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taintedcigs · 9 months

Text

dancing with our hands tied part II — s.h

you can find part I here

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

warnings: 18+ ONLY, minors dni!!, ANGST, making out, swearing, drinking, alcohol mention, JEALOUSY!!! eddie's a bit of an asshole i am sorry, but so is steve sometimes!! and so is reader? idk!

summary: in which steve is in love with his best friend's ex. (wc: 8k+)

a/n: this is part 2 of this fic here !! pls make sure to read it before this!! anddd, im sorry for how confusing the first part was, BUT HERE'S THE HIDEOUT INCIDENT!! and i didn't use POVs this time and i kinda gave up on dates ugrhh. also i have a little bonus content at the end even tho its so a lil silly!!! also did not proof-read this, pls ignore any mistakes or ill scream n d*e

Friday, February 7, 1986 || The Hideout.

Steve stole a glance in your direction, and immediately realized the mistake he had made.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Why did you have to be so fucking perfect? Why did you have to have the most contagious laugh that immediately brought a warm smile to his lips?

Steve leaned against the bar as he watched you further, reveling at the way your eyes crinkled at the corners when you gave Robin a giggle, nose scrunching as you mimicked whatever story you were telling, drawing him in without even having a clue on the effect you had on him.

Your eyes met his for a brief moment, his heart pounded inside of his ribcage when you looked at him like that, as if your eyes were smiling at him. He held your gaze, giving you a subtle nod.

God, if Steve didn’t tell you how he felt about you soon, he was sure he was going to explode.

He turned back to the bar, head filled with the idea of opening up to you, he had to do it soon or else—

“Harrington!” Eddie beamed, interrupting his thoughts as he grabbed onto Steve’s shoulders, “You mind helpin’ me out?” He grinned, causing Steve’s brows to furrow.

“Can you put in a good word for me?” Eddie muttered, hand pointing toward the booth, “What are you talking about?” Steve muttered, his eyes following him.

“Y/N.” Steve hoped to God that Eddie didn’t notice the shock in his eyes, blinking quickly as he tried to control the jealousy building within him.

“I swear I’ve had the biggest crush on her,” Eddie exclaimed. Steve couldn’t help the way his face fell; he wondered if Eddie could notice it, but by the way he grinned at you, Eddie probably had no fucking clue about his feelings for you.

“Since when?” Steve sounded bitter, chewing at the inside of his mouth to stop himself, “Uh, since forever, dude,” Eddie said, chuckling.

“Put in a little good word for me, yea? I know you guys are close and shit,” Eddie gushed as he squeezed Steve’s shoulders again, and Steve was tense now, his entire body almost burning with rage and resentment.

Maybe it was wrong for Steve to be petty about this; maybe it wasn’t fair to you that he spent the rest of the night ignoring you; maybe it wasn’t right for him to act this way, but Steve had been on this rodeo before.

He was always the second choice, and he knew that he was never going to be someone’s priority. Because of that, his reaction was warranted; at least that’s what he believed. Ignoring you completely while he bitterly watched Eddie make moves on you was the only way he could cope with it.

And it was driving him crazy, knowing that Eddie was getting under your skin with the advice he got from Steve and learning everything about you from him.

At first, it was all just some passive aggressiveness, until it turned into something bigger, until you finally couldn’t take it anymore.

Because there stood Steve, across from the gang’s booth, leaning over the wall as he whispered something into Tammy’s ear—Steve’s ex.

With her shiny blonde hair and her big eyes, she threw him a hearty giggle, sticking to his side, while Steve barely blinked, allowing her to drool all over him.

You had no right to be jealous, not when Steve had no clue about your feelings, not when Steve didn’t owe you a thing, but you couldn’t help the frown on your face as he ignored you all night and was fine with stupid Tammy Thompson being all over him.

Your throat burned with the number of shots you took, you could never handle your tequila, but the numbness was exactly what you needed. Your mind was getting dizzier with Steve being pushed back into your thoughts.

You could feel yourself getting lighter and lighter with each sip, gaze barely holding over Steve’s direction anymore when Eddie had been keeping you company the whole night.

To think Steve was supposed to be your close friend felt like a joke now. The more he was with the blondie, the more you felt your stomach churning, gaze drifting toward Eddie to keep yourself from looking in his direction.

You felt desperate.

Steve probably saw you as the girl who was wrapped around his finger, the girl who followed him around like a puppy. Maybe that’s why he was ignoring you, trying to keep you from clinging to him.

You fidgeted in your seat; not being able to get up and tear her off of him was killing you, and your head was pounding because of the amount alcohol in your system.

It was getting harder to ignore the jealousy that gnawed at your insides.

Eddie didn’t seem to notice anything, but Steve did.

With each shot you took, with each step you took closer to Eddie, Steve couldn’t help the sharp pain he felt in his chest, the same rage of jealousy gnawing at him as well. He knew he couldn’t do anything about it, too, so he buried it deeper and deeper until he could make sure those feelings for you were impossible to reach.

You were going to be dating Eddie, and Steve needed to get over you as fast as he could.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t mind the attention coming from his ex.

By the time Steve arrived back at the booth, Nancy and Jonathan were already gone, you were in the bathroom—possibly puking your guts out, and Robin was getting ready to leave.

“What the fuck happened here?” He asked, concern washing over his face. “She drank a bit too much,” Robin mumbled, knowing how much Steve cared about you.

“You should maybe check on her, yea?” She gave Steve an all-knowing look, causing him to shrug.

“I can’t—” Robin interrupted him with a death glare.

“I would, but I have to go or my mom will actually kill me this time,” She groaned, saying her goodbyes before leaving in a hurry.

“Dude, I gotta bail too,” Eddie puffed his cheeks as he put on his leather jacket. “What?” Steve asked, baffled.

“She’s wasted!” He exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up quickly, causing Eddie to shrug, “She’s probably puking her guts out right now, she needs you.” Steve’s eyes narrowed; he couldn’t believe that Eddie would even think about leaving you alone in a condition like this.

“Gross, dude,” Eddie said, making a face as he cringed, causing Steve to roll his eyes.

“Real fuckin’ mature, Munson.”

“You drop her home, man, I’m too fuckin’ hammered for all of this.” He gave Steve’s shoulder another tight squeeze; this time Steve was sure his blood was boiling, his eyes darkening with each word Eddie spoke.

This asshole had the audacity to use him to try to date you, and he couldn’t even fucking treat you, right? Steve shook off his thoughts before he could do something he knew he would regret.

Eddie was his best friend, and he could never let his feelings for you get in the way of you actually being happy.

“Are you going to get a cab?” Steve asked, “Yeah,” Eddie muttered mindlessly.

“Then give me your jacket.” Steve’s tone was now cold, almost demanding, and his demeanor changing within seconds was throwing Eddie off,

“No fuckin’ way,” Eddie chuckled mockingly, he didn’t notice the serious gaze Steve holds.

“Dude, your house is five minutes away, you’ll be fine, just give me your jacket,” He demanded again.

“Why the fuck would I do that?” Eddie spat.

“Because you asshole, it’s the middle of February and Y/N is wearing a fucking dress, it’s the least you could do for leaving her like that.”

“Why don’t you give her yours?” Steve didn’t know how to control the rage coursing through his veins.

“Do you see me wearing a fucking jacket?” Eddie was sure he had never seen Steve like this, with those veins in his forehead visible as he could feel his fists clench. Eddie’s eyes widened, clearly taken aback by Steve’s bizarre behavior.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Eddie mumbled before taking off the jacket with a few huffs escaping from his lips.

“There, you happy, man?” Eddie hissed, almost tossing the jacket toward Steve, “Fucking ecstatic,” Steve replied with an angry smirk.

Steve sighed before he made his way to the bathroom. Not knowing what was waiting for him inside, he knocked on the door hesitantly and asked, “Y–you okay?” The shakiness in his voice was exposing him.

A faint ‘Yeah’ was all he heard before you unlocked the door.

And there you laid on the dirty bathroom tiles, your hair disheveled, make-up smudged, and you could barely get your head up from the toilet seat.

Steve’s heart sank, guilt settling in his insides again like an old friend. He knew he couldn’t always take care of you, and he knew that you’d be with Eddie soon, but he couldn’t help but feel the crushing weight of guilt when all of this could’ve been avoided if he was just there for you.

And his mind was still reeling about the fact that Eddie dared to leave you like this.

Would the fucker even be able to treat you right?

“Want me to help you?” He asked, hands itching to reach out and hold you, but you dismissed him like it was nothing, like he didn’t mean anything to you anymore, and it had only been an hour since Steve had learned that Eddie was into you.

“No,” Even when you were this messed up, you held onto your grudge, shutting out any feelings of understanding or empathy toward Steve, even though he was only trying to help you out.

“I can help, to, you know—hold your hair and stuff,” He stuttered, he had never been this nervous around you.

You flushed the toilet as you attempted to get up, “I’m not—I didn’t throw up,” Your words were slurred.

“If you… if you feel like throwing up, I can—”

“No!” You exclaimed a bit too loudly, throwing him a cold stare. “I’m just trying to help you, Y/N.” His tone sounded disappointed, but you could care less when he had acted like a jerk most of the night.

“I don’t need your help,” You snapped while flushing the toilet, trying to stand still, your head growing dizzier each time you moved.

Steve breathed a heavy sigh and said, “Here.” He ignored your protests as he helped you up, warm hands were tight around your waist. If you weren’t this embarrassingly drunk and a huge mess, you would’ve started getting your hopes up.

But not after today, not after he ignored you to be with Tammy Thompson all fucking night.

“I got it!” You spat, trying to free yourself from his hold. “Let me help, please.” This was the most genuine he had been tonight, his voice almost pleading as he threw you that pitiful look, and you hated it.

You hated being the one Steve pitied and not the one he pined after, but you swallowed your pride when you realized you couldn’t even walk properly.

You barely questioned everyone’s absence when your mind was filled with Steve.

And once he dragged you out of the bar, you couldn’t help the petty words that escaped your lips; you couldn’t stop them even if you wanted to.

“You can get back to your girlfriend now,” You muttered bitterly, your voice clear. There was venom in your tone, and your grudge was poison with the way it seeped into your words.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Steve sighed, and you lightly pushed him off of you as you stood still on your own.

“Does the name Tammy Thompson ring a bell?” You narrowed your eyes. You wish you could tape your mouth right now and stop yourself from spilling so much of your feelings to Steve.

“What does that have to do with anything, Y/N?” His tone remained cold now; your heart was in his hands, and he was squeezing it each time he distanced himself from you.

“You’re such a fucking hypocrite,” Each time you dismissed him, you unknowingly tore open the old wound in his heart, keeping it fresh.

“If—if you wanted to take care of me so badly, then why did you ignore me all fuckin’ night?” Your face heated with anger, and your tone was tinged with frustration.

“Should go back to fuckin’ blondie over there,” You muttered under your breath, avoiding eye contact with him, unable to conceal the bitterness you were holding onto.

“Oh my god,” The realization dawned on Steve at a crawl.

You were jealous of him.

“You are jealous,” Steve couldn’t help the annoying smile on his lips, much to your dismay. You were jealous of him, and as selfish as it was, it was amusing to him.

“What?” You snapped, eyes narrowing, “I’m not jealous—” The look Steve threw at you was enough to break you. “Jerk,” You mumbled under your breath. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, it dooooeees,” He said, dragging his words out to annoy you further, as he took a step closer to you, almost closing the distance that he had been keen on protecting the entire night.

He was frustrating, so fucking frustrating, spinning your head faster than all the booze in your system. You couldn’t help the way your eyes grew mellow when he looked at you like that, you wanted to take all of him in.

This entire day was beginning to grow tiring, from Eddie’s sudden interest in you to Steve’s emotional whiplash, and now, since you couldn’t keep your mouth shut for one goddamn second, he was aware of your unnecessary jealousy.

“I’m not doin’ this with you,” You slurred again, hands wrapping around yourself almost as an attempt to conceal yourself from him, he could see right through you, and it was making you feel things you were not ready for.

“W—where is Eddie?” Those were the worst three words that could come out of your mouth. Just when Steve was basking in the glory and the hope that you were jealous of him, you decided to bring up Eddie, and with just his name rolling off your lips, you were re-opening his wounds.

Why not him?

Why was it never Steve?

Steve gulped; physically, he wasn’t sure what step to take would be better, to put a distance between you and him or to put a distance between him and Eddie.

And even though he knew he would regret doing this like there’s no tomorrow, even though Eddie doesn’t fucking deserve this decency, or you, Steve decided that he can’t do this to his friend.

“At least he’ll take me home!” You exclaimed so confidently that Steve couldn’t help the dry chuckle that escaped his lips.

“Yeah, I’m sure he would.” Steve quipped, grinning. He was mocking you again, unaware of your growing frustrations.

“What the hell is your problem?” You narrowed your eyes. “Unlike you, he didn’t ignore me all night to be with his ex, and he gave me his jacket.” Steve chuckled at that, again, frustrating you more and more, each time he opened his mouth.

With an irritated frown, you shot a sharp glance at him and asked, “Is everything a fucking joke to you?”

“Do you enjoy making me upset?” You crossed your arms against your chest, “You don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself!” You snapped, not even knowing know why you uttered those words, you knew better than anyone that Steve wasn’t selfish; he never once put himself in front of his friends, but you were aiming to hurt him, and he was ready to bite back now.

“You are so fucking ridiculous, I—I can’t do this with you,” You murmured dejectedly, not being able to help it when your voice cracked; he was so embedded in your brain that you couldn’t form coherent words with the space he took up in your mind.

“You have no idea what you’re even talking about,” He whispered, shaking his head. If only you knew.

“Did you actually stop to think about how shitty it makes me feel when you give me these stupid emotional whiplashes?” You asked, and if you dared to get closer to him, you might’ve lost the purpose of the argument, your gaze drooping down to his lips every few seconds.

Steve stared at you blankly; you were unable to make anything out of his expressions, he looked at you as if you never existed to him, on a fucking whim.

Your lips tremble, a telltale sign that you would break soon.

His no response spoke volumes to you, “Of course you didn't.” You gave him a dry chuckle, filled with bitterness, and turned on your heel to walk away from him.

The slight breeze of February air hit you harder than Steve’s words.

He sighed a heavy breath when he heard you gasp at the coldness, hand reaching out to your arm before he spun you to meet his gaze again,

“Watch it, Y/N.” The words slipped past his lips forcefully, his chest puffing down with each breath he took. He was so fucking close that one move from you would change everything.

The tension was palpable; unspoken words and emotions hung in the space between the two of you.

And there it was.

There were his emotions again, filling his gaze quicker than you realized. If you weren’t this shitfaced, you could possibly do something about the ever so slightly distance between you, your foreheads almost touching. But your mind was spinning with endless possibilities. “Or what?” You teased; maybe it wasn’t the right time to do so, but you wanted to push him, make him break, the same way he did to you.

How far was he willing to take it?

His grip on your arm tightened; it wasn’t harsh, but tight enough to send shivers down your spine. And you couldn’t determine a single thing he was thinking again, eyes locked with each other without a single word being spoken.

You could sense his mind wandering off to find you a proper answer, trying to pick his words carefully, but you didn’t want that.

You wanted to know what he was thinking—what was going through his mind when he looked at you like you meant something to him, like he was ready to risk it all.

It was momentarily, but you could see it all—the sudden flint of confidence that didn’t waver enough to be convincing.

It wasn’t long until he returned to the cold demeanor he had been reserving just for you. “No, you’re not fucking worth it,” He muttered, taking a step back before he bit the inside of his cheek—hard. The metallic taste of blood flooded his senses, but he could care less; if he hadn’t done it, he would’ve poured his heart out.

He would’ve risked it all just to see those sparks in your eyes, but with five words, he had managed to kill it, slitting all the possibilities with the sharpest knife he could find.

“W–what?” Your voice cracked, and you fucking hated it. You hated being this weak in front of him, with tears ready to spill every time you had an argument, even over the smallest things.

“Just–Fuck! Look at you,” He didn’t want to say it; he didn’t want to burn this bridge with you, but he knew he had to for his own sake and for you to be happy with Eddie.

“You—you’re all over the place, always relying on others to take care of you, just one fucking night I didn’t baby you…” He shook his head. “And you act like I’m fuckin’ insane for doing that!” His voice was calm and collected, and that was what was throwing you off. How could he relay your insecurities in front of you, crush your heart to pieces, and pretend as if what he was saying was okay?

You couldn’t help it when tears flooded your vision. You tried not to let them get to you, but the alcohol in your system was far too dizzying and hormonal to stop your emotions from flowing. You didn’t know why he decided to utter those words, but it hurt.

Each of the gazes you shared and each word that transpired, deepened the wound in your insides that you didn’t even know existed, your feelings were at the surface, and you were vulnerable at his expense.

But Steve didn’t care.

“I—I can’t believe you’d say that,” You whispered, blinking the tears away when you took a step back, the hurt subsiding when it transformed into rage. “Fuck you,” You spat, your words weren’t slurred this time, but your vision was blurry again, barely taking another look at him when you started to walk away.

And he didn’t call out after you; he didn’t even flinch.

You were all alone.

You let your emotions overtake you as you started sobbing, sniffling every once in a while as you tried to comfort yourself.

Eddie could drop you home, you tried to reassure yourself, you knew there was a payphone close to The Hideout, if you could just walk a few more minutes, you could just call him—but holy fuck, did your feet hurt. You cursed yourself for not listening to Nancy when she told you to wear more comfortable shoes.

You were wobbly now, tears pouring down your cheeks, your smudged mascara distorting your view further, and it was dark out, so fucking dark that it started to scare you.

Your mind reeled more and more, and your chest felt trapped with each shallow breath you took. Eddie would’ve never uttered those words to you, your angry mind decided, Eddie wouldn’t flirt with girls—his exes—in front of you.

Eddie would never give you this sort of emotional whiplash.

And most importantly, Eddie would never leave you like this.

You felt so tired, just wanting to sleep, but you knew you couldn’t turn back now. Your feet were aching, but you’d rather they blistered than see Steve again.

You sat on the ground, relief washing over you when you got rid of your shoes, and the dirty, cold concrete ground felt so comforting that you nuzzled into the leather jacket, arms wrapped around yourself to provide more warmth as you sniffled into it.

You’re not sure if you can ever be with Steve anymore.

Sure, you could still be friends because you did have many big, stupid fights—granted, none of them were like this; this was different.

This was the first big fight you had with him since you realized your feelings for him, and it hurt.

Steve was not who you thought he was.

He was never going to love you.

He only saw you as his friend, and right now, even that was questionable.

And there you were, pathetically pining after him while he was drooling all over other girls, chasing him down and making a mess of yourself just for him to leave you like this.

You sniffled again; Eddie would never, and he actually was interested in you.

God, how you wished he could find you now, take you home, and whisper sweet nothings into your ear as he tried to mend what Steve broke.

You knew it was selfish, but it was the only way.

Maybe if Eddie could make you forget him completely, he could remind you that you weren’t a mess and that you were perfect.

Your vision blurred again, hot tears were stinging your eyes, but the ground was so comfortable.

Steve was right, you were a mess, you were a huge fucking mess, and you were pathetic, but you didn’t care as you hugged yourself further, head falling into your lap as you let yourself fall more and more into the deep pit of despair.

And that’s the last thing you remembered.

You didn’t remember Steve running after you as he realized how much he fucked up; you don’t remember Steve seeing you curled up into a ball, almost falling asleep.

You don’t remember Steve lifting you up and carrying you before anything bad happened to you.

