#the chapter in which they escape a collapsed cave only to get caught by a normal-ass person
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Yuu can do it!
Part 13
(Link to previous)
Ito liked having problems to solve. If there was something to do, then it gave them something to concentrate on. That way they didn’t have to think about how they were stranded in another world with no known way home, or how they had just technically murdered something, or –.
They forced themself to look around.
Deuce had been sent to try and get cell service – there was no way there was any this far into the woods, let alone underground, but he was concussed and had been insisting on helping so they figured that was the best option.
Kuroki had been near hyperventilating (not good considering they were already working with limited air) so Ito had dropped Grim onto him. He had only recently managed to bring his breathing down to a normal rate, and was now burying his face in the white fur of Grim’s collar while the monster squirmed.
Which left Enma, Ace, and Ito to try and find a way out.
Not that Ace was all that much help. After a few blasts of wind magic he had said that he was too tired to do more and now doing the stone-throwing equivalent of crawling up that fifteenth flight of stairs.
Which meant…
Enma and Ito threw rock after rock over their shoulders. They just needed a tiny hole to let in some oxygen. That was all. They could do this…
~
Ito was no nihilist, but they were pretty sure they were going to join the other ghosts in the mine.
At least the ghosts had been friendly, they supposed.
A tiny sigh left their lips and they rubbed their hands off on their shirt. Kuroki had long-since managed to snap out of it enough to help, and Ace had joined them after a few minutes’ rest.
(Deuce was still concussed and Grim was… Grim, so they weren’t much help. To his credit, though, Grim tried: he screamed at the top of his lungs – did he have lungs? – but Ito, privately, doubted that any sound escaped.)
The group had been working at one spot for ages… but every time they finally managed to make headway more rocks and boulders came to fill in the place left by their brethren. And they were getting tired, the air was thin, and, one by one, they all gave up in favor of finding a comfortable position to die in.
Enma was the last one to give up. He groaned and leaned back against the wall of rocks that kept them separated from the outside world.
“At least suffocating like this isn’t really painful,” he said after a moment. “We’ll probably just die in our sleep or something.”
“... dude, that’s so dark,” Ace complained, tossing a magestone from hand to hand idly.
Enma gave a weak grin. “No, this cave is dark.”
“Do you really want your last words to be a bad joke?” Kuroki said, absently stroking Grim’s fur.
Ito lifted their head from their knees, careful not to disturb Kuroki because he was leaning back against their side, to glare halfheartedly at them. “Do you really want your last conversation to be a fight?”
“Yes,” Kuroki and Enma said at the exact same time.
“What else are we supposed to do?” Ace said.
“Well, in books this is where we all give heartfelt speeches and then get miraculously saved at the last moment.”
“Ew,” said Grim.
Kuroki’s nose scrunched. “I’d rather die.”
Enma opened his mouth.
Ace threw the magestone in his hand at Enma before he could do it. The boy was quick to dodge, and the magestone clattered against the rocks.
And then the cave began to rumble, boulders and rocks and pebbles alike falling away.
Ace looked at his hands in awe. “I’m so powerful…?”
He was not. The way out cleared and they were met by three people and two ghosts.
The redhead from the ceremony stood at the front of the group, a heart-topped staff still pointed at them. He lowered it slowly and looked upon them all with slight distaste lining his expression.
“Honestly, how did that wall trouble you all so?”
Deuce’s eyes took a moment to focus but, when they did, his back straightened and he smiled from ear to ear. “Dorm head! You’ve come to save us! Thank you!”
“Rescue, you say… I have no reason to support transgressors.” His gaze swept over Deuce’s rapidly paling face and Ace’s scowl critically. “You have violated rule 304: On the day a hedgehog sneezes, all card soldiers must gather and perform a song!”
“If the hedgehog is sick do you think they have to do multiple songs a day?” Grim questioned, clearly just to start shit.
Enma seemed to also want to start shit, because he scratched his head with a small smile. “Their offense is that they were stuck here on an order from the Headmaster and not the ruined statue or chandelier?”
Riddle seemed uninterested in their idle chatter. He pointed the staff at Ace and Deuce.
(Ace looked about five seconds away from ducking behind their concussed companion for cover.)
“OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!”
Collars like those from the ceremony snapped over the pair’s necks and Deuce seemed a little thrown off by the weight.
Riddle turned away from them, to the two people who were standing silently beside him. “Trey, Cater. Take them to the dorm.”
“Yes, Dorm Leader,” they chorused.
The Ramshackle residents watched on without moving an inch as two of their companions were grabbed by the back of their collars like misbehaving housecats and dragged out, complaining and squirming all the way.
“Huh,” said Kuroki. “Wild.”
That was all the thoughts he seemed to have on the matter. He started gathering his scattered things and then struggled to pick up Grim.
Enma and Ito, however, frowned at Riddle.
“Wait, what’re you going to do with them?” Asked Enma. It wasn’t clear whether he was concerned or just curious.
Ito wasn’t afraid to be outwardly concerned, though: “Are they going to be okay?”
Riddle looked between the two of them. “It has nothing to do with you, this is Heartslabyul business.”
Not suspicious at all, thought Ito, a little perturbed.
And then his expression softened just slightly. “If they follow the rules, then they will be fine.”
Ito’s shoulders relaxed.
Enma smiled. “Thanks for saving us… even if it was just to punish them properly, I appreciate it.”
Riddle chanced a small smile back and they shared short goodbyes before he turned to follow his dorm members.
Ito turned to Enma with a mock pout playing at their lips the moment they were sure Riddle was out of earshot. “Why aren’t you that nice to us?”
“‘Cause I like him more than you,” Enma said without hesitation.
“You barely even know him! He punched you when you met!” Grim hissed.
“Exactly. Maybe you should think about that more.”
“Maybe you should –!” (The rating on this fic does not allow for Kuroki’s retort.)
Ito took a seat on a nearby boulder, watching the dormmates bicker. They rolled their eyes and rested their head on their hand, giving a tiny huff in their exasperation.
But they still wore a tiny smile nonetheless.
~
Enma had insisted that they all stuff their pockets with magestones (Kuroki had agreed because they might be able to sell them and Ito had just not had enough energy to argue), so they were now walking around, gathering as many as they could while he struggled to find a way to comfortably carry the large one the Headmaster had asked for all on his own.
The two were careful to avoid the body as they picked their way around. Ito didn’t want to look at it, and Kuroki seemed to think that it might come back to life and seek revenge based on the way he kept looking over his shoulder at every little sound, so: wide berth.
Grim wasn’t as concerned. He was actively rooting through the dead monster’s pockets.
“Grim, please stop grave robbing,” Ito tried.
“It’s not grave robbing… it’s archaeology,” Grim retorted.
“Both of you are wrong,” said Kuroki. “It’s looting a corpse.”
Grim paid him no mind. “Besides, something smells really good.”
“Please don’t cannibalize the corpse please don’t cannibalize the corpse please don’t…” Ito chanted under their breath.
The tiny monster produced a small, black stone not unlike the ones they were currently collecting. “Aha!”
But, instead of stuffing his pockets like the humans were doing, Grim stuffed his face.
Enma frowned. “Don’t eat rocks.”
Grim didn’t listen. His eyes went wide as he swallowed the last of the rock. “Oh…”
Kuroki yelped and jumped to his feet, the magestones that had been in his hands twinkling across to the floor as he ran over to the monster. “Grim! Grim! Spit it out!”
But Grim’s eyes lit up. “That was… amazing!”
Kuroki skidded to a stop.
“... sorry?” Said Enma.
“It’s full-bodied, but also rich with an aromatic sweetness that just melts in the mouth!”
The three Yuus looked at each other to confirm that, yes, the monster had said that the rock tasted good.
And then Ito remembered Grim had been eating grass earlier and decided that, maybe, they shouldn’t listen to him.
