioning you about your condition, asking you if it's going to happen again. Imagine her relief after knowing that it's a thing that happens once a month.
Strife:
"...How many times?"
"Once in a month, around every 28 days."
"Ah... and it's painful?"
"Well, by human standards, it is almost bearable, but some others suffer quite a lot from it..."
"...Seriously, what have you done to make the creator so angry to give you something so horrifying?"
Honestly, Strife's first impression of the human period was a huge WTF? Why?! Why the hell are human women supposed to face that? Why was it supposed to start when you were so young? And why was he not informed about it?
He's confused, a little disgusted, and...impressed? No, seriously, you all are taking care of it like pros; you even joke about it! It's not surprising that your pain threshold was so high!
After that, he'll become your period knight! He'll carry you like the queen that you are! Providing you with all the requests that you ask of him! Chocolate? Got it, chips? Let's go. Pineapple pizza? A painful experience, but he'll face it for you.
No matter how many times you try to convince him that you don't need that treatment, he won't back down!
51 notes
·
View notes
Text
Dumb little Pirate au
All right here we go
This is happening like two centuries before the canonical time so it’s mid 1600’s to early 1700’s
Lenore is the run away daughter of a earl or whatever, she runs into a group of Pirates that consists of
Duke, a sort of gentleman thief who spent a bit of time in the circus.
Pluto, a book worm who was forced to leave his home town due to accusations of witch craft.
Morella, the only one who isn’t on the boat full time, the daughter of a low ranking courtier who tries to spend as much time away from home as possible.
Berenice, a woman who ran away to escape the weird guy who her parents wanted her to marry.
Eulalie, She’s just there, no one knows why, she showed up with Berenice.
Lenore ends up helping them with some shit and discovers she likes this a lot more then court
They happily welcome Lenore to the crew, and over time she kinda just becomes the captain of the ship with realising it, and also starts convinces the crew to take on more and more daring heists, that they’re surprisingly good at planing.
In no time they become very well known as “The spectreless” (yes the same name as the band au shut up) a group of clever and troublesome pirates commanded by their captain “The raven queen” who is said to always have a black Raven perched upon her shoulder.
Time skip
Annabel lee, the daughter of a Duke, close with the king. Along with prince Prospero, is charged with dealing with this troublesome group of pirates.
However, their first encounter, she is lucky enough to meet with this so called “raven queen” face to face… and immediately catches a case of the big gay.
Fuck, hey, didn’t she kinda look like the earl’s son Theo? Didn’t he have a daughter that went missing and was assumed dead? Eh, it’s probably nothing.
That’s what I’ve got so far
#pirate au#nevermore webtoon#Annabel lee nevermore#Lenore nevermore#Prospero nevermore#morella nevermore#Eulalie nevermore#Berenice nevermore#Annabel lee x Lenore#white raven#Theo nevermore#duke nevermore#Pluto nevermore
109 notes
·
View notes
Text
E-yup this kind of wraps up my opinion on lucerys's existence and importance, I had been his fan when I first read him slashing the eye in the Princess and the quee n long before fire and blood where his fate was changed slightly.
I think jace is very closely related to robb (without the sleeping with not his betherotedpart) and lucerys to arya or jon as the scene at driftmark is very reminiscent of what had happened with joffery and nymeria, to be more specific
#lucerys velaryon#hotd#house of the dragon#luke#aemond targaryen#luke velaryon#rhaenyra targaryen#lucerys targaryen#team black#house of the dragons#house targaryen#house velaryon#jace velaryon#jacaerys targaryen#jacaerys velaryon#jace targaryen
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fragment of a Memory (Scaramouche/Wanderer x F!Reader) | Prologue
Synopsis: The Teyvat Empire has fallen and split into seven kingdoms. In the serene electro kingdom, Inazuma – resides the crown prince of the original empire, Kabukimono. At a young age, he was introduced to the newly chosen crown princess of the Kingdom of Liyue, Princess Ningjing. Over the years, the prince has grown fond of the princess and later on asked her hand in marriage. This strengthens the political ties between Inazuma and Liyue amidst a faltering peace treaty among the seven nations. Alas, it only took a matter of time until a war broke out ultimately ending the life of the beloved princess. Devastated, Kabukimono vows to protect Ningjing in another life.