You don’t remember the apologies Steve muttered into your ear on the ride home, how he checked every few seconds to make sure you were okay, his hands never leaving yours as he wanted to punch himself for even putting you in a position like this.

You don’t remember Steve whispering sweet nothings into your ear when he tucks you in, and you don’t remember him almost staying till the morning to make sure you were okay and didn’t get sick.

The last thing you remember was the fight.

You woke up the next morning with a groan, and you were sure no painkiller was going to help the pounding in your head.

You couldn’t help but cringe when you looked in the mirror, your hair was an absolute mess, the top that adorned your neck was covered with alcohol stains, your make-up was smudged, and you only had one earring.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” You sighed, taking off the dirty clothes as you put on a comfy shirt, your room was as messy as you were, bag on the floor while its contents spilled out, and… a leather jacket?

Slowly but surely, last night’s events came to you in a blur. The last thing you remembered was the fight you had with Steve.

Both of you spewed some hurtful things at one another, and that’s the clearest you could remember it.

You examined the leather jacket sprawled over the floor, and your brows knitted together, Steve didn’t even have a jacket on last night; you remembered because Robin made fun of him for not bringing a jacket in February when Steve whined about being cold.

You read the tagline; E.M.

Oh god.

Was it… Eddie? Did he drop you off when you were embarrassingly drunk?

Was Eddie the one who took care of you the whole night while Steve threw you away like a piece of paper?

You remembered the hurtful things he said to you; your mind was too jumbled up to even recall the nice things he said to you afterward.

You knew you have to talk to him, mend your friendship, but all you could think about now was Eddie, how he took care of you, and how he was there for you.

That day you called him, and he told you in detail how wasted you were and how he had to carry you home. You made up with Steve afterward too, both of you muttering apologies to each other as you promised not to let stupid things get out of hand.

And that day, Eddie took you on your first date with him.

NOW

“Buckley, you mind ringing these up for me?” You beamed, throwing her an innocent smile, your eyes wandering off to Steve’s absence next to her.

You gave her the ‘Evil Dead II’ and ‘Dirty Dancing’ VHS tapes nonchalantly, waiting to ask her about Steve.

Robin’s eyebrows shot up, “What kind of a double-feature is this supposed to be, huh?”

“A very fun one,” You said with a slight smirk, handing her a couple of bills.

You scanned the store, he was nowhere to be seen, of fucking course. “Harrington running from me again?” You almost cursed yourself for saying that out loud, but you couldn’t help it, something snarky would’ve slipped out eventually.

You saw Robin almost freeze, her mouth hanging open as her brain short-circuited to find a quick answer.

“I—It’s fine,” You mumbled. “Just tell him I would really like to talk to him. Once his weird tantrum is over?” You commented; it was snarky again, but he deserved it.

Five days had passed since the party, and Steve had been avoiding you like the plague, not returning your phone calls, and sneaking out the back each time you visited Family Video, and it was driving you crazy.

Determined to talk to him, you spent the last few days re-evaluating everything. You wanted to ask him what the fuck he meant—was everything that led to you dating Eddie a lie?

And did Steve never think to tell you this, even once the two of you broke up? His audacity was pissing you off, more than ever now that he was avoiding you.

Then small things started coming back to you in a flash, like the drunken confession you made to him last week.

But you were still clueless about The Hideout. You racked your brain away, but you couldn’t remember it for the life of you. Even the fight with Steve was so vaguely burned into the back of your brain, you simply didn’t want to remember it, or the hurtful words he uttered to you that night.

You had decided to forgive and forget, had no intention of going back to that head space, until recently, when Steve decided to blurt out that he was the one in Hideout, leaving without explaining anything further.

You tried to fish it out of Robin, but she acted clueless, and you tried everything you could do to reach out to Steve, but it was useless.

So that only left you with one thing.

Eddie.

Eddie had told you the day after The Hideout incident that it was he who took you home, detailing everything that happened that night.

You were basically breathless by the time you made it to Eddie’s trailer, knocking on the door, until it hit you.

What the fuck were you doing? Knocking on Eddie’s door when he had no fucking clue what was happening, when he had no idea you and Steve had kissed.

When he had no idea that you knew.

You shook your head in embarrassment as you turned around, about to leave, coincidentally and to your dumb luck, that’s when Eddie had decided to open the door.

He stood speechless when he saw you, his eyes almost bulging out of his head. “Y/N?” He asked, tone barely audible.

“Hi.” You muttered, accepting Eddie’s invitation as he stood aside for you to enter, and you squeezed by him with a quick ‘thank you’

“Look, I know you’re wondering why the fuck your ex showed up at your door but—”

“Oh, don’t worry.” He interrupted

“I do have an idea,” He smirked slightly, causing you to throw him a confused look, you were about to open your mouth, ask a million questions, but he didn’t let you.

“I know everything,” He muttered, and you couldn’t decide his facial expressions. “Steve told me about all of it.”

“And I already told him there was no bad blood between me and you and that it was fine that you guys kissed—”

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

“What?!?” You exclaimed, not expecting Steve to babble about it to Eddie when he had been avoiding you.

“Look, honey, Steve was all blabbering and shit when he came to see me, tellin’ me all this shit about how much he liked you and how sorry he was,” Eddie said with a concerned look.

“And I told him it was all fine, Christ—when did we even date, like 2 years ago?” You didn’t answer him and he sighed.

“I always knew the two of you had something for each other, I mean, why’d you think I got so jealous anytime you guys hung out together alone? He was definitely—“” He rambled for what felt like minutes, and you were quick to interrupt it, eyes blinking rapidly as you tried to process what the fuck was going on.

“Stop!” You exclaimed, “That’s… uhm– good to know, but not what I came in here for,” You muttered, eyes wandering to the ground.

He threw you a quizzed look, brows knitted up together, “I–I wanted to ask you about something,” You gulped.

“Well, spill it out, sweetheart, you’re makin’ me all nervous and shit.” He gave you a dry chuckle.

“What–what exactly happened that day?” You knew he was going to ask what the fuck you were talking about, so you cut him off before he got a chance to speak.

“At The Hideout… Two years ago.” You could see Eddie almost panic visibly, he didn’t expect it, and did it really matter now, after everything?

“Shit… why won’t you ask Steve about all this?” He scratched his head, it was all awkward, you coming here, asking him something that was two years ago, Steve telling Eddie about the kiss while refusing to acknowledge you…

It was embarrassing, really, and with each passing minute, a rage fueled inside of you. Sick of the hiding, and the lies. You just wanted the truth, and for Steve to not run at the first inconvenience.

“I would, if he didn’t avoid me like a fucking child,” You spat under your breath, causing Eddie to chuckle. He shook his head again.

“Right, so… I’m assuming since it was two years ago, you won’t be mad at me, right?” He asked, an innocent look spreading over his face, almost fearing as he saw how angry you were at Steve.

You almost rolled your eyes, these two idiots were making your blood boil. “Just want the truth, Munson, then I’ll be gone, I promise.”

“Right!” He chuckled nervously before telling you everything that happened that night.

You called Eddie right after you found his jacket, blabbering like an idiot as you thanked him a million times. While Eddie had no fuckin’ clue what had happened, he was still trying to get over his own hangover, but he wasn’t going to completely shut you down, not when he wanted you this badly, not when you were in the grasp of his hands.

As soon as you hung up, promising him a date, he called Steve, and he didn’t even have to beg him to play along; Steve was just... okay with it.

Steve knew the moment Eddie told him about his little crush that the two of you had no chance and that Steve would only be a little thought in the back of your mind, while Eddie would be the first choice, because why wouldn’t he?

Why would you choose him over Eddie?

And with all the sudden information flooding your mind, you weren’t sure how to react, how to vent all these emotions running through your veins, so you did it the only way you knew how; anger.

You checked the clock; 10.08

Steve’s shift should’ve ended long ago by now, you barely mumbled a goodbye to Eddie when you left, mind focused on one thing.

Steve.

You arrived at his door with your lips tightening and your jaw clenching, you weren’t going to give up now; you were going to talk to him. Now or never.

You knocked on the door so hard that you were sure your knuckles were bruising, and Steve was baffled when he opened the door, mouth almost agape as he looked at the sight in front of him.

“You know what you are? A fucking coward,” You mumbled, not giving him a second to process anything as you shook your head.

“You are a selfish fucking coward! Do you think you can make decisions for other people? You think you can just take their choices away and pretend like everything is fucking fine!” Steve didn’t utter a word when you let it all out, your words meshing with each other, and you could feel your blood boiling each time you spoke, but it was… weirdly relieving.

All that pent up anger was finally coming out.

“And you told Eddie?!? You fucking talked to him but didn’t have the guts to even face me! Five days, five fucking days, I followed you around, you fucking jerk!” You spat, your eyes flashed with anger as your face came closer to him, he didn’t even flinch, eyeing you curiously, those deep honey glazed eyes were warming the more he looked at you.

And Oh God, was his gaze inviting, so warm, but you couldn’t soften up… not when you still had so much to say.

“Do you know how embarrassing it is for me? No—no… Fuck that! I don’t even give a fuck if it's embarrassing, I’ve been–I’ve been living a lie and you–it’s your fault…” You mumbled the last part, chest heaving, when your fiery gaze met his, he was itching to talk, and you could tell.

“That—that’s a bit dramatic don’t you think?” He muttered, causing your eyes to narrow, “Look why don’t we just go inside and have an adult conversation? No need for these tantrums—” And that hit a nerve.

“Don’t,” You muttered, closing your eyes, the rage bubbling up to the surface again, gnawing at your skin, waiting to welcome you.

“Don’t you fucking dare to tell me to have an ‘adult conversation’ when you’ve been avoiding me like the plague!” You exclaimed angrily, face heating with anger, Steve nodded, understandingly. He didn’t mean to sound like a jerk, he just wanted to talk to you. He had been debating what to do these last five days, and shutting you out during that was obviously stupid, but that’s how he handled everything, wallowing it all until he chewed his emotions, keeping them hidden.

“What was I supposed to do?” He asked, almost defeated, and it made you want to chuckle, he was sending you over the edge.

“Are you kidding me?” It wasn’t a question; it was stupid for Steve to even attempt to open his mouth.

“You could have talked to me!” You took a deep breath; your anger wasn’t going to help, and if you didn’t talk to Steve as soon as possible, your head might have exploded.

You sighed as Steve stood aside, leading you to the living room, and your anger subsided with each step you took. The familiarity of the house was engulfing you, and you wanted to scream.

What if Steve had told you this would change nothing?

What if this was it for the two of you?

Your head was swirling, and it hurt, both physically and emotionally. It was taking a toll on you and Steve could sense it.

“What—what really happened… that day?” You asked, voice barely audible as you avoided his gaze.

Steve sighed as he took a seat next to you on the couch, hand itching to lay on your thigh, squeeze it to make you feel comfortable, just so you would look at him, but he resisted it, hand flexing as he placed it between the two of you.

“You–you remember our fight?” He mumbled, causing you to nod. “We both said some stupid shit to each other—”

“Well, you started it—” You gazed up at him, and this time he threw you a look, causing you to close your mouth as if to signal him to continue.

“And—and you left… and the second you did, I just felt this horrible fucking pit in my stomach, I could never—I could never leave you like that,” His voice was shaking, hands flexing again as he inched closer to you.

“I found you on the street, Y/N, almost passed out, and I lost my goddamn mind for leaving you alone—even for a second, I ca—I can’t fucking imagine what I would even do if anything happened to one–one fucking strand of your hair—just the thought makes me sick to my stomach—Jesus.” He muttered, face still toward you as you could trace it now, the worried lines etched onto his forehead, a frown taking upon his usual plump lips, voice cracking as you could sense it, the utter worry and desperation in his voice.

You couldn’t open your mouth, words failing you as you opted out to hold his hand instead, a small gesture, but one that made Steve’s entire stiffness disappear. One touch from you warming him up immediately.

“I took you home as fast as I could—I tucked you in, made sure you didn’t get sick, and then I left.”

“Why?” You asked, meekly.

“Why did you let me believe it was him? Why did you ignore me that night?”

“It–it doesn’t matter now,” He mumbled, and your brows furrowed again, fury still locked up inside of you.

“It fucking does!” You snarled, insides burning with anticipation and anger.

“Stop being a fucking coward,” You yelled, you didn’t want to scream at his face, but he left you with no choice. If you wanted to talk to him, you had to get some things out of him, no matter how much it angered you.

“Just tell me, Steve, full transparency, I want it all out.”

Steve’s silence caused a groan out of you, “If you don’t, I’m gonna leave… for good,” You whispered.

You were bluffing; you weren’t going to go anywhere without getting some closure, but Steve didn’t know that, and he had never seen you this riled up, so he sighed when you got up.

“I didn’t want to lose you!” He got up after you, staring at your back for a full minute until you turned around to meet him, a quizzed look overtaking your features.

“What?”

“God! I wanted to—Shit. I wanted to tell you about how I felt, but then Eddie came and he told me all about how he had feelings for you, and, uh, I just panicked— so fucking hard. I knew you would have chosen him, and I had that rejection one too many fuckin’ times, and I—I knew I couldn’t handle it from you!” He exclaimed, breath ragged as his brown orbs looked at you with such sympathy that you wanted to drop everything and kiss him, tell him that he would always be your first choice.

“I knew you would choose him and—”

“I didn’t want to be a second choice again, Y/N, I was so fucking scared—” You shook your head.

“Steve you—god, you have no fucking clue about anything,” You chuckled dryly, interrupting him.

“When you ignored me for Tammy that night, when you told me that I wasn’t ‘worth it’ that’s when I decided to contain my feelings for you, I knew you didn’t like me for anything more than friends—I always thought we had a ‘will they won’t they’ kind of relationship but that night, confirmed it for me,” You looked away, almost ashamed, face burning up.

“I felt so fucking desperate—like you wanted to push me away like I was an idiot girl who was clinging onto you, and now everything is just so confusing that I don’t even know what is going on.” Your hands ran through your hair.

“But you were and will always be my first choice,” You didn’t mean to smile, but it just appeared, anger washing away. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” You muttered, and Steve’s entire demeanor changed, his body relaxing as he realized how much of an idiot he had been.

“What?” He asked, baffled, a small smile overtaking his lips before you could say another word.

“Yeah,” You murmured, taking a step closer to him,

“So… we’re both idiots, huh?” He asked, basking in the way you looked up at him, batting your eyelashes as your warm aura engulfed him.

“Hmmm… I’d say it’s more you than me,” You mumbled, scrunching your nose, as Steve huffed playfully, inching closer and closer to you. You didn’t know where this took the two of you, but your mind was so busy when he was standing this close to you.

One strand of his hair fell onto his forehead, and all you wanted to do was run your fingers through them, kiss every inch of his face, run your lips along his soft ones, feel his calloused hands on your curves, grabbing desperately, meek grunts leaving his lips, both of you breathless.

And that’s exactly what you did—without a care, you closed the distance between the two of you with an annoyed huff, fingers running through his shiny hair.

His hands were quick to land on your hips, grabbing them like he was afraid of you slipping away, once again. And it all felt so easy and familiar that you could feel your head spinning.

His lips brushed against yours softly. You didn’t want this moment to be over, wanting to cling to him forever. Everything he did made you feel foolish and insane, and you understood why being in love felt like losing your mind, again.

Steve groaned into your lips, kissing you harder, once, twice, his lips never fully letting go of you, and you didn’t know if it would ever be enough for you, utterly craving nothing but him.

Your mind was jelly at this point, everything was tangled together while the question of ‘What’s going to happen now?’ lingered in your mind. Did he still want you? Did he still want to be together? Why didn’t he just come to you after talking to Eddie?

You tried to shake them off, tried to focus on the way Steve’s hands stuck to your body, like they belonged there, and the way his lips moved along yours, like it had always been this way.

You wanted to continue, wanted so badly to not let this moment go, but the bickering voices in your head were too much, and you pulled away slowly. Steve almost groaned when he felt the absence of your lips. He blinked once, twice.

“Oh, fuck. Do that again.” He unintentionally let out, gaze filled with lust as his pupils were blown wide, and a small giggle left your lips. “You are an idiot,” You whispered, your gaze settling on him.

Was everything going to be okay?

How were you even going to manage to make this work?

And with that, your expression soured, “Steve,” You said seriously, causing him to look up at you with concern all over his face. “I don’t want to get hurt again.” You murmured, forehead touching his.

“I won’t hurt you, ever.” His gaze was intense, and it made you feel giddy, worries washing away in seconds. You don’t know how he fucking did it, but it worked.

And you trusted him like no one else.

You couldn’t help it when your lips twitched into a smile. “You promise?” You gushed.

“With all my heart, honey.” He whispered, taking a deep breath.

“You have no fuckin’ idea how long I’ve been waiting for this, dreaming about this...”

“I would never, ever do anything to hurt you.” He muttered, his hands tucking the strand of hair that was blocking him from placing messy kisses all over your face.

“I couldn’t handle losing you, not again,” He murmured before leaning in to press more kisses all over your soft lips.

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-

bonus scene: just for shits n giggles idk

“What movies did you get today?” He asked with a childish grin on his lips.

“If you weren’t avoiding me, you would’ve known, pretty boy.” You exclaimed dramatically, crossing your arms against your chest.

Pretty boy.

The only thing that stuck in Steve’s brain was that he was your pretty boy.

And this giddy feeling inside of him was never going to go away, he decided.

He huffed playfully before he grabbed your bag, causing you to gasp. “Let’s see…” He murmured as he tried to find the VHS tapes.

“Aha!” He exclaimed as he grabbed the two of them, turning the cover to see what movies you rented.

“Oh my god,” He murmured. “A double-feature? For us?” He couldn’t help the way his lips twitched into a smile, so warm that you wanted to bathe in the glory of making him this happy.

“Mhmm… First, Evil Dead II for me, and once Stevie gets scared, we’ll put on Dirty Dancing.” You give him a wink.

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” He groaned. “You are so fucking perfect, I’m gonna lose my mind.” He placed a kiss on your forehead.

another a/n: so this is a bit messy bc i had too many ideas and this is the best i could do to fit them all in, i hope this doesn't feel that disconnected from the first!! work has been kicking my ass lately so my mind is all mushed lmao!! feel free to leave ur feedback and pls comment, like or reblog to support me ily <33

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington angst #steve harrington x y/n #steddie x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #stranger things imagines #stranger things fic #steve harrington #ex!eddie munson

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cameronspecial · 2 months

Text

Ghost Of A Memory

Pairing: Dad!Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: Loss of a Spouse During Childbirth and Grief

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 0.9K

Summary: All Rafe wants are memories of his family, but sometimes he has to remind himself that he can't have that.

Masterlist

The warm summer sun glows across Rafe’s pale skin, kissing it so that it will soon tan his skin a darker shade. Laughter fills the air and a sappy face falls on Rafe’s face as his eyes fall on the sight of his wife and daughter on the playground. Hannah is climbing the ladder on a mission to go down the slide again; Y/N is waiting for her baby girl at the bottom of the slide to catch her. Hannah plops her butt onto the plastic contraption and squeals in delight as she zooms toward her mother. He finishes laying out the sandwiches on the plates and calls out to his girls, “Lunch is ready.” Y/N keeps her daughter in her arms, taking them both to the picnic blanket, where their lunch is laid out on it. “Salami, tomato, arugula and garlic cream cheese for me. Cheese and lettuce for Little Lady. And turkey, lettuce, tomato, and Havarti for my love,” Rafe announces, pointing to everyone’s meal as he lists the ingredients. Y/N leans forward to kiss his cheek, “Thank you for getting this all ready, Handsome.” Rafe’s cheeks warm like they always do at the nickname. It’s such a basic nickname, but coming from her, it makes him feel like he can do a thousand backflips one after the other. Hannah throws herself into her dad’s arms with her own thank you directed towards him.