Ito’s nose scrunched. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Huh. Guess monsters are omnivores,” said Enma after another moment of thought.
“That should not be all you guys have to say about this!” Snapped Kuroki.
~
The pair of ghosts accompanied them out of the mines. Almost definitely because the four of them couldn’t thank them enough for leading the group of seniors to them. Who doesn’t like praise?
Kuroki breathed a sigh of relief when the outside world finally came into view. And only partially because Grim jumped off of him and zoomed out, leaving him with a literal burden off his shoulders.
“And this is where we leave you,” the ghost with the pickaxe in his head said.
Enma frowned. “Do you have to? You can come with us. Our dorm already has ghosts. What’s two more?”
Ito watched them cast a sad glance back down the mine, and then the two ghosts shared looks.
“We’ve been here so long…” started the other ghost carefully. It tried to scratch its head, only to be stopped by the miner's hat that seemed glued there.
“Then a change of pace might be nice,” Enma said.
Ito yawned into their hand. “Unless there’s another monster in the mine you need to protect people from…”
“In which case we don’t want to know,” Kuroki said hastily.
“But you’ve spent… a long time here warding people away.” Enma smiled. “Don’t you think it’s time you actually enjoy your afterlife?”
The two ghosts mulled it over.
The one with the pickaxe in its head glanced back one more time before nodding. “That… I could do that.”
“No takebacksies, though,” the other said, ruffling Enma’s already messy hair.
They made their way out of the mine – nobody said anything when the ghosts stopped to bow their heads and stand there in silence for a moment, nor when the ghosts knocked down two trees to block the entrance and seal the tomb so the dead could finally rest – and started back the way they came.
~
“You actually went to the Dwarf’s Mine?” Was the first thing Crowley said to them upon first seeing them.
Enma held up the magestone as a slightly nicer way of saying ‘duh’.
The Headmaster gasped and jumped back a step, then clapped his hands to his cheeks and gave his best approximation of a horrified look. “My word… I never really thought you’d go… and you have come back with a magestone… I feel a little sorry for filling out the expulsion papers in your absence, now…”
“You what?!” Ito said.
Grim floated up so he could properly scold the man that was over 100 centimeters taller than him. “We defeated a huge beast for this and you were already preparing to throw us out?!”
Crowley’s exaggerated fluttering stopped cold. He stared at them in silence, the yellow balls of light that made up his eyes taking in everything about them – from the clothes that were ruined when the cave collapsed to the hands that were scraped and rubbed raw from their attempts at getting out. They must have been quite the sight.
“Could you explain in more detail while we make our way over to the hospital wing?”
And, so, they each gave their specific retelling of the events of the night. Kuroki’s was ridiculously short, Ito overdramatized everything purely for the sake of their own entertainment, Grim took all the credit, and Enma slipped puns into an otherwise perfectly acceptable explanation.
The Headmaster mulled over their stories while they took a healing potion the Headmaster had whipped up in seconds.
Ito grimaced at the affront to cooking that slipped down their throat and they had to pinch their nose to get it down. Enma groaned quietly and had to take his own in little sips. Kuroki didn’t seem all that affected, but the slight cough he gave upon first taste suggested he had just decided complaining wasn’t worth it.
Besides, Grim made up for Kuroki’s lack of complaints by yelling his own for the whole world to hear.
(Ito snuck a couple of extra doses into their pockets to give to Ace and Deuce later while the Headmaster was distracted trying to make the monster quiet. It wasn’t like the strange, pink liquid was all that out of place among the many glowing magestones that they had collected.)
And then they sighed and pushed Kuroki forward. Something they could do with ease now, because the pain and exhaustion lingering in every centimeter of their body had dissolved into a faint buzzing between blinks.
Kuroki sent them a betrayed look.
“Grim is yours, you deal with him.”
Kuroki glared at them for a moment longer, but then he reached forward and covered Grim’s mouth with his hand. “Shh. Do you want to stay here or not?”
Grim scoffed, but fell silent.
Kuroki let his hand drop.
Crowley looked at the group of them all. “So… if I’m getting this right… it seems that all six of you banded together to defeat the monster.”
“Were you not listening to me?” Grim said, baring a sharp fang.
Kuroki slapped his hand over the monster’s mouth once again.
“Yes, sir,” said Enma, pretending that that entire interaction hadn’t happened. “So…please don’t expel us.”
The Headmaster burst into sobs, burying his face in his hands.
Enma took a quick step backwards, horrified. “Gross.”
“Why is this grown adult crying?” Kuroki hissed, looking very much like he was considering leaving.
Ito cuffed them both over the back of the head before carefully walking over to the older man and giving him a few awkward pats on the back. They tried not to cringe when the Headmaster seemed to sob even harder and slowly retracted their hand, only for the man to catch their hand in both of his.
Now that his eyes were uncovered, Ito noted that there were no tears on his face. In fact, he looked less sad and more silently calculating. They wondered, idly, if they had made a mistake in not letting themself get expelled.
The man removed a hand to wipe away imaginary tears. Ito wasn’t stupid enough to try and pull away quite yet.
“In the many years I’ve been Headmaster, not once has this happened.”
“Not once has what happened?”
“I never thought I would see anyone from Night Raven College that was willing to stand, hand in hand, even if it meant defeating a common enemy!”
“I don’t hold hands,” said Kuroki.
“Patently untrue,” Enma snarked.
Ito sent a glare at them over their shoulder.
The distraction gave the Headmaster an opening to drag them over to Kuroki and Enma so he could wrap them all in a ‘hug’... in quotation marks because the large, feathered cape the man wore engulfed them all in a way that felt very much like a trap ensnaring them.
“This confirms it without a doubt! You three are beast tamers!”
“... right, you said that earlier. But you said that doesn’t change anything, remember?” Kuroki said in a tone that bordered on hopeful as both him and Grim tried to squirm away.
“I have changed my mind!”
The silent fuck that ran through all of their minds was palpable.
The man chuckled and squeezed their shoulders tighter.
“It seems that Night Raven College will be gaining some new students.”
~~~
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#the chapter in which they escape a collapsed cave only to get caught by a normal-ass person#it's kind of iconic#but only because it's stupid#i adore these three dumbasses#yuu can do it!#twisted wonderland#twst fanfic#twst yuu#twst mc#enma yuuken#kuroki yuuya#twst#dire crowley#ace trappola#deuce spade#riddle rosehearts#trey clover#cater diamond#we got the entirety of#heartslabyul#for the first time lets goooooo characters are finally getting introduced
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dark red; chapter ten - when you least expect it
Chapter Preview: “You almost sound worried, does this mean we’re friends now?” he could hear the smile in your voice.
“I said don’t talk.”
“The fact that you’re carrying me like this seems indicative that we’ve grown at least a little bit closer.” You acted as if you hadn't heard him, “C’mon, admit it. You do like me.”
Pairing: Crosshair/Reader (GN), Crosshair/You
Rating: T
Warnings: Descriptions of Injuries (not in detail)
Word Count: 5k
A/N: Welcome to the end of the second arc! This chapter is a big one 👀
HUGE thank you to B @literallydontlook for beta reading this!!
Masterlist
Previous Chapter
Read on ao3 (if you’d prefer)
Tag List: (tag list form) @lackofhonor @leia-saveourskins @that-one-beannnn @sammercxx @why-not-movies @lightning-wolffe @dwarfnip @imalovernotahater @salaminus @srryxmate @cipher-nine
Crosshair wished he had both of his hands free to keep you from slipping off his back, but there was no time to stop. There wasn’t a guarantee that the tunnel wouldn’t eventually collapse as well. He hoisted you up higher as he felt you slipping again and carried on. The fact that you went all the way back for him was stupid, he decided. You’d probably already made it out with the colonists and were only waiting on him, Lahna and the rest. To go back for him was almost suicidal in his eyes. But for some reason, despite it all, he couldn’t help the bit of relief he'd felt seeing your face again. Crosshair brushed that thought aside and began walking at a much brisker pace when he felt a harsh puff of air against the back of his neck.