In the year 2023, over a thousand years after the Teyvatian War, Celestia – formerly known as Teyvat – was a flourishing country. Y/N, a 21-year-old college student studying Psychology, cross paths with Kunikuzushi. He is not the most positive person for lack of a better word. But what happens if suddenly as each day passes, a fragment of a memory that feels familiar returns to you?
And you are not the only one.
Chapter Warning: Major Character Death, War
Book Masterlist | General Masterlist
Book Playlist
┉┈◈◉◈┈┉
In the serene kingdom of the electro – Inazuma, an ambiance that can be compared to the solemnity and holy cathedral of Mondstadt can be observed. The royal court was decorated in both Inazuman and Liyuean tapestries. Shrine maidens can be seen aligned on the right-hand side of the throne carrying Suzus, adjacent to them are the Royal Adepti of Liyue carrying blessing sigils. On the throne, sat the reigning monarchs of each kingdom – Raiden Shogun and Rex Lapis. Both are dressed in a Hitoe and a Dragon’s Robe respectively; capturing the culture of their domain. The aisle was adorned in sakura bloom and glaze lily flower arrangements, a long red carpet embellished with intricate patterns hinting at both geo and electro, and several large chandeliers hovering over.
At the foot of the elevated thrones, stood crown prince Kabukimono. Dressed in a dark violet Sokutai, matching the color of his mother’s Hitoe. He stood in anticipation – stealing glances at a large painting on the wall behind the thrones displaying the late King who passed away during the split of Teyvat. How he misses him dearly. He admires the Gagaku Orchestra on the balconies above them, playing music fit for an intermission. The hushed murmurs and chatter within the royal court from both the royal guests and the selected common folk were silenced when a flash of light and a loud creaking sound was heard from the massive double door. In comes a figure in a white Cheongsam gown with gold embellishments and a long flowing golden tule cape draped over their shoulders. It was the crown princess.
The orchestra began playing a mixed rendition of traditional Inazuman and Liyuean wedding music. As the crown princess walked down the aisle, she couldn’t hold back her tears. She was alone, and so was the crown prince. He allowed a tear to slip past his eyes out of happiness.
“She is ethereal,” he thought to himself.
As the princess arrived at the foot of the throne, she bowed to respect both her father and her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Kabukimono does the same and outstretches a hand for the princess to grab ahold of. Both Raiden Shogun and Rex Lapis stood in front of the both of them and took out their staffs. It shared the same motif as their respective spears. The Shogun accolades the crown princess, whilst Rex Lapis accolades the crown prince. Both granting them the permission and blessing to wed. The crown princess then turns to Kabukimono and bows. He fights back his tears as he watches her stand upright. He then, to everyone’s surprise, bows immediately after. A prince, the crown prince even, bowing to the princess during their wedding is unheard of. When they assume the roles of king and queen, it is expected of the queen to be below and not equal to the king. It showed the people that Kabukimono, the future king of Inazuma and Liyue, sees himself as equal to the crown princess.
“Ningjing…” He whispers.
The crown princess, Ningjing, looks at him in shock. A red hue covers her cheeks as tears threaten to fall. He saw her as his bride, as his equal, as her. Her grip on his hand tightens. He placed a hand on her cheek and caresses it gently as if she was as delicate as a flower and fragile as glass. He leans in and kisses her lips. They were both embraced by warmth as they kissed. The court erupts in cheers and claps as sakura bloom petals fall. Like any couple, they were elated. Liyue held a 3-day long festival celebrating the wedding of Kabukimono and Ningjing. The Royal Adepti escorted both royals throughout the festival. As they walked around, they overheard hushed whispers,
“Do you think Princess Ningjing will bear a prince or princess?”
“Oh, how excited I am to hear them announce the princess’ pregnancy!”