The family finishes their food and Hannah is invited to play ball with a boy around her age. Y/N rests her head on Rafe’s shoulder as they both watch their daughter play with her new friend. “I think we should have another one,” she whispers to him. He beams at the idea and presses his lips to her temple, “I think I would love to have another one. Maybe a little boy with your hair and my eyes this time.” “Hmm, that sounds like a great idea,” she agrees. Hannah lets out a scream in delight, except the longer it goes on, the more it starts to sound like a cry.

———

Rafe wakes up with a jerk into a sitting position. He rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands as he looks around the dark room. Hannah stands in her crib in the corner of the room, rattling against the bars with her cries. Her father swings his feet over the side of the bed and pads over to her. She reaches her arms up toward him and he picks her up. He brings her to his chest, letting her nuzzle his neck. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m right here, Little Lady,” he soothes. He bounces in hopes of providing her with some sort of comfort. He is so tired, yet he can’t go back to sleep because it seems as though Hannah doesn’t want to sleep. He presses his lips against her forehead, “Please, Little Lady, go back to sleep. Daddy is tired.” He tries to see if she is hungry and quickly learns that she isn’t. “What can I give you so you can go to sleep?” he begs, picking up her stuffed penguin. The penguin is rejected, so he tries offering her her blankie. Hannah screeches and throws it on the ground in dissatisfaction. His eyes dart around the room in search of anything that will appease the bebe. Finally, he spots what he thinks is going to cease the crying.

He picks up the fading navy zip-up sweater and wraps it around his daughter's shoulders. The nine-month-old immediately calms, snuggling into the fabric of the hoodie. Rafe sighs, “I know. I miss her too.” He sits in the rocking chair opposite the crib. He looks at the empty spot on the bed beside his, drawing in the figure that should be there for himself. The woman creating a dip in the bed sits up and gives him a lazy smile. “Did she wake up? I don’t know how I slept through her cries. Is she hungry?” Y/N mumbles, standing from the bed. Her footsteps drag against the floor to stand in front of them. He grins up at her, “It’s okay. I figured out what she wanted. It was your Chapel Hill sweater.” He lifts Hannah up a bit so Y/N can see the school logo on the back. “That makes sense,” she agrees. “She’s always been a Mama’s girl.” Rafe chuckles, “So true. I can’t blame her though. She has a pretty amazing mom.” Y/N leans over to kiss her family members and he closes his eyes to embrace the feeling, but just as her skin is supposed to make contact with his, the daydream he is creating for himself dissolves. Instead of the feeling of her lips, he gets a kiss from the wind and he opens his eyes with furrowed eyebrows.

The room is void of any other human being, except for Hannah in his arms. He looks over to the other side of his bed and finds it empty. Likes it has been for the last nine months. The room lacks air and Rafe begins to hyper-ventilate. His immediate thought is to get up to look for the missing link in the room. And then he finally remembers that his dreams can only ever be the ghost of a memory he never gets to make because the love of his life never made it out of the hospital with their baby girl.

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @thepatriarchykeychain @drewsmusee @starkowswife @maybankslover @forstarkey @loving-and-dreaming

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raainberry · 4 months

Text

Studious Confession

« Done deliberately or with a purpose in mind. »

Yunjin x gn!reader

Fluff

synopsis - you and your friend yunjin get sidetracked while speed running revisions for finals

wordcount - 1.8K

A/N - save me scholar yunjin, save me…

Absolute academic weapons.

That’s what you and Yunjin aimed to be when you scheduled a study session at your campus library. Exam season was breathing down your necks, and you ignored it for as long as you could, taking each other on the most impromptu hang-outs instead.

Convenience store runs that lead to mukbangs, walks around campus that somehow turned into treetop adventures, late night drives after a long day of classes you spent screaming to whatever she played on the aux… Risking your education (and probably your future) had never been so fun, but all good things must come to an end.

As the end of your junior year approached you were the first one to bring up studying, suggesting you should probably pump the breaks on the distractions. She only called you a nerd, but gave in when you proposed to study together.

The time itself wouldn’t be fun at all, but at least she’d spend it with you. “A win is a win.”, she’d said over the phone, and it only took a few more days to actually motivate yourselves. Reserving a study room was a step in the right direction, but what happened in there would only make you take two steps back.

“That doesn’t even look like me.” You said after she revealed her doodle in the corner of your notebook.

She spent the last five minutes trying to sketch your features out on the bit of blank paper left on your notes instead of focusing on her own.

“Yes it does, look!” She gestured at the messy drawing. “That’s your eyes and your mouth.”

“I am looking, I’m just not seeing.”

It actually did look like you, Yunjin was too talented for it not to. You were just looking at it upside down as you sat across the table from her.

“Well look harder!”

“I don’t want to, stop distracting me!” You whined, switching your pen for a highlighter.

“You’re so mean! Give me my airpod back.” She whined back, actually catching your attention this time.

“What?”

“I don’t want to share my music with you anymore. I need to listen to sad music alone because you’re so mean to me.” She argued, her hand out waiting for the airpod in your ear.

“Are you serious?” You asked, and she only stared at you, retreating her hand only to fold her arms over her chest. “If I say it does look like me, can I keep it?”

“You can keep the drawing, yeah.” She scoffed and you sighed.

You were unsure whether she was serious or not, so you decided to try something that could only have a positive outcome.

“Coffee break?” You proposed, and just like that, her smile was back.

Relief washed over you when her hand found yours, dragging you down to the nearest vending machine. The latter was familiar, it has seen your faces more times than the study rooms as you sometimes only came by to get a coffee from the machine right next to it.

That’s where you met Yunjin, on one of the rare nights she dedicated to her due projects. You’d offered her one of those cheap paper cups, a hole in your student wallet but nothing compared to the world she invited you in afterwards.

Her own little world, the person she was within it, the things she saw and built… It was all so beautiful. You’d get her a thousand of them if it meant learning one new thing every time.

Sometimes you brought her here in hopes for it, and it never failed. The same thing would happen: you’d get her a coffee, she would fight you, try to pay for yours, and you’d ask her about something you’d noticed about her to change the subject. Small details you’d noticed; a pretty necklace, some new earrings, a new hairstyle or the way her makeup looked. Sometimes her mood stood out to you, had you curious. She’d soon forget about her self-imposed debt, getting caught up in the excitment of whatever had caught your attention that day.

“I like your glasses today. How many pairs do you have?” You asked after she sighed out your name. “This is like the fifth pair I’ve seen you wear.”

“Thank you. I have a few. Even more back home.” She said, making you raise an eyebrow.

Her answer was shorter than usual. No spilling over to another subject that your question reminded her of. No squealing about where she got them from, holding your arm as she practically begged for you to come check the small store out with her next time.

Her hands stayed put in her pockets, below the sweater you’d asked about a few weeks ago. It looked comfortable and cozy, and she seemed to grow fond of it based on the way she pulled her hands into the sleeves so often.

“Do they even help you see?” You asked, joking around in an attempt to pull a little more out of her.

“Only two of them do. These aren’t one of them, though.” She giggled to herself, and you could only shake your head at her absurdity.

“Do you even want to pass?” You chuckled as the machine made all kinds of mechanical noises, signaling that the coffee was ready.

She rolled her eyes, getting her hands out of her pockets to grab the cup from yours. The heat emanating from it was the last thing she needed on this fair weather day, but the taste of that coffee was just too good to pass on.

The taste wasn’t the only thing that pushed her to accept each and every one of the cups you offered her. She didn’t even pay attention to it at first, but as time went on, she started looking forward to it. Sometimes to the point of craving it.

Caffeine was dangerous, sure, but she’d come to realise it wasn’t what she had become addicted to.

“How long are you going to keep this up?”

She broke the small silence that had taken its place between the two of you. One of your favorite songs was playing at a faint volume from the airpods you were still sharing, filling in for the lack of words. Your mind had drifted off, long gone and barely listening to your favorite melody as thoughts of her occupied the back of it.

The sound of her voice brought you back, all conscious and hiding how crazy you felt thinking about someone standing right next to you.

A curious hum resonated from your chest, and your eyes met her questioning ones.

“The coffee. When are you gonna let me pay you back?” She asked, and you smiled.

“You don’t need to.”

“But I want to. You spent like a hundred dollars since the beginning of the year.” She frowned.

“That’s a bit excessive. I’d say 30 dollars at the most. It’s really cheap coffee.” You pointed out.

It took everything in her not to call you a smartass. It seemed like a terrible way to confess her feelings. Especially when what she felt, the light she saw you in painted you as far more than a smartass. The opposite, or maybe a more positive and kind alternative.

“You really don’t want me to pay you back?” She insisted, and you shook your head, amused.

This wasn’t the first time she was asking, and you didn’t expect it to be the last, but your answer would remain the same.

You didn’t want her money.

“You could at least admit you want something in return.”

Her words wiped the delectation right off your face. The lighthearted atmosphere suddenly vanished, replaced by a heavy and uncomfortable one.

You had trouble finding the right way to breathe, scared it would shift the conversation into a much too unpredictable path.

“Wh—what?” You stuttered, furrowing your eyebrows in the most natural way you could.

Yunjin wasn’t having it, although in a simpler moment she would have laughed at your poor attempt.

“Come on, Y/n.” She probed. “No one gives out that many compliments out of pure kindness only.”

“There probably are a few people—” You started, but the way she stared at you kept you from rambling further.

There was no escaping it, she obviously knew what was going on. In theory, you couldn’t be surprised as you hoped for your actions to be obvious, or at the least for her to notice them.

Now that she did, you weren’t sure what to do. Hell, you didn’t even know where or how to stand anymore, you hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Well—I mean, I kind of have been doing this to get to know you a little more.” You mumbled.

One of her eyebrows furrowed, and you sighed. This wasn’t exactly ideal for the embarrassment you felt.

“We’ve been friends for months, is it so difficult to do that? Am I that hard to read?” She wondered, amused.

“I don’t know, it feels easier this way… For me at least.” You looked down, eyes sweeping the floor as you did your best to avoid her gaze.

Embarrassed was only the start to describing how this whole thing made you feel. Everything you did, everything you told and asked her in order to find out more, as sincere and truthful it all was… It all seemed so silly. Collecting all those bits of her personnality, of her mind; piecing them all together in sercret and falling behind closed doors…

What was the point of putting yourself through so much if it would all come to light anyway?

Would it even be worth it?

“Right. Well…” She trailed off, and your eyes were pulled by the sudden movement of her hand between the two of you.

You watched as it hesitantly approached yours, waiting to see if it would welcome it only for you to wrap your fingers around her palm in a heartbeat— that was to say it happened fast as your heart had picked up the pace for a while now.

Yunjin kept her smile to herself, hiding her appreciation behind treacherous eyes that she focused on your joined hands. The spark she held in her gaze whenever she looked at you was hard to erase—she couldn’t believe you hadn’t noticed it.

“Let your wallet rest a bit.” She joked, finally looking up at you. “Whatever you want to know, next time you can just ask.”

“Do you like me?”

“Oh.” Her eyebrows raised in surprise as you shared a laugh over the sudden, bold question.

It wasn’t exactly unlike you, but judging on the past couple minutes, neither of you really expected it.

“I do like you.” She admitted, a shy smile letting you know she wasn’t as cool about it as she tried to be before adding. “When you’re not nagging me about finals.”

“If this is one of your ways to get out of studying I’m gonna be so mad.” You half-joked.

It would be a pretty insane thing to pull, but you wouldn’t put it past her. She loved to avoid schoolwork, no matter the excuse.

“If it was I wouldn’t ask you to get back to it.”

“You haven’t.”

“I am now.” She smiled, tugging on your hand the same way she had to bring you here.

You could only follow as she jogged back to your study room. Whether her excitment came from studying or the progression of your relationship, you had a small idea. It put a smile on your face that you wouldn’t be able to get rid of for as long as she was the one holding your hand.

And wherever she’d lead you, you’d follow.

#lesserafim x reader #huh yunjin x reader #yunjin x reader #huh yunjin #le sserafim #yunjin fluff #le sserafim fluff

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luniidae · 3 months

Text

~ THE ~ DESILLUSIONMENT

Chapter III

TW: Violence, blood.

Note: I'm pretty happy with this drawing. I had to redraw it entirely last night because my software crashed 🤣 but this new version is far more better ! Anyway, this chapter is very long compared to the others, but I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it !

_________________________________________

It had been about two years now that Luvia had her horns regularly trimmed. It wasn't very pleasant, it was sometimes even painful, but she could handle it for the one who gave her everything, right ?

In the meantime, the little girl had noticed the presence of another child. A boy, older than her, with messy dark hair and clearly in an unenviable state, at the sight of the bruises he had on him. Raphael didn't wish to say more about him, except that he was "nothing important” and that she shouldn't pay any attention to him.

If the young girl always blindly followed her "father's" instructions, her curiosity pushed her to learn more about this mysterious resident.

Where did he come from ? Who was he ? Why didn't he wear nice clothes like her ? Where did these bruises come from ? And above all, how come she didn't notice him sooner ? Luvia wanted answers.

But it wasn't an easy task.... Because no one was willing to talk to her about him, not even Hope. As if Raphael had ordered them all not to say anything.

She could try to talk to him, but as surprising as it may seem, Luvia was too shy to attempt an approach. So she was content to observe him from afar when she had time and he was busy cleaning certain parts of the House. Besides, the poor boy was still in a bad condition.

Intrigued by his presence, Luvia also felt a certain sadness towards the young boy. She wanted to help him, to show him that he wasn't alone, if she couldn't stop him from getting hurt. Because yes, she ended up thinking that he was just very clumsy.

One day, while he was near the fireplace, Luvia plucked her courage and approached slowly, so much so that the boy only saw her at the last moment and jumped. At first, it was fear that could be read on his face, but he quickly frowned, as if he was trying to hide it as quickly as possible. He didn't immediately notice the apple that the little girl was holding in her hands.

His eyes were dark, tired. He was dressed in rags and had several bruises and scratches all over him.

The two children looked at each other for a few seconds. He looked up, examining her horns and visibly intrigued as to why one of them was shorter than the other.

Then he got back to himself and met her gaze again.

"What do you want ?", He finally asked in a tone that was both annoyed and worried.

Luvia felt like she was melting on the spot. She had never heard him speak and didn't expect him to. She had already made a big effort to come to him, and although her face displayed a friendly pout (at least she hoped), it was impossible for her to say a word.

So she just handed him the apple.

"What is ....."

The boy looked at the fruit with astonishment, he didn't understand why this girl about whom he knew almost nothing suddenly came to offer him... This. An Apple. Especially since she wore the colors of his tormentor, which didn't give him trust.

However, he had to admit that the fruit really appealed to him. Raphael had deprived him of food for almost five days and he was starving.

Then a worrying thought came to his mind..... What if she had been sent by the devil to test him ? No one would be suspicious of a child. From the looks of it, she seemed a little younger than him. He scanned the surroundings out of the corner of his eye, as if to check that no one was hiding somewhere, ready to pounce on him as soon as he touched that damn apple.

"Is that.... A trap... ?", He dared to ask without hoping for an honest answer.

Luvia shook her head, a little confused. Why would this be a trap ? Did he expect it to explode in his face ? She thought. The boy seemed to think for a few seconds before adding:

"No, it'll be fine, I don't want it...."

The girl frowned. It was not necessary to have exceptional hearing to hear the gurgling noises emanating from his stomach. So why did he refuse ? Why did he doubt her ? Because of the horns ? She only had one and a half after all, maybe that didn't make her very credible to him..... Which made her stress out more.

She was there, in front of him, her arm outstretched, holding an apple that he had just declined. Both upset and embarrassed, the little girl decided it was time for her to slip away.

So still without saying a word, she advanced towards the young boy, arm still outstretched, until the apple collided with his chest.

By reflex, he grabbed it with one hand and Luvia then took the opportunity to leave it to him and turn on her heel. She began to walk away at a rapid pace, her face as red as the fruit she had just given, but proud of her good deed. Luvia didn't have a friend of her age in the House of Hope, she hoped he would understand that she meant him no harm, so they could play together.

However, she had learned nothing about him. She didn't know his favorite color, where he lived before arriving here and why.... She also didn't dare ask him his name, in which case she would have learned that it was Enver.

But she never asked him and he always did the same. Failing to dare speak to him, Luvia regularly gives him food in secret. Mostly fruit or cakes. It was small and easy to carry.

Unfortunately, Raphael ended up learning about it and came to find Luvia. There was no way he was going to let his protégé get involved with this lesser person.

“Today you are going to learn a very important lesson,” he announced to Luvia, “Our classroom will be just slightly different from other days, but I hope there will not have a next time.”

Luvia nodded and didn't ask any questions. She never asked questions, not to Raphael. He said, she did. And she began to follow him to the prison.

There was Enver down there, on his knees, with a jailer standing beside him. The children looked at each other, one was confused, and the other knew perfectly well what was going to happen. It wouldn't be the first time for him... And it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Luvia, my child, it is time for you to understand that in this world and on all plans of existence, there are two categories of individuals. The weak....", he looked at the boy with contempt, his voice borrowed from a certain disgust, ".... And us", he finished with a slightly more cheerful intonation and placing his hands on the young girl's shoulders.

“And we have no compassion for the weak. They are there to serve us, sometimes to entertain us, but above all to obey us”

The little girl wasn't sure to understand, or if she wanted to understand. She knew that Raphael wasn't thrilled with the idea of her spending time with his little prisoner, but she didn't know how much it had annoyed him.

The devil made a brief gesture with his hand towards the jailer who first punched the young boy in the face and he fell to the ground. Luvia took a step back which was interrupted by Raphael who was standing behind her, crouching at her height.

Luvia turned her head so she couldn't see anything, but he grabbed her chin to force her to look. Shocked, the young girl was unable to close her eyes, and tears soon began to flow down her cheeks, then onto Raphael's hand.

"He's not like you, Luvia. He's just a worm whose pathetic existence hangs by a thread. You must never have the slightest sympathy for these things."

The blows rained down on the poor boy who groaned in pain. He tried to protect himself with his arms but the jailer was so diligent in their task that it made no difference.

And this spectacle became more and more unbearable.

"S.... Stop..." she finally said, her voice trembling. But Raphael ignored her, visibly absorbed by the scene.

All this blood... She had never seen so much. And the seconds, which became minutes, seemed to last forever.

Luvia grabbed the devil's hand which was still holding her face with her two small hands. Was it to try to get rid of it ? To find comfort ? Both ? In any case her voice grew louder.

“I beg you, Father, make it stop !” she cried desperately.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then gave a brief nod towards the jailer who stopped. Their hands were bloody. Out of breath, they walked away from the boy who was lying on the ground still conscious, his face bloody and his nose broken. He looked at Luvia who was staring back at him, horrified.

“We’re done”, Raphael said. And with these words, he took the young girl in his arms to carry her, "Put him back to his cell", then they both left the prison.

Luvia didn't take her eyes off the boy until she lost sight of him. She no longer spoke, no longer reacted, she was feeling like numbed. She wasn't sure she understood what had just happened, but she was gripped by an inner conflict.

She felt terribly guilty. Her only "friend" had been molested because of her, but she had also disappointed her father. Her dear father...

She had interacted with this other child when he had forbidden her to do so, but she had not been able to handle his punishment either. While they were in the corridors of the House, she buried her head in his neck to hide her face there, ashamed.

“I’m sorry”, she whispered, her voice shaking again.

Raphael didn't answer her, he just placed his free hand behind her head and stroked her hair.