He heard you whimper in pain and your arms suddenly tightened around where they hung over his shoulders, “...Crosshair?”
“Don’t talk. You hit your head from what I could tell. When we get out we’ll have someone check on you,” he said.
Suddenly he heard a laugh escape from you. He rolled his eyes. That was confirmation enough for him. He was caught slightly off guard when he suddenly felt you right next to his ear.
“You almost sound worried, does this mean we’re friends now?” he could hear the smile in your voice.
“I said don’t talk.”
“The fact that you’re carrying me like this seems indicative that we’ve grown at least a little bit closer.” You acted as if you hadn't heard him, “C’mon, admit it. You do like me.”
You laughed again while Crosshair glared at nothing in particular before he stopped abruptly, “Would you rather walk the rest of the way?”
As if suddenly remembering that you were, in fact, injured to some extent, he heard your breath hitch in pain and you didn’t reply.
Crosshair then handed the rifle to you, “Hold this.”
You took it from him and repositioned your arms around his shoulders as he hoisted you up again with both hands this time. The rest of the way through the tunnel was silent except for the little noises of pain he noticed you were trying to keep down. Something heavy sat in his chest, but he noticed the tunnel getting brighter the further he walked which meant the end was close. He heard a slight rumble not far behind him and picked up his pace. Soon the Kiros sunlight hit him and he heard Lahna’s voice shout in Togruti as she ran over.
“You are both alright. I’m so glad.” Lahna said, worry evident in her eyes.
“Feels like a mudhorn ran me over, but other than that, yeah,” you groaned from over his shoulder.
“Part of the cave ceiling fell on them,” he explained.
“I’m fine now, my legs just feel stiff,” you said.
“That’s not a good thing,” he replied irritably.
“Put me down, I can walk,” you demanded.
Crosshair frowned and was about to retort when Plink shuffled rapidly over to them, beeping loudly in concern.
“I’ll be okay Plink, it’s nothing serious,” you assured her.
“Bring them over to the skiff so we can take a look,” Lahna said. He followed her, Plink trailing quickly after them.
He turned and felt your weight slip from his back as you sat on the edge. You handed the rifle back to him and winced as you put a little bit of pressure on one of your legs. Lahna called to one of the colonists nearby and a few seconds later they came back with a medkit to start looking you over. Crosshair noticed how you winced again when they gently felt around your knee, but that seemed to be the only other noticeable injury. Your head was another matter that could be handled later with rest.
“That looks like it needs to be treated, Crosshair.” Lahna said as she gestured to his shoulder wound and he missed the way you looked at him with concern.
“I’ve had worse, I’ll be fine,” he said to her. She didn’t look convinced as she eyed the wound, but before she could say anything else, Ryshlen came over to them.
“I was beginning to think I would not be able to give this back to you,” she said as she handed the blaster to him, “I am curious, how did you manage to take down that first fighter from your position? They were both quite far away.”
“Lucky shot.” he lied in a deadpan tone.
Ryshlen raised her eyebrow, but bought it, “Well, if it were not for that then things would have turned out for the worst.”
“Indeed,” he responded.
“Ryshlen, will you check with the scouts and tell them to go ahead of us? We will need to leave in a few moments.” Lahna said.
“Take care,” she said with a smile before leaving.
He then heard a grunt and saw you slowly limping over to the both of them, the bag you’d come with slung over your shoulder. Plink was at your heels like a duckling to its mother.
“Good enough to walk,” you smiled, but he didn’t miss the way you winced and scratched the side of your head to play it off.
“Are you certain?” Lahna asked.You rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Crosshair can just carry me again if my knee acts up too much,” you tell her with a teasing smile and a side glance at him.
He gave you an unamused look, but it seemed to reassure Lahna and she cracked a smile in response.
“Where will you all go now?” You asked, your own smile dropping in concern.
“I sent scouts ahead to check on the place I have in mind, we will manage,” she nodded determinedly.
“This gives us a chance to rest and plan,” she explained, “If they think we have all perished in the cave, then we have the element of surprise when we’re finally ready to take back our home.”
“Catching the Empire with their pants down. I like the way you think.” you smirked and Lahna laughed and gave you a warm look.
“I am so thankful for all your help. Both of you.” she turned to Crosshair and he didn’t know how to feel as he held her gaze.
“I’m just glad we could do something.” You returned her warm look with one of your own.
The moment came to a close as one of the colonists came to inform Lahna that everyone was ready and all inventory was accounted for. Lahna nodded and began to follow after everyone when she turned around one last time.
“I hope our paths cross again. Preferably under better circumstances. May the Force be with you both.”
And then she was gone.
Something in Crosshair coiled unpleasantly at the phrase, but a hand on his arm got his attention before he could dwell on it.
“You’re good to go right?” you asked him. He noticed your eyes flicker to his shoulder.
“I should be asking you that,” he responded.
“You don’t have to carry me again if that’s what you’re worried about, I was just teasing,” you smirked.
“You still have a concussion and we have to walk back to the ship,” he pointed out.
“It’s not that far. C’mon, let’s go before the Empire decides they wanna send scouts,” you urged.
He turned and was about to follow you when he heard the sound of panting and frantic footfalls behind him. He was caught off guard and almost fell over as Hara crashed into him, latching onto one of his legs. His eyes widened as he looked down at her, at a loss for what to do when she almost immediately started crying. Another set of footsteps came running from the same direction and Crosshair looked up to find Kuli’s worried eyes meeting his own.
“I apologize, but she took off before I could do anything,” he said.
“That’s alright,” you said, “I think she just wanted to see if he was okay and to say goodbye.”
Crosshair stood rigid as the little Togruta girl clung to him. But now that the surprise had worn off, he was just uncomfortable. He wasn’t about to push her off, even if she did have a death grip on his leg.
“Is that right, Hara?” Kuli asked. Hara turned her face to nod at her father.
She let out a pitiful noise and Crosshair tried not to sigh as he decided that the only way he was getting out of this was to reassure her. She raised her head to look at him with teary eyes.
She let go as he knelt down to her eye level. “It’s only a blaster wound. I’ll be fine.”
Hara looked at his shoulder and then back to his face and her crying finally stopped. She sniffed, wiped her face and nodded. He thought that was sufficient enough, but as he went to stand up she suddenly threw her arms around his waist. Crosshair was startled once again and looked up at Kuli for help, but her father only smiled at the scene before him.
He heard Plink beep thrice and you laughed softly from behind him. He had to keep himself from making a face at that. Eventually, Hara pulled away and stared up at him with bright eyes before her face twisted into one of concentration. She opened her mouth as if to speak.
"Are you trying to tell him something, Hara?" her father asked gently.
She nodded and tried again, but still no sound came out as she struggled to form the beginnings of a word. Her expression crumpled into one of defeat. Crosshair instinctively rested a hand on her shoulder.
“I understand,” he told her and her lips turned up into a smile.
Finally, he stood and Hara walked back to her father. Kuli said his goodbyes and gave Crosshair a thankful look before taking Hara’s hand. They’d both started walking to rejoin the other colonists when Hara turned around one last time to wave goodbye. He waited until she’d continued on with her father to start the trek back to the ship.
“You're good with kids,” you said as you caught up to him and he could hear the teasing lilt in your voice.
“Please, shut up,” he grumbled, but it didn’t hold as much heat as his words from earlier and yesterday evening did.
“That was almost polite,” you laughed and he glared at you.
“Okay, I’m done. I won’t tease you for the rest of our walk back, promise,” you said, still smiling. He sighed.