“I hope both the prince and princess will be able to bear a child…”
Ningjing blushes and looks at the ground to avoid Kabukimono’s gaze. They just got married how could the people want them to have a child already? This behavior does not go unnoticed by the prince, however.
“How inconsiderate, they already want you to bear a child just 2 days after our wedding. Should I behead them dear?” He says glancing at the princess’ pale face as she jolts up and faces him.
“Absolutely not! Let them be vocal with their thoughts and sentiments. It doesn’t mean we would HAVE to comply with their wishes. We can always wait when we are comfortable.” Ningjing mumbles the last part as she adverts her eyes from his shyly.
“What if I am already comfortable?” He smirks.
“Kabuki!” She scans the vicinity to see if anyone heard the preposterous and scandalous words that were uttered by the crown prince. He laughs as he watches her panic and pets her head. Reassuring her that no one heard him and that he is willing to wait. As they continue down the path leading to a stage occupied by performing opera singers, a loud crash was heard. Everyone turned their head toward the source of the sound. They were then greeted by a massive fire that engulfed three of the buildings. The ground vibrated as yelling was heard from afar. In the field on the horizon, was an entire army charging straight toward the Kingdom of Liyue. The Royal Adepti quickly escorted the royals to the palace. The royals were given a basic armor breastplate and a sword to at least protect them.
“Your Highness, the army was identified. They are Snezhnayan.” An Adepti, named Ping, informs.
All blood from the princess’ face drains. Kabukimono places a hand on her shoulder and asks her to stay in the palace while he helps the Liyuean army fight. Ningjing shakes her head begging him to stay with her. He reassures her that the Inazuman army will arrive shortly for aid. As he walks away accompanied by some of the Royal Adepti, she tugs on his wrist.
“Let me fight with you.” She looks at his eyes sternly, determination visible.
“I can’t risk losing you. Respectfully, we are both well aware that I have the most experience on the battlefield. You on the other hand could barely swing your sword. I don’t know what I would do without you!”
“What makes you think I don’t share the same sentiments as you?! What if you don’t come back? What would I do without you?” Tears roll down Ningjing’s cheek as she begs. "I want to protect our people with you"
She drops her sword and grasps his free hand tightly with both her hands. She brings it close to her chest as she mutters ‘please’. Kabukimono glances at the Royal Adepti – all looking away not knowing what to do to help. Kabukimono sighs and pulls his hand back. He bends down and picks up her sword and hands it to her.
“You have to come back in one piece.” He mumbles.
“No, WE have to come back in one piece” Her eyes are still glossy from her tears but proceeds to wipe them off with her sleeve and nods her head.
The deafening sound of sword clanking and slashing, the stench of blood and sweat, the smoke that renders sight useless – Ningjing swings her sword, beheading the opposing soldier. Her grip on the handle of her sword tightens as she examines the area. There was no sight of Kabukimono. Her heart rate quickens as she ran opposite to the ongoing fight, quickly reuniting with an Inazuman soldier.
“Have you seen His Highness, Kabukimono?” She panics.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I have not-” The soldier quickly pulls the princess behind him and stabs a Snezhnayan soldier in the abdomen. The body falls limp and passes away on its knees.
Ningjing runs back to the battlefield in search of Kabukimono. ‘How careless of me’ she thought. There were hardly any soldiers from both sides left yet the smoke was still evident. She coughs as she walks over the countless dead bodies piling up on the ground. Her mind was filled to the brim with negative thoughts. What if something happened to him? Or worse, what if he died? She swallows back her tears and shakes her head to rid herself of those thoughts. She continues to tread over the bodies as quietly as possible while also scanning each face hoping she would not see him as one of them. She arrives at a much clearer area. Her hold on her sword strengthens should there be an enemy that spots her. In the distance, she spots a familiar dark purple-haired figure.
“Kabuki!” She exclaims as she runs towards him.