To be continued....

#art #artists on tumblr #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #fantasy #video games #digital art #bg3 gortash #bg3 raphael #enver gortash #fanfic

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pechadream · 5 months

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Sebastian's Flower Dilemma

Pairing: Sebastian/Farmer OC

Summary:

Sebastian didn't like flowers. Anyone who knew him could tell you that much.

It's not like he hated flowers, he just didn't care enough about them to spend some extra time in his day learning about them or stopping to look at them.

They looked decent at best in his opinion for most cases, they weren't anything wow worthy to him. It's not like he was going to bother anyone who did like them. But it took too much work to keep them looking good, so he never saw the point.

He didn't know a single thing about flowers.

So why the hell was he standing at the back of Pierre's shop looking at a wide array of bouquets?

Category: Fluff, Illustrated fic

Content warnings: Mild language

Word count: 6671

A/N:

Guess who got motivated to write/post fics again after like three years thanks to SDV?

I'm going to try to find my writing style again and I'm also trying out a new format for my fanfics where I include my art.

I'm gonna be testing and messing around with the format for the next few oneshots I post (E.G. The spacing of drawings and the placement of them in the fic) in preparation for a much much bigger fic planned, so feedback is really appreciated for that!

(Please note: For most oneshots, the drawings will most likely stay as [clean] sketches.)

Sebastian didn't like flowers. Anyone who knew him could tell you that much.

It's not like he hated flowers, he just didn't really care enough about them to spend some extra time in his day learning about them or stopping to look at them.

He didn't know a single thing about flowers.

So why the hell was he standing at the back of Pierre's shop looking at a wide array of bouquets?

He pursed his lips and stared at the vibrant colors in front of him, silently thanking yoba that Abigail wasn't home and that Sam had no plans on going to the store as he didn't want to risk his friends catching him and making a big deal about it or annoying him.

Why were there so many options? Why do some of the flowers have meanings? Who the hell is writing meanings for flowers??

Sebastian's hand picked at a loose thread on his hoodie as he walked closer to the bouquets and looked at the vibrant options in front of him.

He, personally, wouldn't really care what bouquet someone gave him, but this was serious. He wanted the best for her. But how the hell was he supposed to find out what flowers she even liked?

He thought back to when he visited her farm a week ago, her bright smile as she took his hand and led him to the corner of her farm that held her animals. The gleam in her eyes sparkling as she showed off her new flower patch in the center that surrounded her fruit trees.

"It's not really much right now," She said as she walked over towards it. "But I'm hoping to grow a lot more flowers soon when I can buy the seeds! Doesn't it look pretty?" She turned to look at him, his heart tugging as he smiled back to her.

"Yeah… It looks nice."

She definitely didn't know of his lack of interest in flowers.

Sebastian looked at a rose bouquet as he tried remembering the flowers that she had planted down. He was sure she mentioned it once, but the name completely slipped his mind.

Maybe she texted him the name?

Sebastian let out a sigh and pulled out his phone, completely unaware of what else was happening in the store.

He scrolled through their (many) texts between each other and alas, there was no mention of the damned flower name.

Of course. Maybe Pierre would've known if she bought it recently? But how the hell was he supposed to ask–

"-Yeah okay dad! I'll just put these in the back, okay?"

Sebastian froze, his eyes going wide as he heard the familiar sound of a certain someone's voice.

Abigail.

Shit.

Why is she here!? She said she'd be out all day because she had things to do!

And why was this the day that she decided to help Pierre of all days?!

Sebastian's eyes darted around, there's absolutely no way he'd be able to hide or try to get away without her seeing him. He couldn't put his hood up, if anything that'd just make him stick out more.

The sound of footsteps started getting closer as he just froze in place, not even daring to look away from his phone.

His mind raced as he held his breath.

don't notice me don't notice me don't notice me don't-

"... Seb? What are you doing here?"

damnit.

Sebastian's head shot up as his panicked eyes met Abigail's (very confused) gaze. His mouth opened, trying to come up with some stupid excuse as to why he was next to a bunch of bouquets. His eyes darted back and forth from Abigail, then to the bouquets, and then to his phone.

Abigail stared at him, waiting for him to respond before she followed his gaze to the bouquets and her mouth formed an 'o' as it sank in.

"Oh my god…"

Nonononono-

"Holy shit- Are you- Sebastian, are you going to ask someone out?" A wide grin plastered itself on her face as she quickly set down the boxes onto an empty shelf before rushing over and squeezing him in a hug. "I can't believe it! Sebby's fallen in loveeee-"

"NO- No, it's not-!" Sebastian shoved his phone into his pocket and backed away from Abigail. "You're completely wrong- I'm not asking anyone out, I'm just- …. looking at the flowers?" He weakly said, his voice getting more quiet as he kept talking.

Abigail snickered, "God, if you're gonna lie, at least put in some effort." The girl walked over to the display, leaning against the side of it. "Soo, which one were you thinking of?".

Sebastian's fingers picked at the loose thread on his hoodie even more roughly as he dug himself deeper into a hole. "None of them! I'm just- Looking at some for Maru, because she said she needed flowers for an experiment and- " "Sebastian that's an even worse lie." She shook her head and gestured for him to come over. His shoulders slacked as he felt defeated, taking his three steps of shame over to be closer to the display.

Abigail's teasing grin softened as she nudged his shoulder, "C'mon, I know you're probably struggling with this. Tell me who you're crushing on and I'll help you pick one!" She walked over to stand beside him. "Sooo? Who is it?"

Sebastian felt his face burning up, god he wanted to die. He took in a deep breath before finally saying her name.

"... It's Luna."

He could only stare at the floor as his face reddened, he couldn't believe he was just sharing his crush as if he were in highschool.

Abigail stared at him, taking it in.

"Wow, that's…" She took in a breath.

"... not really much of a surprise." Abigail let out a laugh.

His head snapped back to look at her again. "What?" Sebastian stared at her in confusion. "How- how did you-" He watched as she shrugged. "Dude, you're so predictable! I was gonna guess if it was Luna you're asking out! But it's kinda rude to guess someone's crush like that so-"

"Abby, how did you know?" Sebastian shoved his hands into his pockets, his face burning up more. Abigail just stared at him blankly.

"Sebastian…" She shook her head and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Oh, sweet, oblivious, Sebastian…" the woman let out a sigh. "How can you be so oblivious to what you do? Mr. 'Of course, Luna! Of course I'll step outside into the sun for you!'." She said in a mocking tone while clasping her hands together.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I do not act like that." He smacked her on the shoulder gently. She scoffed with a grin, "You sure? It really seems like that to me!"

Abigail rolled her eyes before putting her hands on her hips. "What kind of flowers does she like?"

"I… Don't know." He said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as Abigail just stared at him blankly.

"You… Don't know?" She stared at him for a second before walking over and picking up a rose bouquet. "What about this? It's pretty, isn't it?" She lifted it towards him as he backed away.

"I dunno… Isn't that a bit… Cliché?" He gently pushed it away as she let out another sigh. "Dude, she won't care! If she feels the same way then she'll just accept it and make out with you or something! She's not gonna throw it on the floor and stomp on it while going on about how 'This didn't even cost 10,000G, I don't want it'!"

Abigail placed the bouquet back before picking up another one, this one being a bouquet of daisies and holding it out towards Sebastian, "How about this one?" She watched as he scrunched his nose. "That feels too childish." Abigail scoffed and placed it back. "Seriously? Seb, she's not gonna care, she's not picky!"

"But I want there to still be thought put into it!" He watched as Abigail took a closer look at the selection. "Kinda hard to put thought into it when you don't even like them, Sebastian…" She muttered as she grabbed a bouquet of mixed flowers. Sebastian stared at it for a second before opening his mouth again. "Oh, what is it this time." Abigail said with an exasperated tone.

"Isn't it a bit… much??"

"... What is that even supposed to mean."

Sebastian gestured to the flowers as she looked down at it as well. "I dunno, it just feels really… Fancy? Like- That's not something I'd get for a confession, probably more so an anniversary or something- It's a special occasion bouquet."

Abigail blinked at him.

"Why are you acting like you know anything about flowers?" She placed the bouquet back into its spot, "Although I guess you are right," She ran a hand through her vibrant hair, "It does seem like it’s a bit much."

They both let out a sigh as the bell above the door rang, footsteps entered the building as Abigail and Sebastian continued to stare at the flowers in front of them.

Pierre said his usual greeting which was then met by a chipper: "Hey! Do you guys have some cleaner in stock? Mom wanted me to grab some, she just ran out."

Wait… Is that-

"Ah, I believe we do! It should be near the back. Tell Jodi that Caroline and I say hi, okay Sam?"

God damnit.

"Sure thing!" Sam's voice sounded like it got closer as footsteps got closer, Sebastian pulled his hood up and held onto the edges tightly, there was no possible chance of that working, but he did not want Sam seeing his face right now. Maybe there was a tiny chance that the cleaner was closer to Sam than he thought, and Sam might not see him.

Abigail saw his tense body and stressed expression as she giggled lightly before walking closer to the flowers and gesturing to some, before looking at Sebastian and raising an eyebrow.

Sebastian shook his head as his lips squeezed together.

"Hey, whatcha up to?"

A pair of hands that belonged to the voice latched onto his shoulders.

Sebastian flinched hard and quickly turned around, stumbling backwards and almost bumping into the flower display as his eyes met with Sam's expression, a massive grin on the man’s face while his eyes gleamed at catching his best friend looking at flowers. (It was actually more likely that he was just amused that he startled Sebastian more than anything else.)

"GOD- You can't just- Sam–! What is your problem!?" Sebastian shoved Sam's shoulder as Sam started laughing, Abigail's laugh quickly followed. "You gotta admit, Seb," She started up, "That was kinda funny!"

"No it wasn't!" He buried his head in his hands, his face felt like it was on fire.

Sam walked closer to Sebastian as his grin got wider, "Dude, do you have any idea how suspicious you look right now?" He gestured his hand towards Sebastian's outfit, "You're wearing all black with your hood up while looking at flowers- If Mayor Lewis saw you he'd probably think you were about to play another prank!" He let out another laugh while Sebastian glared at him through his fingers.

"What are you even doing here? I thought you hated these things!" Sam tilted his head before it sank in. "Wait…" His eyes widened as he let out a gasp, "Don't tell me-!" Sam looked at Abigail for confirmation as she nodded with a grin on her face. "Our precious lil' Sebby's in looove!" She wrapped her arms around Sebastian and gave him a squeeze. Sebastian groaned and pushed her away while she continued to laugh.

"No it's- That's not-!" Sebastian tried to argue but got abruptly cut off by Sam giving him a tight hug, "Holy shit, Seb! Who's this lucky person who gets to date your anxiety riddled ass?" Sam asked him with a gleam in his eye.

Sebastian pushed Sam away before thinking it over for a second. He considered lying right then and there but then he remembered that he just told Abigail and he knew she'd call him out on lying right to Sam's face.

Plus if he lied to Sam and got caught, Sam would act all dramatic and try to use it as a way to guilt Sebastian into buying Joja-Colas for him again.

And he didn't feel like wasting his money like that.

Sebastian stared at Sam for a few seconds, seeing how Sam's eyes sparkled in anticipation before finally speaking up. "I'm… I'm going to ask out Luna."

Sam let out a gasp, his left hand covering his mouth as his eyes widened in shock, while his right found its way onto Abigail's shoulder to keep himself stable.

"Wow, Seb! Luna? You're… gonna ask her out??" Sam's hand lowered from his mouth to rest on his chest as if he were in shock, the grin on his mouth saying otherwise. "Yeah I already knew that."

Seriously!?

"Wh- How the fuck did you both know?" Sebastian finally put his hood back down and crossed his arms as Sam and Abigail both laughed. "Sebastian we've known for so long– It's so obvious that it'd kinda be sad if we didn't!" Sam gave his friend a pat on the shoulder as Sebastian scoffed. "What do you mean 'it's obvious'? No it wasn't!" He rolled his eyes, "How long did you two even know?"

"About three months."

"What're you talking about? I've only liked her like that for one month!"

Silence filled the room as Sam and Abigail stared in shock before they both burst out with hysterical laughter again. "Holy shit!" Sam gasped for air, "We knew you had a thing for Luna before you did!" He leaned against Abigail for support again as Abigail laughed as well. "Oh my god!" She wiped tears from her eyes, "When you two get together I'm so telling her about this!".

"Like hell you are! And- And besides! She might reject me, so there's no guarantee that we'll start dating!" Sebastian scrunched his nose as Sam only started laughing harder, "Dude! No way you can't see how into you she is!"

Sam clasped his hands as he then began to do his best impression of Luna. "Why- Sebastian! Of course I'll listen to you ramble about coding when I know absolutely nothing about it! Of course I'll watch these gorey movies with you despite hating horror with a passion! Oh Sebastiannn! There's no other seats available by the fire! Can I sit next to you in a way where we’re really close togetherrr?"

Sebastian watched, unamused as ever, as Abigail then joined in. Making sure to move her bangs to mimic his hairstyle by covering one eye as she lowered her voice. "Why, of course, Luna! Luna, would you like to practice the flower dance routine with me despite the fact I hate it with a passion? Yes of course we can play some games on my TV, Luna! We're gonna have to sit on my bed though– Hey Luna, do you need any help around the farm despite the fact I burn easily and I hate being outside and would never help my other friends like this?"

They both laughed as Sebastian grabbed a nearby newspaper and rolled it up, whacking them on the head with it, "Okay, okay, god. I get it. Knock it off."

Sam cleared his throat, "Anyway– I'm more surprised you're actually going with the traditional way of asking someone out in town. You didn't really seem like the type." Sebastian shrugged as he looked back to the flowers, "I mean, I didn't even consider the tradition for asking her out. I just knew she loved flowers, so I was trying to pick out a bouquet of her favorites…" He pursed his lips again, why couldn't he just remember the damned flower's name!?

"Buut…" Abigail spoke up for him, "The thing is, he forgot what her favorites were, so now I'm trying to help him at least pick out one that's at least something she'd like,". Sam's mouth formed an 'o' as he looked at the flowers as well.

"... Welllll- I don't know her favorites either, but I can help!" Sam gave him a grin and a pat on the back, "It can't be that hard! Just- Get a bunch of flowers that seem like something she'd be into! That's not that difficult, right?" He walked over to the display and opened his mouth to speak. "Wait- Sam, no-!" Abigail gasped as Sam quickly turned away whilst sneezing. Abigail quickly dragged him further away from the flowers as he dug through his pocket for a tissue. Sebastian grimaced as Sam blew his nose.

"Yeah, uh… Thanks for the offer, but maybe you shouldn't be anywhere near those." Sebastian gave him a pat on the shoulder as Sam nodded. "Good idea." Sam walked further back and gave them a thumbs up. "I'll just send encouraging thoughts from this corner!". Abigail gave him a thumbs up in return before turning her attention back to Sebastian.

"Alright, plan B time." She lifted up a manual Pierre left laying near the flowers as she smiled at Sebastian. "Dad left this list of flower names here, so how about I read out the names and you'll see if you can recognize them from what she told you!". Sebastian and Sam both stared at the girl, which she only responded with a scoff as she put it back down, "Well, I dunno how else you expect to remember it!" She crossed her arms while Sebastian went back to staring at the flowers.

Sam hesitated before walking over again. "Hey, what about those?" He pointed towards a bouquet of tulips, "I'm pretty sure I've seen those around her farm before, so she's gotta at least like them, right?" Sam watched as Sebastian shook his head, the blonde's shoulders slacking as he let out a groan. "Sebastian, you can't seriously be acting this picky when you don't even know what she likes!"

"But I want her to really love it!" Sebastian ran a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. He could really go for a smoke right about now… Sebastian looked up at his friends again, watching as they both stared at him, realizing just how important this was for him, before their expressions softened.

Sam's eyes scanned his face before giving him a smile, "Okay… I get it, this is important to you. How about you pick something based on what she likes? Like- What's her favorite color?" Sam asked, picking up the flower list Abigail set down a while back.

"I'm not sure…" Sebastian stared blankly ahead of him, "I never really do small talk so I've never asked her anything like; 'hey what's your favorite color?'," He shrugged as Abigail hummed, "Well… She always wears that top that has pink and blue on it, maybe her favorite colors are those?".

Sam nodded, looking at the bouquets with a small frown, "Well that'd be a safe bet, but there aren't really any bouquets with both of those colors," He pointed to some, "A lot are just pink but there's not that many blue ones, let alone pink and blue."

They all stood there in silence for a bit, all thinking it over.

Abigail let out a gasp as she snapped her fingers, "I got it!" She grinned at the two, now confused, men as she walked over to grab two bouquets.

"How about I pick out two random bouquets, and then you can tell me which ones that you think Luna would most likely love more! Then, I can put the other one back and pick out another!" She said with confidence, "It's an elimination game!"

Sebastian and Sam glanced at each other before shrugging. "Sure, I guess that'll work." Sebastian said as he watched the purple haired girl quickly grab two bouquets before turning around and presenting them.

"Tadaaa!" She held out the bouquets as Sebastian looked at them. One of them looked to be a light pink Fairy Rose bouquet. He swore he recognized it from Luna's farm last year, she must've grown it back then around her farmhouse. The other bouquet were mostly Sunflowers, with a few smaller flowers that he didn't know the names of.

Sebastian thought about it for a second before pointing to the Fairy Rose, "I think she'd like those more." He watched as Abigail nodded and placed the sunflowers back.

Huh, maybe this might actually be the plan that works.

Sebastian watched as Abigail grabbed another bouquet, this one being way more vibrant than even the sunflowers.

"What even are those??" Sebastian raised an eyebrow to her as she turned back and looked at the name above the price. "Uhhh," she squinted her eyes, "Tiger Lilies." She turned back to him.

Sebastian paused, his brain trying to remember where he heard that name from, did she mention it before?

Oh wait-

Sebastian watched as Luna tended to her flowers. "So," He watched as she looked up at him before he continued, "Any idea on what flowers you're gonna plant next?" He asked as she stood up, wiping the dirt on her hands off on her apron.

"Ah, not yet… I wanted to plant these pretty flowers that grew outside my old apartment building, Tiger Lilies, but it turns out that they're poisonous to cats! And I don't wanna risk harm with Solar since she wanders out here frequently to nap with the chickens." She sighed as she wiped the sweat off her cheek, "I didn't know Lilies were poisonous to cats… Did you? It's such a shame too! They're so pretty…"

He definitely shouldn't get the bouquet of Lilies for her then.

Sebastian grimaced, "Yeah no- That'd be a horrible choice." He watched as Abigail tilted her head, looking back at the Lilies. "Really? I thought she'd like these."

"She told me that Lilies are poisonous to cats."

"Oh shit– really?"

"Yeah."

Sebastian watched as Abigail quickly put the bouquet back. "Yeah I uh- don't think she'd like it if you killed her cat." Sam patted Sebastian's shoulder. Sebastian flicked his hand away, "Wow really? You don't say." He stuffed his hands back into his pockets as Abigail picked out another bouquet. At least they were getting somewhere with this plan.

Ding!

The trio tensed up, their heads quickly snapping to look at who entered the store, just hoping it wasn't Luna.

"Ah, hello Evelyn!" Pierre's voice rang out.

They all let out a sigh of relief as Evelyn walked past, most likely not even noticing the trio. Abigail twirled a piece of her hair with her fingers, "Wow, we all just kinda tensed up there huh?" She laughed as Sam spoke up, "Yeah," He scratched the back of his neck, "I didn't think I was gonna freeze up like that! Thank god it wasn't Luna though, she definitely would've noticed us."