He glanced behind one last time to see Kuli and Hara rejoining the others. His mind flashed back to the cave when for a split second he’d seen himself in place of that trooper. He couldn’t help the guilt now. He'd given into it. Now he couldn’t place it back in its box anymore.
The beginning of the journey back to the ship was quiet and cautious, save for Plink’s occasional noises. Crosshair kept an eye out for any Kiros birds in the off-chance that any more of them were being used to monitor outside the city. He didn’t hear any until there was a breeze again. It rustled through the trees gently and Crosshair heard a cry not far off. He stopped next to you and Plink and lifted the rifle in the direction it’d come from. He heard it again and another responded back. Then both birds flew up out of the trees and in the opposite direction. Crosshair lowered the rifle and he heard you sigh in relief as he carried on.
Your uneven footsteps a few moments later almost gave him pause, but then you were sure-footed again. He glanced over to see you blinking quite rapidly, a bead of sweat dripping down your temple. The weight from the bag over your shoulder probably wasn’t helping much either. On one hand they could rest for a moment so you didn't keel over, but on the other, the sooner they got back to the ship, the sooner you could get to the medbay. Crosshair took the bag from you and slung it over his own shoulder. He saw your surprised expression out of the corner of his eye.
“You said I wouldn’t have to carry you, but if you decide to faint before we even get close to the ship then where would that leave us?” he asked rhetorically.
“Thank you,” you said very quietly after a few seconds.
You clearly weren’t very talkative at the moment, but he chalked it up to your injuries.
“I've been half expecting you to give me an I told you so. ” you finally said after a few minutes.
He looked over at you.
“I told you so.”
You sighed softly and shook your head. Nothing else was said for a while until you suddenly sighed again, loudly this time, and stopped. Plink beeped as she almost barreled into the back of your legs. He turned around to find you frowning slightly at him.
"Do you not feel sorry for what you said at all?" you asked.
"And what exactly did I say?" he countered.
"Don't act like you don't know," you huffed.
"If this is about yesterday when you interrogated me and could not take the hint that I wanted to be left alone, then no ,” he said, underlying annoyance in his tone.
“Interrogated? ” you asked in disbelief, “I was concerned, you kriffing idiot!”
“I didn't ask for your concern,” he gritted out, “And your persistent attempts to get me to talk about myself are annoying and hypocritical considering you’ve barely shared anything about yourself.”
“Wha–"
He stepped closer to you. “Tell me, how much time did you spend with that reg that you ended up with his Republic-issued rifle locked away in the weapons hold of your ship?”
“Now who’s interrogating who?” you asked angrily.
He ignored you and barreled on, “Why do you care so much about what happened to the entire clone army? Why do all of them, but especially your reg, mean so much to you that you look like you’re in pain at the mere thought of them? Exactly how close were you with him? Relationships were against regulation and the punishment for a clone–”
“He was like a brother to me!” you yelled and Crosshair felt his anger deflate and morph into surprise.
An uncomfortable feeling took root in him when he noticed the tears in your eyes. Plink beeped angrily, but didn’t resort to attacking him, instead resting one of her clamps comfortingly on your leg.
“...He was like a brother to me,” you said in a softer tone, “His whole squad was like family to me.”
And suddenly Crosshair was back on Kamino. Omega’s words as he stood firmly planted on that platform echoed through his mind once again. He frowned and looked off to the side so he didn’t have to meet your eye.
“...I’m–” he tried.
“Let’s just get back to the ship,” you interrupted and walked on, leaving him weighted by guilt once again.
He put distance between himself and you the rest of the way back. Or rather, Plink wouldn’t let him get any closer than a couple of feet or else she would beep angrily at him. Crosshair stayed alert, but his mind was now occupied with the new knowledge he’d goaded you into sharing. Was , he thought. You specifically used the past tense, so whoever this clone happened to be he must not be alive anymore. Crosshair remembered you telling him the day after he’d met you that this clone and his squad had been stationed on your home planet. He wondered what kind of conflict had arisen that had had the Republic deploying its troops there. He wondered how long it had been since it happened. He also wondered how you’d ended up working for Cid.
Plink beeped again, but this time it was at the sight of the Gizka through the trees. The pain in his shoulder was starting to bother him again now, but you were in no condition to fly so the task now fell to him. Right before they reached the ramp your breath hitched and he watched you stumble and lose your balance. He was at your side in an instant, placing a hand on your arm to keep you from falling. He was all but shoved away immediately after.
"I'm fine," you said firmly, holding a hand to your head.
"You need to go to the medbay. Take something and then rest," he said as he opened the door.
"I still have to fly us out of here," you threw a glare at him.
"I'll do it."
"And what makes you think I'll allow that?"
"Do you want to lose focus mid-flight and send us crashing back down here?" He didn’t want to start yet another argument, but you infuriated him so easily.
You blinked rapidly and wobbled a little and Plink beeped worriedly. You closed your eyes and sighed before opening them again.
"I swear if you crash her…"
"I know how to fly a ship."
"We'll see about that won't we," you said before you marched up the ramp with Plink right behind you.
Crosshair rolled his eyes and made his way to the cockpit. As he sat in the pilot’s seat–rifle laid across his lap–he was struck by a memory. The very first time he had flown the Havoc Marauder. It was after many sessions with Tech explaining the ins and outs of every node, switch, module and button. As much as Crosshair was used to the info dumping, he’d just wanted to get to the flying part. Tech's worrying over the state of the ship didn’t stop until Crosshair had finally let him take over. His brother had still praised him for how naturally he'd adapted, but he'd responded arrogantly. Crosshair suddenly wished he could hear his praise again.
He scowled and ignored that thought in favor of getting the ship in the air. He remembered to activate the cloaking device as soon as the ship was airborne. The scanners were clear, thankfully, and soon they were leaving the planet’s atmosphere. Crosshair input the coordinates to Ord Mantell and the ship made the jump to hyperspace. He felt his body sag from exhaustion as he released a breath he didn’t know he'd been holding. The pain in his shoulder was excruciating now, but he sat for a moment in silence before getting up to go to the medbay.
The hall was quiet with no signs of you or Plink and when he got to the medbay it was empty. He assumed you'd actually listened to what he said about resting. Crosshair searched the cabinets for the right medical supplies and then carefully divested himself of his cloak, top half armor, and shirt. His mask was probably still in your bag, he realized, and if it wasn't he'd have to get a new one after landing. He grabbed a disinfectant wipe and hissed in pain more than once as he started cleaning around the wound.
“Let me do it,” he heard from the doorway and he paused.
“You should be resting,” he said, but your footsteps sounded across the floor as you walked over to him.
“What part of what I just said did you not understand?” he said with annoyance and looked up at you.
“I’ll go rest if you let me do it,” you compromised, holding out your hand.
He looked at you warily for a second before giving the wipe to you. There was silence for a minute as you cleaned around his wound and then you grabbed a swab and the bacta gel.
“Why?” was all Crosshair asked. He was beyond confused how you could stand to be around him at the moment.
“Because you looked like you needed some help,” you answered and he frowned.
“And just because I’m angry at you doesn’t mean I don’t care that you got hurt,” you added.
“And why do you care?” he huffed.
“Because I’m your friend,” you said, finally looking him in the eye, “Or at least I'd like to be. I believe you're not all sharp edges. What you did back on Kiros proved that isn’t the case. People are multifaceted, not just good or bad. I want to get to know you better. And in return I'll…I'll try to be more forthcoming if you ask about me, but I won't push if you won't. I promise."
Your gaze held his own and Crosshair could hear the hum of the ship moving through hyperspace, significantly louder in the silence. His first initial thought was to refuse. You were asking him to trust you more and he immediately felt defensive. Why should he agree to this? Why should he allow you to potentially know more about him than you did already? How was he supposed to believe your promise not to push? But then he caught the way your eyes shone with a sincerity and a hopefulness he wasn't very used to being on the end of. It had him reconsidering. With a little bit of reluctance, Crosshair decided to take a leap.