His head swiftly turns around and locks eyes with Ningjing. Unfortunately, what was not taken into account was the possibility of an archer present. A Royal Adeptus, Alatus, was quick to notice a silhouette of a person aiming a bow and arrow at the crown princess. He dashes towards the person but before he could reach them, the arrow was fired.
It was as if time was slowed in Kabukimono’s eyes. The arrow flying towards the princess, the fear in the princess’ eyes as she turns around, when the arrow penetrates her straight to the chest, and the sound of the prince’s sword dropping to the ground as he darts towards the princess. He catches her in his arms before she could hit the ground, and his heart quickens out of fear. It didn’t help when blood pooled under the princess. She looked up at him and caresses his face with her bloodied hand.
“Ah…haha…I’m sorry Kabuki. Did I scare you?” She lets out a strained laugh as tears brim her eyes. “It really hurts…”
Kabukimono didn’t know what to say, all he could do was stare at her as he lets out quiet sobs. He held her hand that was on his face, feeling it lose its heat. She lets out a small smile as she wipes his tears. With the little strength she had left, she pulled his face towards her and kisses his lips. As she pulls away slowly,
“I love you, Kabuki…” She exhales, implying that was her last breath.
They took his princess away, his Ningjing. He watches as all life fades from her eyes as her body grows limp. He held her in his arms as he chokes on his sobs. Alatus managed to eliminate the enemy but at what cost? He watches the distraught prince cry at the loss of the princess from afar. The battle was over and the Royal Adepti that were in the vicinity could only bow their heads as their crown prince grieves. The prince whispers to the body in his arms,
“I will love you again in another life and I vow to protect you better than I did in this life. Your death was not in vain, Ningjing. I love you too…”
┉┈◈◉◈┈┉
Next Chapter
#scaramouche royal au#scaramouche#scaramouche x reader#wanderer#wanderer x reader#genshin impact#genshin fanfic#reincarnation#scaramouche modern au
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Her Heart // Chapter 4 // Shuri
Pairing: Shuri x POC Reader
Warning: Angst // Kidnapping // Blood // Violence // Torture //
Chapter 3 // Chapter 5
"That's enough Griot!" Okoye shouted and the AI cut the footage. She watched as her princess shoulder shook and she approached her slowly. "Shuri. We will find her. And we will bring her back home."
"I left her. She didn't want me to go and I left her." Shuri mumbled and Okoye put her hand on her shoulder.
"You couldn't have known this was going to be the outcome. We were all blindsided by this." She tried to reason but Shuri couldn't hear her over her heart beating through her ears. Everything just went silent. The only sounds she could hear was the beeping from her lab computers and the sound of her own heart. Hey eyes couldn’t stay focused on anything as she thought back to you fighting to protect yourself and the queen.
"It was a strategic play. To get the leaders away from their people." Ayo said and Namor entered the lab.
"Whoever they are, they also took my wife. They're both alive. But there's no way of telling for how long. Attuma is going to take Namora back to Talokan. I'm staying here to help bring them back." His voice was laced with a rage that Shuri knew all too well.
"We don't even know who they are! All I know is I saw myself on that security camera. Me! Another me! I don't know. It looked like me."
"A shape-shifter then?" Namor said and everyone looked at him. "Give it some thought. The Talokan warrior came to you with the threat of an attack. The Wakanda warrior came to us asking for Amera's presence here in the palace. What if it's the same person?" He questioned and everything started to make sense.
"Just like Y/N said it was a setup. We have to find them."
"Princess if I may?" Griot spoke out and Shuri nodded. "Y/N's kimoyo beads and earrings are still active. She also thought ahead and gave a bracelet to Queen Amera as a precaution." Shuri couldn't help the smile on her lips as she thanked Bast for your quick thinking.
"That's my girl. Griot see if you can pinpoint their location."
// Unknown Location //
Your eyes slowly fluttered open, everything was blurred as you tried to focus your vision. The annoying sound of water dripping was enough to cause your head to pound until a voice called out to you.
"Y/N. Y/N are you okay?" The voice was soft and full of concern as your vision finally cleared. You turned your head to see Queen Amera chained to the opposite wall. You moved to get to her but the chain around your wrist stopped you.