Abigail turned to go pick out another bouquet again as she continued to speak, "I completely forgot that it's around this time that Evelyn comes in to get seeds for the community garden around this time, I might need to go help her out if she needs certain things. Sam, can you step in for me if that happens?" She asked as Sam grimaced.

Wait a second…

"Abby, do you want me to sneeze on all the flowers or something?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes at her as she laughed, "It would be kinda funny!" She shrugged as Sam gawked, "No it wouldn't!".

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Sebastian quickly left his two friends behind as he walked over to Evelyn. "Hi Evelyn." He waved to the old woman as she smiled at him, "Ah! Hello, Sebastian! What brings you out here?" She asked as he nervously fidgeted with the fabric of his hoodie again. "Ah- Well, uh… I was hoping to get a gift for Luna, since she's done so much for everyone in town! And, um-" He picked at the skin by his nails as he continued to speak, "I wanted to give her some flowers… But I don't really uh- know what she likes… So, I was just wondering if you knew, since I know you two talk a lot." He stumbled with his words as he felt his throat tighten up. God, he did not enjoy talking with people.

Evelyn nodded understandingly as she gave it a thought, "Ah… I think she's mentioned to me that she loves Carnations, Fairy Roses too. They were her grandmother's favorites as well, funnily enough!" The woman sighed happily as she reminisced, "Ah, I remember when Mariana would tell me all about those two flowers… Maybe I should plant those when they're back in season?" She shook her head gently before turning her attention back to Sebastian.

"I think if you gave her some Carnations, she'd absolutely adore it," She gave him a smile as she gently took his hands.

"She's a very kind woman, she takes after her grandmother a lot… So make sure not to break her heart, alright dear?" She gave him another smile before letting go of his hands and walking away to go to the seed aisle.

Sebastian stood there for a second, blinking twice as his mind went blank.

Was everyone seriously more aware about how he felt more than him?

He let out a sigh before walking back over to the bouquets and taking a look at the names, ignoring Sam and Abigail watching him as they whispered between each other. His eyes scanned the rows as they finally landed on what he was interested in.

White Carnations.

He took a deep breath before picking it up and looking at it closer. Making sure the petals weren't wilted and that it looked perfect, he stared at it again.

It looked…

Bland.

He didn't really know much about flowers but even he knew that it didn't really have anything impressive with it all being white.

Abigail must've sensed his disappointment as she spoke up gently, "Ah… Seb? If you want, then uh- We can actually make it more custom by adding in the Fairy Rose that we looked at earlier. The pink might add a nice contrast to the white!" She took the bouquet from his hands and placed both down on a nearby table before pausing, her lips pursed. "I'll have to go get my mom to do this, she makes all the arrangements anyway, but it shouldn't take long! And it won't cost extra!" She said as she quickly ran off, leaving the two men standing there.

Sam cleared his throat and turned to Sebastian. "So… ah…" He rocked back and forth on his heels, "When are you gonna ask her out?" He watched as Sebastian shifted, his eyes fixated on the bouquets. "I'm… I'm not sure. She seems really busy, I kinda forgot how busy she gets during this season so I might just ask her out during one of our hangouts at her house?" He shrugged, Sam stared at him.

"Wait- How frequently do you two hang out again?"

"I dunno, every saturday night?"

"... And... what do you two usually do?" He watched as Sebastian shrugged, "We usually just watch a couple of movies and talk about whatever." He paused before speaking up again, "Actually, it's more like I watch the movies. She usually ends up falling asleep midway through and I'm just stuck there because she's using me as a pillow or something."

Sebastian looked to his friend, who looked very amused by what was told to him.

"Sebastian. Are you sure you weren't having dates?" Sam tilted his head, a grin slowly creeping its way onto his face.

The two of them stared at each other, Sebastian's face getting warmer and warmer by the second before he broke eye contact and stared at the ground. "Sam, why are you still here?" Sam shrugged as he waved to Caroline, who was following Abigail over. "I'm here as moral support for my best friend." He said, as if it were obvious, "Plus, it's kinda funny."

"Well you're doing a pretty bad job at being moral support." Sebastian ignored Sam's offended gasp as he looked up and waved to Caroline as well as she smiled at the two before taking a look at the flowers.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do with this, it'll probably take at the very most ten minutes. Sebastian, do you want to watch and see if you like the arrangements?" She asked as she took the flowers out of the paper and pulled out a fresh sheet for the new arrangement, placing it down in a temporary vase and carefully placing the flowers in one by one. Sebastian stayed silent as he watched, giving a nod if Caroline asked his opinion on how it was going as Sam and Abigail just stayed further back, talking between themselves.

After a bit of careful placement, the bouquet was soon done. Caroline pulled it out of the vase and wrapped it in fresh paper before handing it over to Sebastian. "Alright, how do you like that? Do you need any adjustments to the flowers?" She brushed her hands off on her skirt as he looked it over, a very slight smile grazing his lips. "I think this is good… Thanks."

Caroline gave him a smile, "Of course," hummed as she started cleaning up her workspace, "Oh! Pierre will probably tell you this when you're checking out, but these bouquets will stay fresh and good looking for about a week. After a week, they'll start to wilt. It most likely won't be noticeable until about two days after the week is over, give or take, but you'd still better hurry and give the bouquet to Luna before it wilts. Of course, it will last longer in water if you have a vase for it at home. That'd probably be the best option if you do."

Sebastian nodded as she spoke, "Yeah, okay… I'll be sure to- … wait what-" Sebastian's mind went blank as he processed what she said about Luna as she only smiled and walked back into her house. Sebastian turned to Sam.

"Sam. Be honest with me."

"Hm?" Sam turned his attention from Abigail to Sebastian, noticing the man's embarrassed expression.

"By, 'it's so obvious that you're into Luna', exactly how obvious do you mean?"

Sam shrugged, "I dunno, it was just kinda just- there- Like, when you'd text me at around midnight asking me what you should respond to her text with when you normally don't care much about your responses," He continued to explain, "And whenever she'd walk into the room and go over to you you'd immediately start smiling and you'd listen to every single thing she says. You'd also do things like offer your umbrella or jacket if it was raining or if it were cold."

Sam watched as Sebastian's expression softened before starting up again, "It's a bunch of little things, but I think everyone can kinda tell how happy she makes you. Plus, you've even commented a few times on how you feel more energized when she's around," He ran a hand through his blonde hair as Sebastian's grip on the flowers tightened. "Do you…" He hesitated, "Do you really think she feels the same way?" He asked as his eyes bore into the flowers.

Sebastian felt a hand place itself on his shoulder as he looked up and met eyes with Sam, who gave him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, from what I can tell, she's just as into you as you’re into her." He grinned as Sebastian took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'll figure out how to tell her when I get home." Sebastian watched as his two friends high fived. "Fuck yeah, dude!" Sam wrapped his arms around Sebastian, careful to not crush the flowers, "You've got this!".

Abigail laughed while watching the two, "Look at you, Seb!" She grinned at him, "Making the first move! Ah- You really are all grown up! It brings a tear to my eye!" She wiped away a fake tear as Sebastian finally laughed, feeling more confident now compared to how he felt just a few minutes ago, "Come on… This isn't that big of a deal." He pushed Sam away as Sam shook his head, "It is, though! Just think of it, Sebastian. You and Luna, living on that farm, maybe with some kids-"

Sebastian quickly cut him off with a whack to the forehead, rolling his eyes as Sam only grinned at him, "You're a bit ahead of yourself there. We'll probably just test out dating before doing anything official yet, let alone talk about kids." He watched as Sam shrugged, "You never knoww-! Ow!" Sam rubbed the back of his head, shooting a glare at the woman who slapped his arm, who only smiled at him before turning her attention to Sebastian. "He's probably only this excited because we placed a bet on who'd confess first and he's winning right now, don't mind him!" She said as she started to push Sebastian over towards the checkout.

"You what??" Sebastian watched as Abigail dismissed him by waving her hand, "Nothing, nothing!"

She led him over to the counter before giving him a quick hug "Good luck, Sebastian," She smiled before running back over to Sam.

Sebastian only let out a nervous sigh as he placed the bouquet on the countertop. Pierre scanned the bouquet before looking at Sebastian, "Is that all you'll be buying?". Sebastian only nodded, his throat feeling too tight to speak. Everything sounded muffled as the nerves finally set in on what he was doing, he could somewhat make out that Pierre was telling him about how to take care of the flowers. Luckily Caroline already told him about that, otherwise he'd definitely not know what to do since he practically zoned out whatever Pierre was saying.

"That'll be 200G."

Sebastian paused, processing what was said before pulling out his card and swiping it through the scanner as Pierre cleared his throat, catching his attention. "If you'd like, I can put the bouquet in a bag so it's more discreet," He offered. Sebastian stood there for a second, thinking it over before nodding, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Thanks.".

Pierre nodded as he carefully placed the bouquet in a bag before handing it over to Sebastian, "Good luck." Pierre waved goodbye to him as Sebastian walked out the door, passing by Abigail and Sam without saying a word. The sun immediately glaring down on him as he squinted, looking around to see if Luna was around.

He took a deep breath before taking the long walk back to his house. Hoping that Luna wasn't there to buy something from his mom.

The walk home was uneventful, by the time he arrived his mom already closed down the shop so there was no way Luna would've been there which he was definitely thankful for, as he was able to sneak back into his room unnoticed.

He placed the bag with the bouquet under his desk as he then collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes as he just laid there.

He pursed his lips together as his eyes stared straight into the wall, his mind racing as it all sank in.

He was going to confess to her.

Sebastian felt his face heating up, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it more.

What if she rejected him?

What if she didn’t want to be friends anymore?

Has he just been getting the wrong signals?

What if-

DING!

Sebastian rolled onto his back as his hand dug through his pocket and pulled out his phone, flipping it open, his eyes focused as he saw the notification.

1 NEW MESSAGE

He paused, assuming it was Sam, before opening up his texts and seeing who it was.

Luna.

Perfect timing as ever.

He paused before opening her text message, there was an image attached.

'Look!! Solar has me trapped :c'

The image attached showed a blurry picture of a small blonde kitten laying on Luna's shoulder, her face is barely visible from the top corner but his eyes could make out that she was smiling. As Sebastian processed what was happening another text was sent.

'She's never done this before! I think she finally likes me :D You're no longer gonna be her favorite person anymore!! hehe >:3'

He smiled as he quickly typed back to her,

'It's not my fault that she just likes me more than you, I'm not the one who tries to give her baths.'

He his arm fell limply to the side of his head as the phone began buzzing again, must've struck a nerve with that, he laughed as his other arm draped itself over his eyes.

His mind started to wander, thinking about his concerns about confessing to Luna. Why was he getting so worked up about this?

Why this of all things?

He was never one to hesitate over taking risks.

He bought his motorcycle on a whim when he was seventeen and he pierced the majority of his piercings by himself. All those worked out just fine (except his first piercing, which did get infected.) So why was he so worried about this?

He pursed his lips, his empty hand tightly being curled into a fist.

The worst she could do is say no, and even then, it probably wouldn't be a harsh rejection either. She's a nice person, she wouldn't be hurtful about it.

Sebastian turned his head and stared at the phone in his hand as he thought about what Sam said to him earlier about Luna feeling the same way.

He did have a feeling that she was getting a crush on someone, but maybe he should see if he could question her a bit on it just to make sure before he screwed anything up. He considered himself decently observant despite what his friends said. He was sure that he’d be able to tell what her reactions meant to certain things he'd do.

He took a deep breath as he moved his arm so his phone was hovering over his face and started typing without a second thought. His thumb hit send without even reading it over so he wouldn’t get second thoughts as his eyes bore into the screen ahead of him.

'Hey, do you want to hang out tomorrow? If you're not busy, that is.'

He stared at the message, his brain screaming at him for actually going ahead with the plan he so messily came up with.

What were the chances she’d say yes? She’s very busy with her farm this season, so there’s no way that–

DING!

'Yeah sure!! I should be done with my work around the afternoon like usual, should I come over then?'

'Yeah.'

Sebastian quickly threw his phone to the opposite side of his bed as he shoved his face into a pillow, his face felt like it was on fire. His hands buried themselves in his hair as he cursed himself out, silently thanking the fact that his pillow muffled him.

He lifted his head, his eyes staring at the bag with the bouquet in it as it sat there taunting him. He felt as if this was one of the biggest risks he's ever taken in his entire life. He didn't want to screw this up and lose her as a friend.

But with the off chance that she might like him back the way he liked her,

Then maybe this was a risk worth taking.

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yanderes-galore · 11 months

Note

If you still do prompts can you Xenomorph queen prompt 43.)

I know only Xenomorph Queen Mothers are psychic but... I'll alter things for this fic. My prompts were used. Sorry if the plot felt everywhere :( Here's some more Xenomorph content <3

Yandere! Xenomorph Queen Prompt 43

"Won't you be a good pet for me?"

Pairing: Romantic/Animal/Pet-Like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Xenomorph/Human, Telepathy, Dream manipulation, Manipulation, Violence, Murder, Forced "relationship", Mind control.

"Queens are physically and even telepathically capable... They can also penetrate the minds of humans, using emotional attachments and promises of love and affection to lure them to their dooms."

---

You shoot out of your makeshift bed, breathing deep and heavy. Sweat drips down your back like you've just had a nightmare. You look around, only to see fellow marines staring at you.

"Another nightmare?" One asks. You give them a wary look before nodding.

"It's the strangest thing... I hear this voice- I never hear who it's coming from but it's always calling out to me...." You try to recall the dream, hearing another marine laugh.

"What? Is this some sort of prophecy dream? Get ahold of yourself." They mutter.

"You may just be jumpy from having to fight all these Xenomorphs. Speaking of which, we have an expedition into a nest today." Another marine agrees, passing your stuff to you. "Enough rest, we have people to save."

"I hope you're right..." You sigh. You weren't sure what all these dreams were meaning yet you were growing more and more scared. At first... things were small.

You'd go to sleep, then you'd hear a voice. It's always a voice of someone familiar yet foreign, mimicking those you know. It's female... yet fluctuates in pitch. You never quite see who... or what... is talking to you.

It all sounds so surreal when it happens.

First it was just voices. Then it was monsters, all depictions of aliens and the foreign creatures you fight. Then you'd see depictions of... unsavory dreams of pleasure. Deep down... you feel something is messing with your head.

Whatever it is wants to make you feel fear... yet pleasure. It likes to play with your dreams, your thoughts, your mind. Despite not knowing exactly what it is... it strikes fear within you.

Dreams are just dreams... aren't they?

If that's the case, there's no need to worry. Carefully, you get up, suit up, and gather your supplies.

As you prepare yourself for yet another bug hunt, you can't help but think back to your strange dreams...

Maybe it was something more sinister... maybe soon you'd find out what you truly should be scared of.

---

The human mind is fragile. It's easy to mold and influence with just a little psychic ability. This Xenomorph Queen is rather skilled in the field. Manipulating prey aided her nest.

All she had to do was promise them love. Humans follow affection and positive stimuli. Deep down they truly were primal like her.

Her drones had told her that a group of humans were breaching the nest. This had driven the Queen to manipulate the mind of one of them. At first it was just to draw you in closer, to make you a new host for one of her many children.

Then... the Queen got "word" of you from another drone. You're fierce, yet submissive when cornered like most humans. Her abilities had influenced you carefully.

If she lured you in... she'd get the other humans easily.

She influenced your thoughts in many ways. Fear... pleasure... a deep yearning for the voice in your head. She found it amusing to play with a human's mind.

While she mostly plagued your thoughts for manipulation... she could see your own thoughts and memories. That's how the Queen learned of your appearance and personality. Your were an interesting human... yet her thoughts still thought of you as prey.

Cute prey, but prey nonetheless.

The Queen kept a close eye on you to determine where your group is in her nest. One by one... she planned to pick you all off. She'd send drone after drone towards you... taking you humans in deep to her nest.

Although... she wants to keep you for last.

You're the best human out of the group... a pet following her carefully place instructions deep in your mind...

You should be honored to meet her once the rest fade away.

---

Your head did nothing but hurt. It wasn't just when you were sleeping anymore, now you always felt like you heard whispers in your head. Not only that but the xenomorphs were relentless.

Any inch of progress you made with your group into the nest was beat down multiple times. You kept losing person after person to the never-ending alien menace. Soon you wondered if there would be anyone left?

There was only two other people on the team except you now.

"Aren't you scared?" The voice in your head whispers. You're either insane... or this is some new phenomenon. "Those who've died aren't worth it. They're weak. Unlike you...."

You want the voice to stop, It isn't real, is it? As if to answer, the voice replies.

"I chose you for a reason. I want to give you a chance at a new life. Just follow my instructions and I'll make it worth your while."

'No.' You say mentally.

"Really? I promise if you give in you'll be treated to nothing but love. You'll love it here."

'What are you?' You think, were you asking yourself or it?

"A superior being." The voice responds. You hear its voice exude confidence, it's teasing. "You'll join me... I can promise you that, human."

For once, the voice the grows silent. You try to think on what the voice means. A distant thought clicks in your head... could it be?

Xenomorphs didn't have this power, did they?

You shake the thought from your head and continue deep into the hive with your remaining crew. This was not a loss yet.... The Queen heard your thoughts loud and clear, but said nothing.

She only grinned with a hiss.

You humans catch on quick, don't you?

---

It was going to happen at some point. You were bound to run out of ammo. Your partners, maybe even you, were bound to die. All you wanted to do was look for an exit.

But you're so far in.

Everyone's dead but don't you want to go in deeper?

Did you have a choice? You either died here, or you died there. The voice lures you closer... encouraging you to be brave. You couldn't trust it...

But there wasn't much else you could do.

You thought the lack of hostility from the aliens around you was strange. Just earlier you were blasting through them and you'd think if they knew you were out of ammo they'd pounce? Yet nothing happens... there's only chittering and the occasional skittering of the creatures.

Your legs didn't feel like your own when you walked. You kept walking further, getting deeper and deeper. You even cast aside your gun... it's empty anyway.

Confused chitters greet your ears. The voice coos to you and reassures you they aren't hostile. How would it know?

How else would it know unless it was a Xenomorph itself?

Your were doomed from the start. The moment you got on this expedition, the moment you heard the voice, your fate was here. You were meant to be deep in this nest. You were meant to give yourself to the voice.

You were meant to meet the hulking monster deep in the hive, towering over you with a hissing mouth.

You feel fear. You see this creature, a Queen, and want to run. You know you shouldn't be here... yet at the same time you feel you should be. At the same time you tell yourself to run, the voice tells you to stay.

Its voice... the creature's voice... deep down in your mind.

The hulking creature beckons you closer. The voice feels grating against your mind and you follow. When you stand in front of the Queen...

You swear it smiles at you. In response to your fear, the voice only says one thing.

"Won't you be a good pet for me?"

#yandere alien vs predator #yandere alien #yandere xenomorph #yandere xenomorph queen #yandere teratophilia #yandere alien/human #yandere aliens

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liviusofpella · 7 months

Text

Moonflowers

Pairing: Tyril x f!human!MC (Reyna)

Book: Blades of Light and Shadow 2, chapter 4

Word count: 1800

Rating: E (minors, DNI)

Category: smut

Warnings: none other than the filth

Synopsis: Tyril and Reyna share a steamy moment at the docks.

A/n: I felt betrayed we didn’t get an actual steamy scene, so I wrote it myself. I will also lock myself up in horny jail, don't worry. @choicesprompts SMUTEMBER prompt no. 9: “hard and fast.”