He hummed in agreement and you looked happily relieved. Your eyes left his as you went back to applying the bacta to his shoulder. Seconds later he noticed them trail over to his arm, stopping at the tattoo on his bicep. A skull with ninety-nine written in Aurebesh underneath it. You didn’t open your mouth to ask him about it, but he could tell from the look in your eye that you wanted to. He decided to indulge your curiosity as a sort of peace offering.
“It was our squad number and our symbol,” he said and you tensed, probably from being caught. He watched you try to cover it up by quickly throwing away the swab and grabbing the patch.
“I see,” was all you said, but your voice was soft and he watched the corners of your mouth lift up a little.
"What was his name?" he asked as you gently smoothed the patch down on his shoulder.
Your hands retreated and he noticed the pain in your eyes again before you stared down at the floor.
"I…," you trailed off, "I can't. Not yet."
He nodded and let it go and turned around to put his shirt back on.
“I’ll contact Cid and let her know we’re on our way back,” he said.
When he turned back around, you were already gone.
They arrived on Ord Mantell a few rotations later. The journey back had been uneventful and involved a lot of sleeping on your part. The rare conversations he did have with you had been more subdued. He hadn’t asked about you since the conversation in the medbay and neither had you asked anything about him. It was almost like before Kiros. The only difference was that he felt slightly less irritated now. Aside from when he had entered the same room as Plink. The little droid had been very intolerant of his presence on the ship during those few days. Which is why it was a relief once he’d left the ship with you after landing on Ord Mantell.
Standing in Cid's office, he watched silently with a toothpick in his mouth as you explained why the job took so long to finish.
"Why am I not surprised?" Cid asked with exasperation. You frowned at her.
"This is only the third time something like this has happened! The rest of your clients and contacts are usually slimy dickheads," you said.
Cid sat down at her desk "I'll be sure to let Phee know that next time she asks for your help on a job."
You winced, "Okay, hey now, I didn't mean her and you know that."
Whoever this "Phee" was, she must be closer to Cid than most clients, Crosshair deduced.
"Uhuh." Cid responded,an almost teasing edge to her tone, "Here's the pay."
"And take a few days off, Smiles," she added as she handed the case off. You frowned at her.
"I'm fine, Cid. I don't need a vacation."
"You still have a concussion," Crosshair pointed out.
You looked at him with betrayal and back to Cid again. The Trandoshan woman had her arms crossed, looking unamused.
"I'll call you after, when there's another job lined up," her tone left no room for argument.
"Fine," you caved.
"Good. Now that that's settled, I'm kicking you two out of my office. I've got company coming soon," she gestured towards the door.
"Are your 'best' guys back or something?" you grumbled halfheartedly.
"You want me to give your next job to them?"
"Okay, leaving now. Let's go, Crosshair," you said with a sheepish smile and quickly walked out the door.
"Keep an eye on them for me, Toothpick," Cid said nonchalantly. She may put on a gruff front, but Crosshair could tell her words came from a place of concern.
He acknowledged her with a nod before leaving and throwing his toothpick in one of the trash bins on the way out.
The walk back to the spaceport was leisurely, though the market streets seemed to be very crowded today. You practically dragged him to a stall a minute later so you could get some Mantell Mix. He declined when you asked if he wanted some.
"I don't know why Cid's so worried, I'm fine," you said as you shoveled a handful of the mix into your mouth.
Crosshair walked alongside you and drifted closer as the walkway began to get more crowded. It was beginning to make him feel a little claustrophobic, but the spaceport wasn't too much farther ahead.
"She seems to care about your well-being," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I know…been a while since I had someone like that in my life." You suddenly got quiet and he looked over to see you deep in thought.
He was about to question that statement, but then you smiled and picked up a piece of Mantell Mix.
"You know, we don’t have this kind of snack where I'm from," you said, "And funnily enough, we grew what they use to make it. It was also the first thing I ate when I got to Ord Mantell. I think that just goes to show that your past can follow you where you least expect it."
Crosshair almost stumbled as his mind conjured up what happened in the cave with Hara and Kuli again. He frowned and decided to ask you a question instead of dwelling on his guilt.
"And where are you from?"
You studied the piece of Mantell Mix with a thoughtful look.
"Dantooine. I'm from Dantooine," you replied, popping it into your mouth.
"The farming planet?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but I lived in the biggest city there. Which really wasn’t all that big compared to somewhere like here, but it was home," you said with a sigh.
He knew not to push further than that. What he didn't expect was a question for a question. Though in hindsight it was only fair.
"How many brothers were in your squad?" you asked, peaking over at him before staring into the box of mix.
"...Five…" he supplied.
You seemed to hesitate before speaking up again, "...Back on K–"
"Watch where you're walking!" a pedestrian yelled after he’d collided with you.
Crosshair quickly grabbed your arm as you apologized, clutching your container of Mantell Mix, and pulled you along. He expected you to finish asking your question, but you said nothing else. If he was honest with himself, Crosshair didn’t think he would have been ready to answer whatever it might've been. Silently, a piece of Mantell Mix entered his line of sight. Despite not caring for it, he still accepted it with an outstretched palm.
"Do you wanna try the new flavor they have next time?" you asked.
"Not a chance," he answered
"You're so stubborn," you said, but the corner of your mouth lifted up into a sort-of smile.
"It's called having good taste," he said.
"How do you even know what ‘taste’ is after eating ration bars for a good portion of your life?" you smirked.
Crosshair scoffed and didn't give a reply. You laughed and he walked on.
On the other side of the crowded market, a familiar group of pedestrians passed them by; caught up in the increasing commotion of a busy afternoon. A man with a skull tattoo on his face and a red bandana wrapped around his head stopped abruptly. He’d picked up a familiar sounding voice, but when he tried to listen for it again, it was gone. Lost in the sea of voices conversing around them.
"Something wrong, Hunter?" Echo asked.
Hunter scanned the crowded marketplace, but the oncoming pedestrians obstructed his view.
"...I thought I heard something, but…nevermind," he said with a frown.
"Wrecker, the Mantell Mix!" Omega exclaimed from behind him and she grabbed her brother's hand when she spotted the stall.
Wrecker boosted her up onto his shoulders and they both laughed. Hunter turned and smiled slightly at the sight before his expression turned more serious.
"Not until after we speak to Cid about a job," he stated firmly.
Wrecker looked sheepish as he remembered the reason they were here, "Right. Afterwards."
"She was not pleased about our unplanned absence when we spoke with her last," Tech said from his right side.
"We were laying low. She'll just have to get over it," Echo said bluntly.
Hunter sighed, "The sooner we get there, the less irritated she'll probably be."
"I do not think that will be the case. She is always in varying degrees of annoyance with us," Tech responded.
"She seems to be annoyed with everyone," Echo scoffed.
Hunter shook his head, but he didn’t exactly disagree with that observation. Glancing behind him, the sight of Omega sitting wide-eyed and joyous on Wrecker’s shoulder almost sent him in a spiral of worry again. But he steeled himself and marched on toward Cid’s place, his family loyally following his lead.
End Note: Hehehe.
Meant to have this up Wednesday when the new episode came out, but I needed some serious help revising it. Thank you again to B for beta reading! Emily I'm Sorry by boygenius was on repeat while I wrote the last half of this. And a lot of Sleep Token overall. Now I'm associating Crosshair with their music. I can't think of what else to say, but I'm probably forgetting something. Oops. But anyway, until next chapter😉
Feedback is much appreciated if you feel inclined to give any c:
Thank you for reading ❤️
#crosshair x reader#crosshair x you#crosshair#the bad batch crosshair#tbb crosshair#tbb#the bad batch#the bad batch fic#tbb fic#fic; dark red#my writing*
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12/26-1/9 NR, E, & M reading
The usual
Finished
Not Rated:
It’s alright to cry even my dad does sometimes, by enbysaurus_rex
It’s just,, Lil snapshots of Jingyi slowly becoming aware of LWJ’s grief and then his joys
From The Eyes of Commoner, by ReynDay (3rd in a series)
"What can commoners be possibly doing? They are beneath the great sects anyways."