"Where the hell are we?" You questioned and she sighed.
"Some rig in the middle of the ocean. They didn't inject me with anything but I was blindfolded on the way here." She told you and you bit your lip to think of a plan. If you could get the Queen into the water, she can swim away and notify Namor and Shuri. You'd have to buy time. "Y/N." She called out to you again, stopping your mental thoughts. The door up the stairs opened and you heard footsteps descending down the steps.
"You're awake. Good." You looked up to meet Shuri's brown eyes. Her curls sat on top of her head just as they did this morning. But no it couldn't be your Shuri. This was someone else.
"Who the hell are you?" You questioned and she chuckled.
"That's no way to talk to the princess." She said and you tensed. Two of the guards with her walked over to Amera as she scrambled back to the wall. "Make her talk. We need to know Talokan's exact location."
"Shouldn't you already know? Your highness." You spat and her eyes flickered over to where you were chained. She held up her hand and the two guards paused their approach before she slowly walked over to me. You reached for my wrists as her eyes scanned over the kimoyo beads.
"Let's see if these work, yeah? Call her." She smirked as you snatched your arm away. "I won't ask again." You couldn't help the frown that appeared on your face as she let out an irritated sigh. "Fine. Cut the baby out then kill the queen."
Your body froze as they continued their advance to Amera would was trying her best to scramble away. "No please! Not my baby." They pinned her to the ground and you couldn't stay silent.
"No! No! Okay! Okay. Alright." You sighed and the two guards moved away from her. You raised your wrist before dialing Shuri and you kept your eyes on the fake.
"Y/N! Sthandwa are you okay?" The panicked princess questioned and before you could speak the fake Shuri cut you off.
"Princess! How nice to finally speak with you."
"Who are you? What do you want?" Shuri asked as Griot secretly traced the call. Okoye stood by the princess while Namor sat across the way.
"That isn't of importance right now. All you need to know is I need something from you. A couple of things actually." The fake said as you watched her every move. You couldn't show how scared you were. Not in front of her. "Starting with the files on the heart shaped herb. You actually recreated it after Stevens burned it to the ground. Fascinating."
"How do you know about that?" Shuri froze. Not knowing how someone would have access to that information.
"I have my ways. But can you do that for me?"
"You want me to help you? Have you lost your mind?" Shuri sneered and the fake kneeled down in front of you, pulling the other dagger out of your boot.
"Not lost. Simply reevaluated. Question for you Princess, do you know how fast Y/N can heal herself?" Before you could answer she stabbed you in the side causing you to scream out as you fell on your back. "Oh come on I barely pricked you."
"Ms. Y/N!" Amera's voice called out to you as you felt your blood seep from the wound.
Shuri's body trembled as she listened to your pained groan. "Stop." It came out barely above a whimper. Unless you were right next to her, her plea wouldn't have been heard.
"Look, she's already healed herself!" The fake cheered as she grabbed your chin. "Good girl." She let go of you before standing to her full height. One that mirrored the princess.
"Princess Shuri, you have five hours to make your decision. Until then, Y/N and I are going to have a bit of fun." Shuri fell to her knees before the fake continued her speech. "As for you, K'uk'ulkan. Your wife could pop any second now. A mutant child from an underwater kingdom will go for a pretty penny. She should survive the birth. Maybe. Maybe not but who's keeping track?"
Namor stood at the mention of his wife while Shuri sat trying to think of the best way to handle this. Her brother would know. She's never felt as useless as she does now. You told her not to go. And she didn't listen. Now you're in danger with some clone of her putting you through all this pain.
"I'll be hearing from you soon."
#black panther shuri#shuri x reader#shuri x you#poc reader#her heart fic#wakanda forever#mcu shuri#shuri udaku#namor
51 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
aoenx
AEONX
leobred175
Untitled
lucradiss
The Gut Corner :]]]
softdescendants
{ we gotta be free }
sc0vt
[🫐] SC0VT!! *☆⊹˚٭