Tag list: @cashweasel @watatsumi-island @sophie-summer @lilyoffandoms @brycesgirl @agattthaa @megas-choices @mila-bee @secret-fungi @erixafleur @choicesficwriterscreations @choicesbookclub

"Get a room, you two!"

Smiling into each other's mouths, Tyril and Reyna did not break their kiss apart despite their friend's attempts to separate them by splashing them with the hot bathhouse water.

"You are disgustingly adorable," Imtura laughed, sending the last wave towards Tyril's face.

Nia wiped the water off her face and added: "I'm just glad that two of my best friends are so happy together."

Chuckling, Reyna splashed Mal who kept teasing her and Tyril about the public display of affection, and soon the water battle was yet again in full swing. Taking advantage of the group’s distraction, Reyna whispered into Tyril’s ear to follow her and, having grabbed his hand, pulled him outside using the back entrance. The view that stretched before them was almost as breathtaking as the one they remembered from their cruise on Imtura’s ship. The moon reflected in the bay’s calm water, inviting the bravest of souls for a nightly dip, patiently waiting, masking its treacherous nature.

“It’s lovely tonight,” Tyril stated as they sat down on the cold wooden pier. The stars twinkled happily in the black sky, smiling at the affectionate couple, while the ocean water sang its soothing melody as it crashed against the coastline rhythmically. Searching for the right words, they both shuffled uncomfortably until Reyna disturbed the silence.

“What are you thinking about?”

“That it’s odd when dreams come true,” he replied upon a moment of consideration and only then turned his head left, giving his partner the most affectionate gaze she’d ever seen. Reyna felt heat accumulate in her cheeks. “I knew you were alive, Reyna. But I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. And that changed me,” he took her hand into his, and his face fell. “Where do we go from here?”

“That depends… What do you want?”

“You. Always, you. No matter what.”

The corners of her lips raised up. He said that without as much as a second of cogitation, so confident, so smitten. “Then I think… we take it from there. One step at a time. And this is my first step.”

She drew him closer, tilting her head as his mouth met hers. It was to be a short, gentle kiss, nothing more than a touch of their lips, but as the seconds passed their kisses grew deeper, wilder, hungrier, and Reyna felt her head grow dizzy from the intensity of his passion, his smell, possibly the lack of oxygen. Allowing Tyril to lower her onto the wooden boards, Reyna twined her fingers in his long dark hair, pulling at them ever so slightly to draw quiet moans from the back of his throat. She could swear he tasted like moonflowers, crisp, cold air, and sharpened steel, and that thought invoked a painful thought—has he always tasted like this or is it new? Had she forgotten? Overcome with sorrow, she pulled away, biting her lip. Sorrow, that dissipated the second she saw the stars flicker in his eyes and his soft smile, the one reserved only for her.

"That's a nice first step."

Reyna ran the tip of her tongue across her lower lip, yearning to taste him one more time, and smiled when he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His eyes were like an open book for those who knew how to read it—and in the relatively short period of time she'd known him, she believed she already learned to do that. The playful glint, the cocky grin, and his heaving chest were telling her he wanted more.

"I hope you're ready for the second," she smiled, humour sparkling in her eyes, as she pulled him in for another fierce kiss, straddling his mostly bare legs. Tyril wrapped her in an embrace, shamelessly sliding his hand to grip her bottom, drawing a contented sigh from the woman who, emboldened by his eagerness, began rocking her hips, rubbing her most intimate part against his hardening length.

“I bet you thought of this at least a few times in my absence,” she whispered against his lips, feeling a familiar wave of excitement between her legs.

“Approximately every other day,” he heaved, his hand expertly unclasping her bra and tossing it behind them. Reyna continued her teasing, sliding her tongue against his as his fingers explored her breasts, possibly his favourite part of her body.

“Did you take care of yourself?”

Flushed and heaving, he responded in kind to her kiss, only stopping to bite and pull her lower lip, occasionally sucking on her tongue. Reyna smirked at his violet blush and the look of pure bliss on his face. “Sometimes.”

“How did it feel?”

The elf sucked in a sharp breath as her lips closed around his nipple and her fingers curled around his length. “Not nearly half as good as you.”

Licking her lips, she smiled coquettishly and lowered his underwear, exposing him entirely. “Let me reward your patience, then,” she purred.

Wasting no time, she lowered herself and slid her tongue across his tip teasingly, excitedly awaiting his reaction. “Yár ghven," he cursed. Satisfied with the result, she teased the pinkish tip, swirling her tongue across the place he wanted her the most, giving him a lazy stroke every once in a while.

“You look so beautiful like this.”

“Same to you,” he responds, breathing heavily, and gently pushes her away. “However, I believe it’s enough foreplay.”

Tyril tugged her underwear in one fluid motion, almost ripping the material, and tossed it aside, his hand wasting no time as his dexterous fingers rubbed her centre, hard, pressing the exact spot she needed him at. “We do not have much time, I’m afraid,” his husky voice rang in her ears, and she nodded, eager to agree to anything he’d ask of her.

“Let’s make it quick, then,” she purred, giving his tip a few rubs before Tyril ordered her to get on all fours—a command she obediently fulfilled. Positioning himself behind, he teased her wet entrance with his middle finger.

“May I?”

She nodded repetitively and bit her lip, letting out only a quiet cry as he pushed the finger in, stretching her impatiently. Forced to bite her own fingers in a desperate attempt not to make noise, she squealed as she felt his tongue flicking against her wet button.

“Please, please, I need you ins—” she cried, and within seconds the sweet feeling of impletion overwhelmed her mind, ripping a prolonged moan from her throat, one that blended with Tyril’s groan. Arching her back, Reyna pressed her bottom into her partner’s pelvis and rolled her hips, desperate to dictate the rhythm that would bring both of them the sweet release; alas, Tyril had something else in mind. He bent over her back to cup her breast, burying himself into the hilt in her, squeezing and massaging the flesh before teasing her salient nipple between his fingers, all the while stroking her love bud with the other hand.

Overstimulated would be one word for what Reyna felt. However, what she was confident about was that biting off her moans was pointless since the possible audience would at least hear Tyril—thus, weak in the knees, she did the only thing she could in her current position—guide Tyril’s hand and instruct how much pressure she needed him to apply.

“Gods,” she gasped as he angled his hips perfectly, hitting the exact spot she wanted him to reach.

The sound of their bodies meeting flowed through the night, time after time, followed by snatchy gasps, and shameless moans. Sweat dampened their skin, streaming down their bodies between the dips and mounds, to finally soak into the pier's boards.

A surprised yelp involuntarily escaped her lips when Tyril pulled away, leaving a hollowness in his wake, yet before she could protest the elf turned her over and pushed her to her back, spread out her legs and slid all the way back inside, drinking the moans off her lips.

Beseeching pleas sounded into the night as a prayer, disrupting the calm of the docks, indwelling Tyril with unrestrained pride as he was the one to make her forget her own name and religiously moan his, to make her lose all inhibitions, to make her his. The only one she's ever allowed to.

His hips dictated an unyielding rhythm, a primal song accompanied by their whimpers and the dull sound of skin colliding. Reyna's pleas only spurred him on, and he dipped to her neck, leaving a sloppy trail of kisses there before resting the side of his face against hers, his not-so-shy moans flowing right into her ear. He didn't pay attention to her nails digging into the flesh on his back, leaving traces the others would tease them ruthlessly for, and she didn't acknowledge his fingers gripping her hip hard enough to leave bruises.

“Tyril, please, please—”

His deep, rapid strokes turned sloppy yet even more desperate, striving for a quick release as if his life depended on it. Wrapping her legs low on his hips, she clutched him in the embrace, ensuring he would not try to escape before she reached her finish.

“You feel aethereal,” he whined, breathless, relishing in the warmth of her core and the pleasurable clenching of her muscles around him. Following several particularly deep thrusts, Reyna’s legs started shaking uncontrollably, signalling her approaching climax, and taking the hint Tyril’s hand slipped between their bodies to fondle her swollen clit.

A chain of incomprehensible, garbled curses blended with moans left her kiss-swollen, reddened lips as she came, her grip around her lover loosened. Taking advantage of her momentary lack of focus, he slid out and stroked himself, finishing on Reyna’s stomach seconds later with a guttural moan.

“Ilwë,” he breathes, nestling his face in the nape of her neck, his body glistening in the moonlight. Waiting for their breaths to even out, Reyna enjoyed the warmth and weight of his body on hers, combing his damp hair with her fingers.

“Do you think we had an audience?”

“Likely. Yet I have no—”

“Yes, I know,” she rolled her eyes good-humouredly. “You have no qualms about others seeing how you react to my touch.”

The elf smirked. “Precisely.”

Blissed out and happily spent, the couple enjoyed each other’s proximity, tenderly caressing and exchanging deep kisses until the cold wind caused them both to shiver.

“As much as I would prefer to continue, it’s getting late,” the elf mumbled lowly into her lips. Reyna sighed.

“We should round up the others and make camp.”

As they dressed up and collected the rest of their group, the party headed out towards the edge of the village where they set up camp, joking and teasing as they did on their first-ever journey together. As if nothing had changed.

#nsft #tyril x mc #tyril starfury #blades of light and shadow #blades of light and shadow 2 #choices blades #choices bolas #blades 2 #playchoices #choices stories you play #choices tyril #cfwc #cfwc fics of the week #choices fic writers creations #choices book club

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nyamadermont · 8 days

Text

Learning the Truth

Angstpril 2024: Day 13 (715 words)

Eboshi stirred the meat in the skillet. The ginger she liked and the chilies Lin liked were at war with each other trying to knock her nose out of commission. She sighed and added some more cabbage.

Behind her, the lock clicked and Lin clomped noisily inside the apartment. She heard the thump of Lin’s disgusting metal briefcase she was always carrying but would not replace for something more befitting her station.

Eboshi grimaced at the food, hoping to use up her irritation before Lin came around the corner.

“I brought your post up from your box,” Lin announced from right behind her.

Eboshi startled, and the jerk of her wrist sent a slice of carrot flying straight at Lin’s face.

She snickered at the sight before she could control herself.

Lin glowered and flicked the offending vegetable into the sink.

“I’m going to clean my face and put this away,” she growled, brandishing the post. She spun on her heel and was gone before Eboshi could draw breath to apologize.

The bowls were on the table, and she was pouring tea when Lin came striding back in her sleeveless undershirt and trousers. Her fall into her chair and her grunt of release were uncontrolled and undignified. Eboshi turned around before her curled lip was visible. She returned with two glasses of water. Lin took hers from Eboshi’s hand and tossed it back like a shot of whiskey. She stood and refilled the glass at the sink.

Eboshi closed her eyes and settled as quietly into her own seat as she could.

She was always amazed at how fast Lin ate in private. Out in public at a restaurant, she ate as if she were being judged in a competition on traditional Earth Kingdom manners. But at home or in Eboshi’s apartment, Lin ate as if the food would vanish. Once, she had tried to say it was a habit picked up at work, when a break or stakeout could be cut short at a moment’s notice. But something told her it was an older habit, one developed at home.

A home she never discussed. Eboshi had learned that Lin did not know her father, hadn’t seen her mother in decades, and she just stopped there.

Eboshi was tasked with learning the truth about Lin, but it was so very hard to come by.

Lin finished her dinner and cleaned her own dishes, putting them away properly. She poured two glasses of bijou, and sat down more gently. She slid one glass in front of Eboshi, but just stared into her own.

Primly, Eboshi ate her rice and meat, taking her time.

Lin simply stared into her glass.

Eboshi laid her chopsticks across her empty bowl and finished the last of her water. Lin stood and collected the dirty dishes. She washed and put everything away, just as she had earlier.

When she returned to the table, she extended a hand to Eboshi, who took it, looking up in confusion.

“Let’s sit on the balcony, if that’s alright.”

They used their free hands to collect their drinks, then stepped out to the balcony, where they took up their accustomed seats on the bench.

They sipped in silence for a while before Lin asked, “Remind me why you’re getting personal post from Zaofu.”

Eboshi’s breath caught in her throat.

“I thought I’d told you about living with an aunt there for a while. It’s just a letter.”

Lin said nothing.

“Is there a problem, Lin? It’s just a letter from my aunt.”

The silence stretched again.

“I don’t like Zaofu. I don’t trust them.”

Eboshi furrowed her brow. “Then I won’t ask you to come with me when I go to see her in a few weeks.”

Lin knocked back the rest of her drink. “It’s nothing personal, but I’ll never set foot in that city.”

Their night ended soon after, but they did not even kiss goodnight.

In the morning, Lin was gone as if she had never been there.

Eboshi stepped into her workshop to find the post stacked on her desk, except for one envelope.

It was set aside, top-most on a line of similar envelopes, all neatly sequenced by date.

Her blood ran cold.

How close is she to learning the truth?

#angstpril2024 #angstpril 2024 #avatar the legend of korra #legend of korra #fanfiction #day13 #learning the truth #lin beifong #Red Jade

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fandomtherapy44 · 23 days

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Solider Boy x reader

Summary: The year just turning into 1982 Vaught's Payback being the most talked Superhero group especially Vaught's Golden boy. The elusive handsome player Solider boy. Y/n has always wanted to help people with her powers so when Payback starts interviewing, she has to go. Her whole life is about get shaken up not just by how she thought superheroes were supposed to be but by an arrogant self-absorbed but handsome asshole.

Paring: Solider boy x reader/Enemies to lovers

word count: 1,338

Chapters: 1/?

WARININGS: oh, shit here we go again. Major language, Cancer patient, being mean to Y/n.

I got the divder from

saradika

AN/ Hey everyone so I've been thinking to make this for a while now. Since I love the Boys so much did, I start watching this show for Jensen maybe did I stay for the others yes. I think Payback is so interesting, so this is like a prequel series. I just love the backstory of Payback I hope we get more in this new season. This first chapter we don't meet Ben, but we will soon ;) Hope you enjoy.

Chapter one: Taking the leap

POV (Y/N)

The year being 1982 I was freshly twenty-eight working at fucking Vought burger I mean I was making money not much but still I just thought I would be somewhere else at this age. I was mopping the floors at one am with the smell of cell killing chemicals and the four-hour crust of kid puke up my nose. The old tv in the corner of the ceiling was a plus though because Vaught central channel would replay old Payback movies. Superheroes were my everything when I was a kid especially when I learned I had the very powers that my hero’s had. But my mom never wanted me to use them.

“Hey Y/n how’s your mom doing?” My friend slash coworker asked me. “Oh well she has a treatment this week but after that I don’t know how I’m going to cover the cost next time.” “I can maybe scrape some money together.” I put my mop down and turned to her. “No no I couldn't ask you to do that you have your own shit to worry about.” “Ok but if there is anything else I can do I will be there.” I smile at her kindness. “I'm counting on it.” Just two more damn hours and I could go home and sleep for three hours and then go to my next job.

“Hey, did you hear about those auditions downtown?” “What auditions?” I asked, not really paying attention trying to get the puke stain out of the tiled floor. “Really you haven't heard that’s surprising of how much you love superheroes, it's the payback auditions.” I nearly slipped on the puke. “What! Are you serious!?” I ran over to her shaking her. “Yes Y/n yes! Now can you stop shaking me? I think my brain is starting to leak.” “Ha yes sorry it’s just that it has literally been my dream since I've learned I have powers.” “So, are you going to go?” That was the question.

The weather today was cold, and it was raining well more like pouring and my broken umbrella was barely holding together. I walked in and said hello to the nurse. Before I walked in the room, I put on the fake smile that I put on every time. “Hey mom.” I went to her bed. “Sweetpea, I didn’t know you were coming today.” She said in a very southern draw one of the many things I loved about her. “I wanted to surprise, especially today.” I looked to the tube in her arm for her treatment.

“So, how’s college?” Right college. “Well, my professor says that he was most impressed by my last paper.” This was all bullshit but if I told her what I was really doing all day she would discharge herself and go home and let God do the work to heal her. Well sadly I couldn't leave it up to God not where she was with her stage. “Now that's my daughter on her way to be on the top and get her dream job.” Dream job now that was a joke.

“Yeah...” I looked at the time and my other job was calling. “Well mom I have to run to class. Do you need anything before I go.” She grabs my hand and stares in my eyes. “I just want to look at my little girl for a minute.” In that minute my heart was racing. “Now sweetie go kick but!” My mother would never curse. She said that if she did that she might as well drink dirt then sweet lemonade.

On my way to work my umbrella fully went down. Luckily there was an awning, and I ran under it. I looked out and it seemed the whole world was working against me. My mother, my job, my lack of a love life but that was the last thing on my mind. The weather was like my life exploding all at once. I just didn’t know what to do. But I think the world heard me and a gust of wind threw up a flyer in my face but not just any flyer.

“Hi there, can you please step forward and state your name,age,height,weight,Sup name.” I don’t think I have ever sweat so much in my life. “Uh Y/n L/n,28,’-,___’ and I don’t know ha.” I looked down nervously. “You're auditioning for a superhero team and you don’t have a name?” The woman looked at me in disbelief. “I-” She holds up her hand to stop me. “You know what I don’t have time to hold your fucking hand like in kindergarten just show us your powers.”

I took that in stride and stood back. I breathed in deeply and used my whole body to push forward and a force came out that crumbled all the practice dummies. I also grabbed the air around me and made a blade. Then I made a shield from that same air. I looked back and everyone looked shocked. The woman from before stacked her papers. “Um thank you we will call you.” I bowed and said thank you.

It had been about a month, and I had heard nothing, so I had lost hope. I was once again cleaning a kid's mess. Parents really need to watch their kids. “Y/n phone call!” My coworker called out and I threw down my rag and dusted off my pants and went to the phone. “Hello” “Hello this Vaught.” My eyes widened and I held my hand over the phone to not hear my escaped squeals. “What are you calling about?” I tried to keep my excitement in.

“Well, the people who are behind payback were very impressed with your audition and would like to invite you to be the newest member of payback.” I did not think twice. “YES!” “I mean yes I would love to.” “Great you will be flown out on the first of next month.” Oh, shit I didn't know it would be that quick. She sensed my quiet. “Will that be a problem?” “No of course not thank you.” She hung up. “Who was that?” My coworker asked. “That was the call telling me that I'm going to be the newest member of Payback.” I said realizing that my whole life changed in five minutes.

It was only the tenth, but I had so much shit to do I had to quit my jobs, stop renting and tell my mom which to be honest I was putting that off. “Hey mom.” “Sweetpea if you keep on surprising me, I'm going to have to start getting pretty for you.” “Mom, you are beautiful everyday no matter what.” “Aww you're just saying that.” “Speaking about our visits, they will have to slow down.” She looked disappointed. “Well, I understand for school.” Here I go. “Mom I'm just going to say it… you're looking at the newest member of Payback.” “Tell me you're joking.” “No mom I’m not.”

“Y/n you can’t it's too dangerous.” “Mom, I swear to you I will train every day be the safest possible.” “No, I won’t allow it.” “Well sorry I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions. And frankly my fast-food jobs are not cutting it for the bills.” “Fast food? What about college?” “I couldn't do both make money and do school.” “So, you've been lying this whole time.” “I’m sorry mom but it was between me, and you and I chose you.” She had hot tears welling up. “But with this job I can pay for everything and more.” “You'll call me every day?” I threw myself in her arms like I was a little girl again. “Everyday.”

I get on the plane, and I sit down. My whole life was about to change. I was going to go from nobody to where I have permission to punch strangers. But I was ready for whatever or whoever will be there.

#the boys #the boys amazon #solider boy x reader #solider boy #Y/n x solider boy #Ben solider boy #payback amazon the boys #Crimson countess the boys

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marvel-and-mischief · 1 year

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❄️ December Writing Challenge ❄️

Day 19. Reading

Pairing: Steven Grant x GN!Reader Words: 990 Warnings: none!