Explicit:
hours to occupy, by untokki (7 chapters)
From the moment they met, Lan Zhan could not place the feelings that bubbled up in his chest when looking at Wei Ying.
Say So, by FeelsForBreakfast
Wei Wuxian is hit with a sexy curse that can only be broken by fucking or dying horny about it. In a last-ditch effort to preserve the paper-thin plausible deniability protecting his enormous crush on Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian attempts to choose ‘dying horny about it.’ He fails on all counts.
Mature:
you caught me in a moment weak, by Miss_Enthusiasimal (2nd in a series, 5 chapters)
Wei Wuxian went back in time when he fell at Nightless City to his time in the Burial Mounds. He's determined to change the future, but has he messed things up already?
Alternative POV/Missing Scenes for my fic 'we're starting at the end'.
Keep Holding On, by abCEE (46 chapters)
As they reached an inn and Wei Wuxian got them a room with three beds, the world seemed to have frozen for Jiang Yanli when her brother suddenly fainted and Jiang Wanyin was just fast enough to catch him before his body could hit the floor.
"A-Xian!"
"Wei Wuxian!"
In which after the Lotus Pier Massacre: Wei Wuxian was greatly injured by Zidian, Jiang Yanli left the inn to buy the medicines and food, and Jiang Wanyin distracted the Wens.
(With a bonus of Wei Wuxian knowing the title of the song and more things ensued inside the Xuanwu Cave that may or may have not involved Lan Wangji's forehead ribbon)
Canon diverged from there.
I Will Find You Again, by Hidenka_chan101
Lan Xichen had felt immense relief, knowing that before the dust even settled after the collapse of Guanyin temple that Wei Wuxian had made himself scarce. Despite the pain he felt from learning the truth about his sworn brother, Lan Xichen tried to use the absence of Wei Wuxian’s grating voice as a balm to soothe his own discomfort.
-----
What if Wei Wuxian, now fully aware of his feelings for Lan Wangji, decided not to confess his undying love for the Second Jade?
Unfinished
Not Rated:
Friday Nights, by Autumn_leaf101
“A-Cheng there is someone I would like you to meet with this Friday. He is the successor to Lan Academies. I’ve spoken with his uncle and we shall see if you both are suitable for each other.” Said Yu-Jiang ZiYuan, with a tone of clarity and finality.
“Yes A-Niang” Having expected this he felt relieved to get it over with.
“The Lan Academies huh? The heirs are quite the handsome duo.” A cheeky Cangse Sanren pointed out. “Isn’t the younger, the pouty one you’re always talking about A-Xian?! Oh, and the older, he has the sweetest smile, doesn’t he?” She continued an excited rant, met with an equally excited Wei Wuxian.
As the conversation steered to the rumours of Jiang Cheng’s potential betrothed, he wanted to know what was being said but no amount of effort could help him concentrate. His only focus; convincing himself that a lifetime of neglect and passive-aggressive companionship wouldn’t be too bad, or maybe, just maybe he could love and be loved the way a husband and wife are meant to.
straight guys for lan zhan, by UnsquareDance
@straightguys4lanzhan, who you might know, is on Instagram!
Profile description:
just bc i'm straight doesn't mean i don't have eyes👀
0 Posts | 0 Followers | 0 Following
you can have the best of me, baby, by stiltonbasket
Twelve hours after Jiang Cheng and the others escape from Mount Muxi, Wei Wuxian risks wading into the lake and discovers that the underwater passage to the stream in the maple wood has been blocked behind the tortoise’s body.
“It’s sleeping right beside the opening,” he whispers, when he and Lan Zhan are safe in a tunnel of rock too narrow for the Xuanwu’s neck and head. “Judging by the current in the water, that passage was the only way out.”
Trapped in the Xuanwu's cave with no means of escape, Lan Wangji suggests a surprising course of action to strengthen himself and Wei Wuxian for battle: dual cultivation.
The session proves successful, but despite their best efforts, Wei Wuxian's golden core yields unexpected consequences for them both.
I'd Give You The Moon, by Teadrenched
Wei Wuxian is very smart, but you wouldn't think that if you saw him now, lost alone in the woods at night and being choked by a witch. Despite his predicament, all Wei Wuxian can think about is how pretty the witch looked, and that he didn't know boys were allowed to wear dresses (but after seeing Lan Wangji, definitely thinks more should)
OR
Wei Ying finds fem witch Lan Zhan in the woods and goes to bother him whenever Madame Yu has been a bit too much
Enough!, by Jeeny271196
Wei WuXian had enough of them blaming him for everything. Or say Wei WuXian snapped out!
Wei WuXian reacted differently after Lan Xichen blaming him for Lan Wangji's suffering at guangying temple. Which changed lot of things.
Explicit:
you'll find my heart on the mountainside, by lulu_kitty
After parting ways with Lan Wangji on the mountain path, Wei Wuxian takes some time to consider what it is that he wants with this new second chance at life.
The answer finds him coming back to Lan Wangji, his zhiji, but after they reunite and set forth to embark on their new life together, an unexpected surprise awaits them on their journey home.
Or, a post-canon CQL/Untamed getting together story: accidental baby acquisition addition.
The Communication Effect, by draechaeli
If only there was more communication, or the right kind then everything would be all right. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi might be bad when it comes to talking to each other about the important things, but they are still leagues better then the older generation that use communication like swords: concealing, revealing, and striking as they please for their own gain. From apologies, to misunderstandings, to sieges, to rumours and gossip, to cold wars, to lies, to civil wars, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi navigate the world together once their brothers make sure they’re engaged before the classes at Cloud Recesses are finished.
This fic is finished at 186k in 37 chapters + 3 extras
Unfinished Epilogue - Postscripts, by Solmae
What happens after ‘the end.’
The Not!Sequel to the Unfinished Epilogue.
Each chapter can be read as standalone. Overall, the chapters are roughly in chronological order from “Day 1” through “Day 7,” but are being posted out of order. Sorry for any confusion.
Safely hidden in Gusu, by Aleaneah (locked to ao3 accounts only)
Lan Wangji had just finished his three years of seclusion.
However, that doesn't mean he had finished his mourning and grieving.
How could it be otherwise, when his heart is dead ?
Then...
One day, a friend(?) come to him, scheming behind his fan.
And his world regain a little of its colors.
Blood Harmony, by Anonymous
A canon-divergence CQL-verse fic, set after their goodbyes on the rooftop of Unclean Realm.
An arranged marriage AU for WangXian.
(pining while married)
Not a fix-it, more like a different kind of angst
Time Unwinds in a Kaleidoscope of Red, by vamprav
Wei Wuxian falls through time and hits the ground in the Burial Mounds. After taking stock of his situation he decides that things will be different this time, even if it kills him, starting with that disastrous reunion with his brother and future husband.
Love in Red and Gold, by Kaytla
"If you're not happy," Wei Wuxian suddenly heard his own voice saying, not unlike an out of body experience, "you could always express an interest in me."
Lan Wangji's head snapped up, piercing Wei Wuxian with such an intense stare he scrambled to try and explain the words that had just tumbled uncontrollably out of his foolish mouth, wondering faintly if he was going to have any control over his errant tongue today.
"I mean - it's just a suggestion, Lan Zhan. If you've shown an interest in someone, there's less pressure to marry immediately, right?" Gods, what was he saying? His tongue felt like a lump of liver in his mouth, clumsy and unwieldy, but he just kept talking.
Mature:
Second Summer, by Anonymous
“So, this is awkward,” says Wei Ying, with a little laugh. It sounds fake. “But I think you have mistaken me for someone else.”
A year after the mysterious death of the Jin heir, Lan Wangji runs across the secret, long-lost, amnesiac love of his life while on a night-hunt.
Up Above the Water, Never Going Under, by ishaalajusco
Jin Ling is kicked out of Koi Tower for an impromptu vacation, only to find himself traveling to the past to meet legends before they were made.
Or,
Jin Ling: How the hell did these people Sunshot Campaign?!
Dreams of Paradise, by Hauntcats
This on begins during the siege of the Burial Mound. Wei Ying is trying to destroy or nullify the tiger seal before anyone else can get it. The results don’t work out quite how he thought they would. His essence is trapped in between time where he witnesses different scenes of the lives of those he cares about. (The 13? 16? Years when he was dead.)
Then he wakes up in a place he didn't expect.
Once again, not Jiang friendly. If you don't like that, please, don't read.
travelers through the empty gate, by stiltonbasket
Ten years after eliminating the Jiang and Nie clans, Emperor Wen Ruohan is dethroned by a young demonic cultivator from the outlands of Yiling, who surpasses him in both talent and cruelty. Where Wen Ruohan burned his enemies, Emperor Yiling raises his from the dead, and sends them through the imperial city to hunt down every last remnant of the Wen clan that tries to evade his clutches.
The last thing Lan Wangji wants to do with the Yiling huangdi is marry him.
Unfortunately, his family's fall from grace leaves him with no other choice.
Keeping Our Promises Unbroken, by ColdBloodedReptile
The last thought Jiang Yanli had was that it was worth it to save her brother, and she would be reunited with her husband.
She didn't expect to find herself on the way to Cloud Recesses for lectures, again.
Or, Jiang Yanli travels to the past after Nightless City, and decides to not let history repeat itself. She's surprised to find she's not the only one who wishes that.
I Know How Those in Exile Feed on Dreams of Hope, by rabbit_habits and saltedpin
“What does it mean, that Wen Ruohan has all the Yin Iron?” Jiang Cheng asked, dragging himself up into a sitting position – her medicines must have worked quickly, because his ribs gave only a twinge when he moved.
Wen Qing settled down beside him, head bowed as she packed away her supplies, her shoulder brushing his arm when she moved. “It means that no one in the cultivation world can oppose him,” she whispered.
—
Canon divergence AU in which Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan are captured by the Wens after escaping from the Xuanwu's cave, before they can return to rescue Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.
can't find a way home, by KouriArashi
After giving away his golden core and being thrown into the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian takes his revenge on the Wen sect without crossing paths with the Sunshot Campaign.
With no trace of him found, his loved ones have no choice but to believe he died in the Burial Mounds, and go into mourning.
But then strange things start to happen around Yunmeng ... and in Lanling, Jin Guangshan has only begun to take advantage of the power vacuum left behind by the war.
Truths Laid Bare For All, by Preludian_Staves
The betrothal letter comes in the Springtime with a Lan escort, changing how events happen in Wei Wuxian's life.
AKA Wangxian meets early before the Cloud Recesses lectures and slowly starts moderately sooner, some things change and others stay moderately the same. Plus WWX flourishing under the tutelage of the Lans when there isn't prickly Heir or his equally prickly mother lurking around that needs near constant appeasement and a truth serum is involved somewhere in the course of things.
If Plan A won't work, there's a Plan B!, by SplitGirl28
Since discovering the truth about his Dage's death, Nie Huaisang was pissed and dug into Jinlintai considering his brother's unusual hatred of Jin Guangyao that warranted investigation. He discovered schemes that also led to a former classmate's death, his best friend's cornering and murder via weaponized stupid idiots by the Jins...all to have access to Demonic Cultivation in Jin Guangshan's bid for power.
It was then he discovered through his spies that Mo Xuanyu, a boy who resembles Wei Wuxian except for eye shape befitting a Jin, and a rounder face, was yet another of Jin Guangshan's spawn. Taken to Jinlintai a year after his best friend's murder and made to research Demonic Cultivation as he had no aptitude for orthodoxy yet very proficient with it. He spent years befriending the boy on the sly...and made plans.
One won't give him his brother back even if he gets revenge...the second plan will get him what he wants at a huge cost. And this young boy will help him!
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Gentlemen in Distress (request)
Legolas x reader x Fellowship
Requested: Yes! @galileostyles asked “hey i love your writing so much ❤️ could you do a legolas x reader x fellowship where they see you fighting for the first time at the mines of moria and feel bad for underestimating you. thanks ❤️”
Warnings: men being men
A/N: This was harder than I thought! I wrote it a first time last week but then I realized it was too similar to an upcoming chapter of ‘Perfect Secrets’, so I had to delete and start all over again. Enjoy and let me know what you think! I live for comments/reblogs :)
(I absolutely love this gif. It practically screams testosteron! If I was standing near an Orc at this moment I would take its arm and wound it around my neck myself, and gladly take up the role of damsel in distress. Yes please!)
The fellowship halted before the gates of Moria.
You were relieved to be out of the snow, but dreaded the upcoming journey through Moria. You knew why Gandalf hesitated to go through them, shivering at the thought of what could happen. Legolas’ eyes met yours, but he looked the other way when he saw you staring back. You rolled your eyes, knowing you had to have a serious word with your beloved Elf.
While Gandalf tried to figure out how to crack the password after two unsuccesful attempts, you made your way towards Legolas. It felt like days since you two spoke to each other.
He didn’t look up when you sat down next to him. You sighed, kicking the sand with the heel of your boot.
“Are you still cross with me?” you asked, already knowing the answer.
He pursed his lips, as if he was actually considering it. But then he rose to his feet and went to Aragorn and Sam.
“Guess that’s a yes,” you muttered.
Merry and Pippin let themself drop down at your feet. You heard Gandalf yelling at poor Pippin a few moments before and he still looked a bit shaken.
“Still mad at you?” Merry asked. You nodded.
“He has every right to be, my lady,” Boromir interrupted. You didn’t know he had been eavesdropping.
“And why is that?” you asked him.
“This journey is no place for a woman. When we fight, we do not have the time to protect you as well. He only wants to keep you safe.”
You rolled your eyes again. “How many times do I have to say that I can take care of myself? I know how to fight!”
“Training or taking part in a battle is not the same thing. If you were mine, I would have tied you to a chair to make sure you didn’t join us.”
“That’s why ‘if’ is the keyword, Boromir,” you reminded him.
You could hear Frodo shout something, and the doors to Moria finally opened.
Everyone got to their feet and entered the mines.
Legolas made his way up front with Gandalf and Frodo, while you lingered towards the back of the group. If he wanted to ignore you, so be it. You wouldn’t fret about it anymore. He’ll come around eventually.
The reason of your falling out was quite simple. Legolas had forbidden you to go along on the journey, after you volunteered at the Council of Elrond, following his example. Yes, that’s right. He forbade you. Like you were his property.
Not that he could have convinced you not to go, but you might have listened to reason. But as soon as he said that damned word, your mind was set. You were going, even if that meant you had to end your relationship because of it.
And ever since you left Rivendell with the fellowship, Legolas had given you the cold shoulder. He hardly talked to you and chose to walk alongside everyone but you.
When the Crebain flew over in Eregion, it hadn’t been Legolas who pulled you under the rocks but Aragorn. At that moment you realized he truly was angry at you.
What you failed to notice was the worried expression Legolas wore the entire time, cursing himself for not being anywhere near you to pull you to safety. He had thanked Aragorn extensively afterwards. He vowed to himself to never make that mistake again.
When you entered the mines, you could hear Gimli boasting about his cousin and the hospitality they were about to recieve.
You felt the darkness closing in around you, you really didn’t like this place.