December Writing Challenge masterlist

[A continuation from Day 11. Knit/Crochet/Crafts]

It’s been a month since you and Steven met in the education room of the British museum. Since then you’ve been on numerous dates from picnics in the park, to perusing the smaller museums on the outskirts of the city. You’re both having fun, hoping it will lead to something solid in the future but for now simply enjoying each others company.

As for your kids, they've been pressuring you to take them back to the museum every day since. They won’t stop talking about their first visit, particularly the part about meeting Steven and hearing all the interesting facts he told them. So you set up another school trip, this time to take part in a reading session.

When you arrive, kids in tow, Steven greets you at the door of the education room wearing a nervous smile, saying your name a little too loud for the quiet of a Monday morning.

“Kids, good to see you again,” he peeks around your shoulder to give them an enthusiastic wave that is returned in equal enthusiasm by every kid. “I have set up the room for maximum comfort, so get settled down ready for a truly gruesome story.”

You both step aside to let the children into the room. That’s when you see what Steven means; the ceiling lights are off and he has set up two star projectors in opposite corners of the room to light up the walls; the tables and chairs are nowhere to be seen, instead the floor is covered in blankets and pillows for the kids to sit on with two large cushions at the front for you and Steven. You look on in awe as Steven fidgets beside you.

“Is it too much? I just wanted to make it special for them, y’know?”

“Steven, they love it,” you nod towards the kids excitedly chattering away, pointing to the stars and sharing blankets with their friends. Steven feels a puff of pride in his chest when he sees your reaction.

It takes a while to settle the kids down, but once they’re comfortable you hold up the book you’re going to read.

“Today we’ll be reading about some of the Gods that Ancient Egyptians worshipped.”

You feel Steven cringe beside you, giving him an inconspicuous questioning glare. He half smiles, you’re unconvinced but decide to let it go.

You hold the book up with one hand, making sure the children can see as you turn to the first page showing a cartoon drawing of the pyramids in the desert.

“Before we start, who can tell me what the gods looked like?”

Various children put their hands up. You point at a girl at the back of the room to answer.

“Animals. Like my dog and cat at home,” she says confidently.

“That’s right. They usually looked like animals that Egyptians were familiar with.”

You see Steven’s fingers twitch where he’s holding tightly to the cushion he’s sat on. You know he wants to add to the story, probably to remark on how it isn’t entirely accurate that they were animals. You’d had a talk with him the night before, reminding him that your kids are only six and they can’t process the details of the Ennead however much he may think they’d be interested. But he knows you’re right, so he keeps quiet throughout the rest of story time, until the kids attention spans are beginning to wane and you close the book.

“Did everyone enjoy the story?” They nod, muttering between themselves about which god is now their favourite.

“Who would like to hear about Steven’s favourite god?”

Everyones ears prick up, suddenly alert, eyes widening in Steven’s direction as they wait to learn what he will say. Steven turns to you like a deer in headlights, needing confirmation that it’s okay to speak.

“Go on,” you quietly and confidently urge, “tell them a story.”

It takes a moment for Steven to process the information, but he soon huffs in relief when he realises you’re not joking.

“Well, actually,” he says, a spark of joy in his eyes as he turns to the children in front of him, “it’s a goddess. And her name is Taweret.”

The children are glued to Steven’s animated description of Taweret, how she protects children like themselves and her magical powers that help people pass into the underworld. You watch as Steven growls in an impression of a hippo, making everybody laugh. He is a natural storyteller, and every single child is enamoured by him.

By the time he’s finished info dumping it’s lunchtime but nobody wants to leave the room.

“How about we eat our lunch in here and Steven can tell us more about the ancient gods?”

The children reply in a chorus of ‘yes’s.

“Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to bore them,” Steven chuckles self-consciously, which you’re quick to dismiss.

“You’re so easy to listen to. I’d love you to keep speaking. But only if you want to.”

In the dark you take Steven’s hand, giving it a light, reassuring squeeze which he reciprocates. Of course he wants to talk about something he knows everything about, especially when you want him to.

“Alright. But there’s so many to go through we’ll be here all day!”

“Why don’t I name a few and you can give us only the most interesting facts about them?”

“Yeah, that sounds good-“ Steven stops himself suddenly, a thought occurring to him when he holds up a finger in pause, “lets not mention Khonsu though.”

“You really don’t like him, do you?” You frown in amusement, remembering one of your first conversations being how much Steven thought he was a ‘manipulative old bird’ and ‘he’s not even one of the good ones’.

“We all have our favourites right? Well, he’s not one of them,” Steven explains.

You smile affectionally and agree, and get back to story time with the children.

#wwdilfcember #december writing challenge #Steven Grant #Steven Grant x reader #Steven Grant x gn!reader #moon knight #marvel #mcu

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thesistersarcheron · 2 years

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Relationships: Nesta & Nyx, Nesta & Rhysand, Nesta & Feyre, Nessian, Feysand, minor Elriel Ratings: T Words: ~2.2k Summary: During an afternoon in the garden with her sisters and her nephew, Nesta learns more about the consequences of her sacrifice at the end of Silver Flames. Somehow, the thought of co-parenting with her brother-in-law is not entirely unwelcome. (The Nesta & Nyx Accidental Baby Acquisition fic.)

----- Find more on my masterlist or read here on AO3!

Nesta lifts Nyx into the air, scooping him through the breeze rolling in off the Sidra. His wings flutter, and his sweet baby’s laugh fills her ears when they fill with air. She checks to make sure Elain isn’t kneeling in any of the patches of flowers behind her and then runs backwards a few yards, letting her nephew get a small, safe taste of flight.

“There he is!” Nesta hears herself say. “So strong!”

It’s mortifying, the way her mouth takes over and coos every sickeningly sweet thought she has whenever she’s around Nyx. Rhys and Cassian had thought it hilarious until she proved just how sharp her tongue could still be.

“An! An!”

“That’s me, sweetheart,” she agrees. She looks at the house, where she can see her sister’s mate watching through the open window. “Aunt Nesta. Can you say Aunt Nesta?”

Nyx claps his tiny hands and reaches down to tangle little fingers in her braid. “An Essa!”

If Nesta had a little less self-control, she would crow with delight. Instead, she swoops Nyx in a little circle, bringing him in to kiss his cheek.

“Yes!”

A dark, star-flecked breeze slides the window shut.

Big Illyrian baby. Nesta cuddles the little Illyrian baby in her arms close, grinning.

“He’ll say it soon,” Elain prophecies beside a rosebush, her gaze distant. She glances toward the window when her eyes clear, and Nesta sees a smug smile tilt up the corners of her lips. “Just not today.”

Secretly, Nesta hopes Nyx waits a little while. The smug satisfaction she had felt when his second word had been Aunt—uttered just minutes after his first, Mama—had been unmatched.

In the weeks since, he’s started to learn how to tack Elain and Nesta’s names to it also, and all before learning to say Papa.

“Lay!” Nyx’s wings flap harder. “An!”

“Hello, Nyxie,” Elain sings, wiggling her fingers at him. “That’s right. Can you say Aunt Elain?”

“An! Lay!”

“Exactly, precious boy.”

Little wings flap as Nesta settles the baby on her hip, and together she and Elain make for a picturesque gazebo on the edge of the gardens, just beside the Sidra. Beneath its shade, Feyre sits behind an easel, a spread of tea, lemonade, and pastries on a low iron table beside her.

She beams when her son catches her eye as he grasps Elain’s sleeve, pointing at a smudge of dirt on her cheek for his mother to see, and shouts, “An!”

Feyre smiles indulgently. “I see her, baby.”

Nyx folds himself forward in Nesta’s arms, reaching for her. “Mama!”

Feyre holds up fingers covered in splotches of wet paint, crooning apologies at her son, and Nesta rolls her eyes. She sits beside her sister, perching Nyx carefully in her lap while Elain hovers over them and gently adjusts his wings, and picks up the first soft toy she can find to recapture his attention.

A bit of insistent darkness curls around the toy, drawing it closer to Nyx’s open mouth. Nesta glances back up at the window, where her brother-in-law still watches. His chin is lifted, equally as smug as she was moments ago.

She rolls her eyes at him, too.

“You know, I’ll never feel sorry for Rhys…” she starts, and now Feyre is the sister rolling her eyes. “But I do feel… very slightly bad.”

“Only very slightly?” A little grin is playing about her sister’s lips.

Nesta bounces Nyx’s toy in the air in front of his eyes and takes a sip of her lemonade. “Indeed.”

Feyre hums thoughtfully. She daubs a few more strokes of paint onto her canvas and then considers her son for a moment while he finally gums the little plush animal Nesta has handed him.

And then she shrugs.

“I suppose it serves him right.”

To Nesta’s left, Elain concurs with a nod, her mouth pressed into a tight line to hide her own smile. A tendril of shadow caresses her temple, attracted by the mirth shining in her eyes. “It’s about time he learned the price of keeping secrets.”

“Oh, I’ve already made sure that lesson stuck,” Feyre says. A pang seizes Nesta’s heart—they joke about it so easily now that Feyre and her babe are healthy, happy—but she remembers the mind-numbing terror of they day they both died. Her nightmares sometimes recall it with such clarity that she makes Cassian fly her down to the River House in the middle of the night just to check on them.

Elain inspects the table, humming thoughtfully, and then lifts an entire plate of delicately decorated tarts for the shadow’s inspection. When it curls around her wrist and pulls, Elain flits away on nimble feet, following the trail it cuts toward the greenhouse.

“Mother above,” Feyre groans, watching Elain go. “Do you think they’ll remember the walls are transparent this time?”

“They’ll get over it eventually.” At least, Nesta hopes so. She’s not too certain. Regardless of any sort of Mother-blessed bond between them, Azriel and Elain have certainly had the worst frenzy of them all.

Nevertheless, Feyre shouts after their sister, pointing at Nyx, “Little eyes!”

The shadow unlatches the door and holds it open for her as Elain waves her warning off.

Nesta snorts.

Her little sister’s attention whips to her, wide-eyed, still unused to seeing her so at ease. She blinks for a moment at Nyx and Nesta, as if just now seeing them clearly. Nesta stares back, amused and lightly insulted, until Feyre turns her attention back to her paints, firmly intent on mixing a hideous vomit-green color.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, you know,” Feyre says when Nesta doesn’t fill the silence for her. Nesta doubts Feyre is interested in more tales of the Valkyries, anyway, who fill her days more often than note. Her little sister makes a vague gesture at Nyx without looking up. “Why?”

Nesta’s hands go still on Nyx’s tiny shoulders.

“What do you mean, ‘why?’” She tries to dilute the venom in her voice, tickling Nyx’s shoulders before he can feel the tension drawing up her spine.

“Why did you…” Feyre gestures again to Nyx.

Nesta stares.

And stares.

“Why did I save a helpless infant?” Each word is bitten out, sharp and clear. Surely Feyre can’t think… Not after all this time—

“No!” Feyre’s eyes are wide, horrified, a bit of paint dripping onto her leggings. “I mean… You gave up so much…”

“I thought I told you,” Nesta finally says when Feyre silences herself, her throat suddenly tight. Hadn’t she? Hadn’t she said those three impossible words the moment Feyre opened her eyes?

“Well, yes, but…” Feyre rolls her eyes again. Rolls her eyes. The petty, vicious big sister in Nesta briefly wants to kick sand in them or gouge them out. She waits until Feyre has fixed her keen, maternal attention on Nyx as he gnaws on the cookie he stole from Nesta’s plate. She points to him again, as if to say, See, he’s cute now, but he was just a squishy, red-faced stranger when you saved him. “I understand me, but… Why?”

Nesta can’t even begin to tell Feyre that she’s looking at the wrong baby. She can’t open her mouth to say she gave up the lion’s share of her power for him, because she didn’t. She had, at the moment when Feyre laid bloody and frozen in death and the entire world began to crack apart beneath Nesta’s feet, absolutely fucking loathed the precious little boy in her arms.

And when she lifted her finger to pluck the string on the Harp, she fully considered removing him from the equation entirely. She considered reversing all the damage he did to her sister by ensuring Feyre had never even been pregnant at all.

She didn’t, because Feyre loved her baby enough to die for him, and Rhys probably would have obliterated her on the spot for taking away something Feyre loves.

But she doesn’t feel guilty about considering it. She never has. No matter how much she loves him now, how willing she would be to die for him herself, she knows she would consider it again.

“You’re my sister, Feyre.”

Feyre waves a painted, tattooed hand. “I know that, but—”

“No. You are my fucking sister, Feyre,” Nesta repeats. Her eyes are stinging, the damned traitors. “You are my little fucking sister.”

Oh, if only their mother could hear her now. Which would horrify her more, Nesta’s foul language or her devotion to the beautiful, feral little beast that was once growing up to become her strongest competition on the marriage market?

Why risk herself? Why sell her power? For skinny, wild Feyre?

But Nesta remembers the first baby she held with eyes that matched her own. She remembers holding sticky, paint-splattered hands and helping little feet learn to walk before Mother and Grandmama chose which daughter to cultivate into a horrible miniature of them both.

“But all that time…”

In the cottage, Nesta knows Feyre wants to say. It’s an old conversation now. She knows how unseen, how unappreciated Feyre was, and Feyre knows how furious and paralyzed Nesta felt. Feyre knows Nesta bartered and fought with every merchant in their village until they spit at the sight of her, and Nesta knows how Feyre froze and ached in the forest every winter.

And, like any good sister, Feyre likes to drag up their hateful, contentious past every so often. Nesta and Elain also do it, sometimes.

(But Gwyn was right about sisters, too. The second Feyre died, every argument, every shred of resentment and jealousy died with her, the same as it had with Elain when she was thrown into the Cauldron first. And all Nesta had left in each moment was a gaping wound in her soul where one third of her most fundamental self had vanished.)

“You’re my little sister, Feyre,” Nesta is helpless to say anything else.

Frustration etches itself into the furrow between Feyre’s brows. “I know—”

"You went into that camp to save Elain. Why can't I save you?" Nesta cuts in, fierce and pissed. “I don’t know why Mother told you to take care of us instead of Father. Instead of me. The old bitch was hateful and feverish and dying. But you’re my little sister. Mine.”

She doesn’t look, but Nesta can tell Feyre is staring with wide eyes. So is Nyx. She hugs the baby as tightly as she can without upsetting him and drops a kiss into his night-dark hair.

It’s not even some bizarre, animalistic Fae possessiveness. It’s just Nesta.

She thinks about beasts and splintered doors and walking for days in the snow to an invisible wall she can’t climb.

“You’re mine, Feyre. Just like Elain is. That makes Nyx mine too. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clearer for you.”

“I didn’t make it easy.” Feyre’s voice is soft, gentle. When Nesta opens her mouth to argue, not bothering to lift her nose away from Nyx’s baby-sweet scent, she cuts her off, “He is yours, you know.”

“Oh?” Nesta keeps her face buried in Nyx’s waves, the pattern a perfect match to hers and Feyre’s.

“Rhys says he can feel it on him,” Feyre says. “Some sort of imprint a parent’s magic leaves on their young. Subtle enough that I can’t even tell yet.”

“An imprint?” That is Fae, and the choking, painful feeling in her throat abates at Nesta’s nose-wrinkling bemusement.

“Mhmm. Apparently Nyxie has three magical signatures instead of two, thanks to whatever you did that day.”

That day.

Nesta tries not to snap, Oh, you mean the day your fool mate killed you?

“And what does Rhys have to say about me—” She coughs instead. “—co-mothering his child?”

Feyre laughs. “Oh, he’s delighted. I think he dreaded having to be the strict parent, or having to find a reliable sitter now that Elain is moving out, but with Aunt Essa involved…”

“Please.” Nesta scoffs, discomfort forgotten. “Get Nesta Out of My Sight Before I Fucking Kill Her isn’t going to be the strict parent?”

“Well,” Feyre says. She looks like she regrets helping Cassian share that memory with her.

“And let’s not talk about you, Feyre Archeron,” she says. “I remember all the dried deer tripe we could have sold for chickens.”

She hears Feyre swallow back a gag. Victory.

“Chickens might not lay in the winter,” Feyre tells her weakly. She probably has a point, and fuzzy-headed starvation certainly didn’t help any of them make the most logical decisions, but Nesta knows they all would have preferred meal after meal of pickled eggs rather than jaw-destroying jerky. Hindsight, and all that.

(The one good thing that damned Cauldron had done for her, Nesta can admit now, was fixing her ruined molars.)

Little hands reach up for her, and Nesta bounces Nyx on her lap. “You see, Uncle Cassian and Aunt Essa are a package deal, Nyx. And what does Uncle Cassian do?”

“Nesta, please…” Feyre says, but it’s too late.

Nesta claps Nyx’s little hands together, as if he really has answered her question. “Yes! Uncle Cassian gives babies little baby swords for Solstice!”

She leans down, forsaking all of her primness to blow a messy raspberry on Nyx’s crumb-covered cheek. She blows all of her anger out with it, until all that's left is the chest-cracking feeling of the love she can barely contain for her family.

When she lifts the cookie away to wipe Nyx's mouth with a corner of the tablecloth, a bit of icy, silver power tickles her finger.

#nesta archeron #nyx #feyre archeron #rhysand #elain archeron #a court of thorns and roses #acotar #the story where nyx gets a little bit of nesta's unholy power #feysand #nessian #my fics #feyre #nesta #elain #(sorry i'm tagging for my own messed up tag system now)#rhys #a court of silver flames fic

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polarisbibliotheque · 10 months

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Survivor's Blood (Leon x Reader) - Chapter 5

Survivor's Blood

Pairing: Leon x Reader

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 (you are here!)

Summary: After Raccoon City, Leon became the only Government agent with that kind of expertise. With relentless training, he was now a Special Agent - again, on his first day in the job. He just didn’t expect to live Raccoon City all over again… Maybe Leon was fated to always have the worst first-days-at-work ever.

Age Restriction: 18+. It’s horror, so expect a lot of graphic violence and blood dripping from this. I mean, VERY GRAPHICAL VIOLENCE. Nothing we haven’t seen on RE, but still. Yee been warned

TRIGGER WARNING: Bloody hospital. Really. Bloody, horror movie hospital :|

Author’s notes: Took some time, but hey, we're here!! Funfact: I have this extention on my browser that changes some words of what I'm reading to a target language I'm wanting to learn, and now Magical Donuts appear in my browser as Magical Beignets. I absolutely adored it and I might re-read everything just to laugh at the random French words being thrown here.

I hope you like how it's turning out!! A lot more to come!! And thank you so much for reading and being around ^^

Chapter 5

Hospital Arklay Hill, April 29th, 2001 – 22h03

The way to the hospital was a lot quieter than any of you could have anticipated. The rule was to save ammo and move without drawing attention, always trying to get to the hospital as fast as possible. Even though you were in Leon’s schedule, you still considered yourselves late.

You followed with Leon leading the way, as agreed. He dreaded the possibility of you getting caught by surprise if you were ahead of him – even if you said you knew your way around guns, Leon had a certain trauma of losing people in situations like the one you found yourselves in.

“Y/n. Can you talk to Valerie?” As soon as you found shelter behind an ambulance tumbled in the street, he finally talked to you. “We’re almost there.”

“Yeah, I can.” You started fumbling with the radio, its only purpose to communicate with the hospital survivors. You spoke with no answer for a while until you heard a hiss in response, fixing the frequency so you could hear it better. “Valerie? Can you hear me well?”

“Hi, y/n? Yes! Yes, I can!” The woman was clearly smiling, being washed by the happiness of knowing you didn’t abandon them. “How are you? Did you meet Leon?”

“Yeah, he’s here with me.”

“Hey, we’re almost there, Valerie.” Leon sat by your side, close enough so you touched shoulders. You kept the radio near your faces, making you both lean into it a little so you didn’t have to speak too loud.

“We need to know where you are in the hospital.” You added, glancing quickly at Leon. “And if you can go to a place where the extraction will be easier.”

“I don’t know if we can… I don’t even know where an easier place would be in here.” Valerie sighed, speaking in a lower voice tone while the other survivors argued about something else. “Almost all the patients got affected by this… I don’t know… Epidemics? I don’t even know how to call it.” She shook her head, sitting in the corner of the room so she could guarantee a little peace. “We managed to lock ourselves in one of the exam rooms; it’s not that hard to get here… After the reception, you need to turn right and then left in a long corridor. In this corridor, there’ll be a lot of doors: the third one to the right, you’ll get into a restricted area, the corridor to the exam rooms. We are in the…” And Valerie took a few seconds, mentally counting. “Fifth? Sixth door to the left? Sorry, I can’t remember for sure… But when you get here, we’ll hear you.”

“Hmmm, just a sec…” You had a good memory and Leon was trained to keep a good amount of information, especially in moments like those. But he had no idea of the hospital’s architecture and with that, you could help. “Leon, you wouldn’t happen to have a pen in one of those many magic pockets, would you…?”

Leon furrowed his brows, giving you a funny look as if asking what the hell you were thinking at the same time he scolded your comment about him taking so many things to the field. After Raccoon City, he became stupidly proficient in inventory management in the field and he had a good idea what was useful or not. A map and a pen proved to be crucial when he got stuck in the police department and roaming around the underground laboratory, trying to find everything he needed to leave those places.

So yes, even though he didn’t want to admit, he had a pen that he took off one of his many pockets almost against his will. That only made you smile.

“Thank you, Mary Poppins. You wouldn’t happen to have a piece of paper too, right…?”

Leon rolled his eyes as he took the map he folded enough to fit one of the pockets. Of every nickname he could have had in his lifetime, ‘Mary Poppins’ would be the last he would’ve imagined to be graced with.

“Ok, here we go…” You held the pen cap between your teeth while laying the map on your thighs. Leon could only hold the radio and accept his fate. “Can you repeat it, Valerie? Please?”

As the woman spoke, you drew a little map of the hospital on the back of the city’s map, trying to remember the sizes of the rooms so Leon would have a better idea of the place you were going in – as well as help you remember all the details without having to call Valerie all the time.

“It isn’t that far away from the hospital entrance.” You showed the place in the improvised map. You pointed the path with the pen. “If we clear the way from the entrance to the exam room, we won’t have to go in deeper and, with a little luck, we’ll be able to leave with no further problems.”

“Hmmm…” Leon analyzed the drawing. You were right, but… “There are other rooms along the way, right?” You just nodded in response. “There’s no way for us to know how many zombies are inside each room and if they are open or not. We can clean the way there, but it’s always possible for something to appear along the way.”

“That’s why one of us should lead the way and the other should be on the back, as we’re doing right now.”

“Ok. I’ll go ahead when we get there and, when we’re leaving, I’ll be on the back and you’ll lead.” Leon checked how many bullets he had left on his handgun – up until that moment, he didn’t see a use for the shotgun but that was about to change. He could feel it. “I think it’s worse if something we don’t know follow us from the inside of the hospital than another zombie crossing our already cleared path.”

“Fair enough.” You agreed more so you wouldn’t argue than anything else: you had lots of arguments to state you were more than capable of dealing with whatever creature that appeared from the insides of the hospital, but you could delay that argument.

“I need to warn you…” Again, Valerie lowered her voice. She was quiet for a while, considering if she would continue the warning. “I’m not sure what I saw. But I think… I think I saw… Something… Different from the people who were infected. Horrible. It looked like it was out of a horror movie…

“What was it, Valerie?” Up until that moment, Leon had reasons to believe what happened in that city was the result of a virus outbreak, but other creatures? Raccoon City was used as a laboratory, but New Setosa? Was it a field test? Whose? Umbrella’s? A lot of questions crossed his head at the same time; and none had an answer. “Can you describe it to me?”

“No. I can’t.” The woman’s answer was adamant. “I closed my eyes and remained quiet. But it looked like… An animal. That thing couldn’t be human. It wasn’t human.

“How many are there?”

“I don’t know either. I just saw one and when I realized it was far, I ran the fastest I could and didn’t leave this room anymore.” She remained in silence while you both waited patiently. “Out of everything that’s out there, that’s what I’m afraid the most.”

“We’ll find a way. If we find one of these things along the way, we’ll manage.” You had certainty in your voice, making Leon discreetly look at you. It was incredible how you remained brave, even if apparently – even when you had all the reasons to be scared.

As the conversation came to an end, you went back to your walk towards the hospital – now you could see the big, white building with green windows in the distance; the luminous sign with the letters spelling “Hospital Arklay Hill” was clearly stained with blood and some of them had a hard time shining, twinkling among the darkness of that night.

“Do you know what she was talking about, Leon?” Your question was quiet, following him as fast as you could without attracting a horde of zombies.

“I’m not sure…” He glanced quickly over his shoulders. “I saw a lot of things that couldn’t be considered human in Raccoon, that’s why I asked her to describe it to me. It’d be easier if we went in knowing what we’ll find, but the virus affects people in different ways: some become undead, others mutate into things that could easily come out of a horror movie.”

That made you think in silence – it wasn’t just Leon who had his doubts about what was going on in New Setosa. Initially, everyone thought it was a sudden epidemics of a virus attacking the nervous system: some people were quarantined in the hospital, until it started to spread – you had never seen a disease that spread so quickly. You also had never seen a pandemics, but that’s how you imagined an epicenter to be: non-stop contagion, loss of control and deaths. So many deaths.

You were scared. You didn’t want to admit it, but you were. Your feet didn’t really want to follow your will to move forward – but, if you didn’t go with Leon, he would have to go in alone.

And if you were in his shoes, you wouldn’t want to be alone – as well as if you were one of those people in the hospital, you would want someone to save you. You couldn’t turn back now.

“Are you ok?” Leon checked while taking the map from one of his pockets to make sure you were in the right path and what the objective was. Leon remembered quite well, but he wanted to have a better idea – and maybe, seeing the hospital in the distance, he could understand the proportions of the rooms better. “You’re too quiet all of a sudden.”

“We barely know each other and there you are, already saying I talk too much.” You raised one eyebrow as he just took a deep breath to tell you how wrong you were. “Relax. I know. I just needed to release some tension. We need to go to the second hall and turn in the first corridor.”

“The second hall is through that door, right?” He pointed to a passage closed by a milky glass door, blocking your view of the next room. You nodded in agreement. “Let’s go then. Time to hope we won’t find the thing that worries Valerie.”

With a gesture from his hands, you prepared your gun and, now walking by his side, you quickly followed to the door you hoped would still work. As soon as you approached, the doors glided open enough for just one of you to squeeze through, jamming midway open with a strength that made it tremble. You exchanged looks and Leon crossed to the other side before you, immediately checking the right side of the room as you followed him and checked the left side.

It smelled like death. The hall was big enough to harbor a considerable amount of undead, but you found only three. One of them didn’t seem to understand how to move around the reception desk and let itself free from wherever it was stuck, another was stationary, staring at you both. And the third was banging mercilessly at the vending machine, as if it had swallowed its coin and it didn’t spew out whatever it had bought. The rest, was the classic: dead people torn apart on the floor and chairs, the walls stained in blood.

“We’re running through them?” Your question was valid: you had noticed Leon had a tendency to save each and whatever resource you found or had along the way, so you thought it was better to check before doing anything.

“Hmmm…” Leon thought for a while. Going through was a good option, but it would be a problem if you found anything worse in the corridor. If that was the case, you would be stuck, with problems in the front and in the back. “We don’t know what’s in the corridor, we might get sandwiched between this problem and something worse.”

“I didn’t think of that.” Even if your answer was serious, you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing internally at his choice of words. After all, it wasn’t everyday you heard ‘sandwiched’ in such a serious conversation. “Let’s go then.”

With those words, you pointed your gun to the stationary zombie as Leon followed to the reception. With two certain shots, you both wiped out those zombies, drawing the attention of the third one, who slowly turned around and finally reached out to you, dragging itself as you met Leon in the middle of the room once more. With coordinated shots, the vending machine zombie was exterminated.

“If I knew you’d shoot as well, I’d have saved the bullet.” Leon gave you a small smile, making you mirror his expression. “You shoot better than a lot of people I met.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” You answered in a quick laugh, walking by his side towards the long corridor you now needed to cross.

Leon would have asked what you meant with those words, but as soon as you reached the big white doors that blocked the corridor, you fell silent. You were lucky the survivors at least tried to leave and ended up close to the entrance: the place was huge and if they were in the most distant wings, you would have serious problems.

With your backs to the door, each of you on each side, you waited until he nodded in a sign for you to enter. You both pushed the heavy door quickly, pointing the guns as soon as you entered the corridor, ready to shoot the first thing that appeared in front of your eyes.

But there was nothing.

The corridor stretched into a pitch black darkness with broken light bulbs that twinkled in whatever rhythm, humming with the energy that crossed the useless filaments. A couple of bodies were thrown on the floor – at least as far as your eyes could see – chewed by something… Different. The walls had blood stains in shapes of hands, on the floor, feet that tried to flee in despair. Beds, syringes, gloves, hospital paraphernalia… It was all tossed along the way, as if the place was hit by a hurricane – and now, it laid in a heavy silence in the foul air.

In Leon’s experience, that kind of situation was worse than the chaos: when there were screams of despair, you usually knew what was attacking and where the survivors were. When there was only silence, all you could do was to pay attention to whatever noises and hope you wouldn’t be taken by surprise.

“Stay alert.” Leon murmured as low as he could, leading the way. Your steps were calmer and a lot more careful now that you didn’t know what you could find. With his eyes now getting used to the lack of light, Leon found the door Valerie told you about – a little farther than he had expected.

Your steps were quiet behind Leon: even if you knew how to shoot and you wanted to be there, you couldn’t deny he was the best person to lead the way – after all, he was trained to that kind of situation.

You carefully dodged the pools of blood on the floor. You didn’t want to run the risk of slipping and falling over all that mess – you were already sufficiently dirty and all you wanted was a good shower to feel as good as new. As you crossed a good part of the corridor, you approached the first passage to the right that connected that corridor to another hospital wing – through another equally dark corridor.

You would’ve had normally walked by it if you hadn’t heard a strange noise coming from that corridor.

It was like an animal’s hiss. You allowed Leon to keep walking as you turned around to make sure there was nothing else needing rescue.

And it was the first time you saw that.

A creature that looked like it had no skin, with long claws, roaming the corridor with its four paws on the floor; sharp teeth framing a long, menacing tongue. You froze in place, terror filling your eyes. It was the most horrible thing you had ever seen in your life and you didn’t know what to do. Had that thing seen you? Should you shoot?

Before you could make any kind of noise, though, one of Leon’s hands quickly covered your mouth, pulling you towards him. You didn’t resist: with eyes wide open, you turned to him and found Leon with one of his fingers on his own lips so you would remain silent. You nodded frantically and, as he let you go, Leon held one of your hands and started walking as silently as he could so you could reach the door Valerie told you about.

It wasn’t that far away, but it seemed enough for a marathon. You heard that thing sniffing around, paws heavily hitting the floor, chasing you: slowly, calculated, searching for something it knew it was escaping. The claws scratched the hospital floor, the animal hiss louder and louder. You held Leon’s hand with a little more strength.

If you had to choose how to die, it would be by zombie. Never by something like that thing that chased you.

You risked a look above your shoulders, finding that thing finally reaching the spot in the corridor where you were before. There was so little left for you to reach the door. Leon pulled you closer, walking a few last steps to get to the next passage.

You almost said something when you saw that thing jerking its ugly head towards you. Stopping in front of the door, Leon finally looked at it: they were about to be noticed. You were so close. It knew.

Leon looked at you and tried, as best as possible, to tell you through hand signs to run as soon as he opened the door. You nodded in affirmation and, as soon as Leon pushed one of the metal bars to open it, the thing raised its head like a dog, screeching like chalk on a board, viciously running towards you.

“Go!” Leon did his best so you entered the corridor before him, quickly following. To your terror, the thing that chased you was too fast.

Leon wouldn’t be able to get in: having crossed the door, you saw the claws of that thing already prepared to tear his back open – and that would be a huge problem.

As he tried to escape, you didn’t think twice: aiming your gun, you almost emptied it in that thing’s head. You didn’t know how many bullets you needed, nor how many of them were there, and you didn’t even care if you needed to go on in complete silence – you wouldn’t allow that thing to kill Leon in such a stupid manner.

The creature fell heavily on the floor while Leon stumbled into the corridor you found yourself in. That thing’s tongue stretched until almost hitting your feet, as if even in death it wanted to tear you apart.

“What the fuck is this?!” That was the only thing you managed to ask, still staring at that thing with widened eyes, your hands trembling on your gun. You didn’t even have to state the adrenaline shock had been strong.

“Dunno. The guys at the station called it Licker.” Leon took a few deep breaths, a little discombobulated by how you had emptied your gun on the Licker instead of running in despair or screaming for help – saving his life in the process. “The good news, they are as blind as a bat. The bad news, those things smell and hear very well, so we need to be very careful and not make any noises when we see one of them.”

“Hmmm… I remember that name, Claire mentioned it a few times…” You also took a deep breath, giving that thing a last look. “I didn’t think it would be that ugly. And scary.”

“Oh, c’mon. They could win a beauty pageant.” Albeit the seriousness, you could hear a hint of a laugh in the back of his voice as you got back on track.

At least you were lucky enough for that place to be empty.

“I’ve never seen such a funny person in an apocalypse.” You aimed your gun above Leon’s shoulders in case something appeared in front of him. You didn’t hear any menacing noises, but that was only worse, considering the situation.

“Well, not my first apocalypse.” He shrugged, thinking about his own words. Who would’ve known one day he would find himself saying something like that. He imagined where he would be in four or five years, how he would handle that kind of situation. He hoped he would be an agent who feared nothing and could deal with things objectively, and even with a certain level of humor. “Which door? Fourth or fifth?”

“Actually, fifth or sixth. She didn’t really know.” You corrected him, pointing to the nearest door. “Let’s go?”

“Yeah. You go ahead.” He pointed the door with his head, giving you cover.

“Valerie?” You lightly knocked on the door to avoid too many noises, even if you had just done a whole rock show with all those shots in the Licker’s head a while ago. You didn’t notice, but a hiss echoed from the end of the corridor, making Leon aim his gun and his flashlight into the darkness, finding anything in return. “It’s us! Y/n and Leon!”

You heard a commotion inside the room and it confirmed you were at the right door. While the click of it opening and the handle moved to greet you, the hiss repeated itself, louder – but, as soon as the door opened, the sound of claws hitting the floor added to the soundtrack.

You, Leon and Valerie looked in the direction of the origin of the sounds – with the claws taking a vicious speed – making you hold Leon by his bulletproof vest and run inside the room as fast as you could, not allowing him nor Valerie to think of something else. The nurse, though, was quick enough to lock the door as soon as you stumbled inside, making the creature lose your track – without ever leaving the corridor.

“You’re here! Alive!” Valerie immediately locked her arms around your neck, holding you as if there was no tomorrow. You widened your eyes, glancing at Leon. He just giggled: it wasn’t everyday he saw someone so uncomfortable with hugs as you seemed to be at that moment. “Thank you so much…!”

“Thank you for what, Valerie?” A grumpy man interrupted the moment, stuffing his clammy hands in the dirty lab coat pocket. “They can very well end up locked up in here with us! They haven’t done anything to save us yet!”

“But we will, sir.” Leon tried to be diplomatic, noticing not so friendly looks shot at the man from you and Valerie. Someone had to be the voice of reason in there, or the very survivors would end up killing each other. “The goal is to leave here right now so we’ll get to the school at 22h20.”

“And then we’re gonna do what? Open the books and start studyin’?” The man wiped some of the sweat that dripped from his greasy hair, his little eyes filled with anger amidst that stuffy room. “Or you’re gonna find a magic way to get us out of this damned city?”

If Leon was younger, he would’ve answered with calm and patience.

But he wasn’t that rookie cop from Raccoon City anymore. He didn’t need to have that much patience. Not after all he had been through.

“As Special Agent from the Government working under direct orders from the President, I have a special task team with the best soldiers from the army, ready for an extraction operation of the survivors in New Setosa.” Leon was probably being too harsh, but, honestly, someone would have to put that guy in his place, be it by being gentle or by brute force. And, right now, Leon wasn’t that inclined to being gentle. “I think it’s enough magic to deal with this situation.”

And that talk was over.

“Under direct orders from the President…?” You had your arms crossed, slowly approaching Leon while he organized what was left of the ammo and loaded the shotgun. He raised his eyes to you, finding you with a small smile coloring your lips. That made Leon mirror your reaction, a little embarrassed by the way he spoke before.

But that guy really pissed him off.

After his answer, the survivors gathered to listen to the instructions on how they would cross the city to the school – having that little intermission to prepare ammo, items they wanted to take with them, care for any wounds and get ready for the journey to safety. And, while Leon got ready in his own lone corner of the room, you approached to talk to him.

“Yeah… That’s what happens when you survive a disaster like Raccoon.” He sighed slightly. “I ended up as a Special Agent just because of that, I’m the only one with this expertise.”

“I doubt all Special Agents have direct orders from the President of the United States.” You leaned on the bed Leon used to keep the guns and ammo as he counted and organized them. “C’mon, Leon. You didn’t get here ‘just’ because your star twinkled in Raccoon. To have this kind of job, you need to not only be a good agent, but an intelligent one as well.”

“Oh, well…” Leon shrugged, feeling his cheeks slightly burning and trying to do his best for you not to notice it. At least he was lucky: the lights from the room were broken. “You’re gonna have to ask that to the President.”

You narrowed your eyes, smiling right after. You didn’t know if it was just something he was saying to escape that conversation and dodge a compliment or if he was trying to tease you.

And, when you noticed the ghost of a smile in the corner of his lips, you knew it was a bit of both.

“So cocky.” You muttered back, making him raise his eyebrows and stare you in shock – but clearly holding back a laugh. “After that, I’ll only leave you with the shotgun ‘cause you’re the one dealing with that monstrosity outside, Mr. super-government-agent friends with the President.”

“Ok, I’m not complainin’.” And he loaded said gun, already leaving it ready with the strap across his shoulders. “Here. More ammo for your gun. After you shot that Licker like a cowboy, you’re gonna need it.”

“And I would’ve shot it more if I could.” You answered while reloading your handgun. Two magazines were probably more than Leon could give you at the moment – but you had already learned he had a big heart. “I’ll lead the way? As we agreed before?”

“I’m the one with the shotgun, ain’t I?” He raised one eyebrow, making you flash a little smile at the answer. “At that pace, you’ll end up workin’ for the President as well.”

“Yeah, right…” You shook your head, deflecting the compliment. Even so, you winked back at him. “If you’re my partner, I’ll think about it.”

“I can make that happen, alright?” Leon pointed at you, making you giggle. “You ready? It’s time to go.”

“Yeah. I think you should ask them that.”

Indeed, the survivors didn’t look too excited – but as Leon knew quite well, you didn’t need excitement to save your own life: you just had to run and never look back.

To be continued...

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