“This is no mine, it’s a tombe!” You heard Boromir exclaim. It was only then you realised the cracking sound beneath your feet wasn’t the sound of branches breaking or gravel. You were literally walking on dead bodies.
Legolas pulled an arrow out of a corpse.
“Goblins!” he hissed. He notched an arrow on his bow and instinctively took a few steps towards you. You were too busy trying to avoid stepping on another dead Dwarf that you didn’t notice.
Boromir yelled something about the Gap of Rohan, but a movement outside of the gates caught your attention.
Out of the water came a long tentacle, slowly sliding over the ground towards Frodo. Before you could warn him, it grabbed his leg and dragged him out of the mines.
Sam cried to Aragorn for help, alerting everyone else. They all ran outside and tried to cut off the tentacles with their swords. Boromir had been able to free Frodo, but the giant squidlike creature wasn’t giving up very easily.
“Y/N! Go back inside, take the Hobbits with you!” Aragorn yelled.
Seriously? You were not a babysitter! Why did they have such a hard time believing you could hold your own?
Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir kept slicing the tentacles, but the creature didn’t back off. Legolas shot arrow after arrow, to no avail. They needed help.
“Quick, give me a sword or a dagger, anything!” you yelled, eager to join the fight.
“No!” Legolas yelled, shooting an arrow in the squid’s left eye. “Go back into the mines!”
“Oh, now you can talk to me!”
You felt someone grab your arm, trying to pull you back. You shook them off before you turned around and saw it was Merry, immediately swallowing the insult that had been on your tongue.
“Into the mines, hurry!” Gandalf shouted, when he realised this was a fight they could not win. You followed the others back into the mine, barely escaping the falling rocks when the entrance collapsed.
*
After a few days of walking through Moria, you had reached the Chamber of Mazarbul.
Legolas still wasn’t talking to you, now upset you hadn’t listened to him with the squid situation, but you knew he was going to give in at any moment. You had caught him staring multiple times, his hands twitching to take yours when you walked next to each other.
Gimli cried over the loss of Balin. You placed your hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. He gave you a grateful nod.
You heard Gandalf reading aloud from a book he’d found, and the words he spoke made your hairs stand up.
A sudden clang sounded through the chamber, and you saw Pippin standing by a well. He had managed to knock the head off a corpse, and the body of the fallen warrior followed seconds later. Gandalf shouted at him for being so careless.
“Don’t worry Pippin, he’s under a lot of stress. He doesn’t mean it,” you tried to ease the tension between them. But then the drumbeats had started…
“Orcs!”
Boromir and Aragorn ran to the door and barricaded it with anything they could find on the ground.
“They have a cave troll,” Boromir laughed sarcastically.
“Y/N! Take the Hobbits and go to the back of the chamber! Stay behind Gandalf!” Aragorn shouted.
“No! I want to fight! You can use my help,” you yelled angrily. You weren’t going to stand helpless at the sidelines again. Not this time.
“Meleth nin,” Legolas spoke to you, his jaw clenched. “Could you please listen to us for once? I only want to keep you safe!”
He cupped your face with his hands, and kissed your lips. “I could not live with myself if you got hurt.”
The Orcs started to hack through the heavy wooden doors with their axes.
“Go!” he growled at you, and you were so surprised at his reaction that you obeyed.
You had gathered the Hobbits and hidden yourself on the second level, behind the pillars to keep you out of sight.
The men had no problem with the Orcs, slaying every single one who crossed the wooden doors. But then a loud growl resounded through the chamber, and the cave troll entered, shattering the remains of the door with his mace.
A curse escaped you, this was entirely different than fighting against Orcs. The troll immediately made its way to Legolas. The skin was too thick, Legolas’ arrows bounced off of it.
He barely avoided a hit with the mace, and you started to get worried.
Suddenly the troll spotted you and the Hobbits, and with a screech he ran towards you.
It swung its mace and you grabbed Frodo, yelling at the other Hobbits to go the other way, hoping it would chase you to keep them safe.
Aragorn and Boromir took the chain hanging from its neck and pulled at it with all their might, trying to distract it and buy you and Frodo some time to get yourselves to safety. Legolas and Gimli were too busy with the remaining Orcs.
The troll swung its mace at them, and with one powerful blow he threw Boromir across the room into the wall. He landed with a thump on the ground, unconscious.
“No!” you screamed, which caught the creature’s attention. He charged at you again, and you shoved Frodo behind you.
The troll roared in pain when Aragorn threw a spear at him, piercing his back. Aragorn soon suffered the same fate as Boromir.
Your eyes went to Boromir, who was slowly regaining his consciousness, to Legolas who was shooting arrows at the troll again in the hope to find a weak spot, and back to Aragorn, who lay lifeless on the ground. They were losing this battle…
You couldn’t stay there and do nothing! Even Sam was fighting against the last Orcs with his frying pan of all things, but it was effective. They only had to find a way to defeat the cavetroll. And you knew how.
“Stay here!” you said to Frodo, shoving him in the corner.
You jumped of the landing and took two Orc swords from the ground.
“Y/N, no!” Legolas cried at you. But you already listened once today, and that was more than enough.
You ran around the troll, hacking your swords in its legs. It cried out in pain, and was now really pissed off at you.
“Y/N, Lassie, leave this to us!” Gimli shouted.
“Yes, because you’re doing so great!” you yelled back.
The troll swung at you with its mace, and it smacked to the ground right in front of you. Perfect timing, you thought and you jumped on top of it, and nimbly ran up his arm towards his shoulder. It tried to smack you off of him, but you were faster, slicing his shoulder and upper back.
You sat down, and swung your arms around his neck, effectively slicing his throat with both swords. The troll made a gargling sound and fell face forward to the ground. You jumped off his back, twirling the swords in a cocky way.
The whole fellowship looked at you in surprise.
“That was amazing!” Merry and Pippin yelled at you, engulfing you in a hug.
“Excellent fighting skills!” Boromir complimented. “I’m sorry we doubted you.”
The others couldn’t agree more. Legolas however stayed silent.
“Are you okay?” you asked him.
He scoffed. “You’re asking me if I’m okay? No, Y/N. I’m not! You didn’t listen and put yourself in danger. I had a dozen heart attacks while you fought that troll!”
You stared at the ground. He lifted your chin with his hand, and he pressed his lips against yours. “But you have proven to me that you can stand your ground.”
You smiled at that. “Does that mean I can have one of your swords?”
“Absolutely not!”
A/N: I’m still not that good with endings, but you get the idea!
#legolas x reader#fellowship x reader#legolas#legolas greenleaf#request#lotr fanfiction#lord of the rings imagine#lotr imagine#legolas x y/n#guardianofrivendell#lotr#lord of the rings
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how jeonghan knew
a journey with yoon jeonghan, lee seokmin, and you.
there was always something about his infectious laugh and his genuine nature that felt like fate to jeonghan, and maybe you were the muse that kept their red thread in tact.
prelude | part one | part two | part three | epilogue
wc.10662 (LMFAO) | fluff, smut, courtship, angsty in the beginning, polyamory, sugar daddy!jeonghan musician!seokmin escort!reader, hi cheol, hi gyu (again), hi boo, hi wonu, gay pining, jk he's pan probably, discovering sexuality, daddy kink, special guest seokmin!!!!!, threesome, lots of mlm, oral, cumpla, handjobs, choking, butt plugs, male penetration, there's a full on reader-less memberxmember sex scene idk, unprotected sex, please use condoms, jeonghan gets overwhelmed, the TEASING, jeonghan being a home improvement freak, don’t mind han jisung he’s just vibing, required listening is positions (2020) by ariana grande because it’s a perfect album
and here we have poly seokhan: the gayening!!! this is going to be the end of my scheduled updates for neverending artistry, but i’ll be posting an epilogue when i finish it - probably after i post a couple of other fics. this chapter.... is my fave......... i think u will see why lol. i went ahead and got a lil carried away with the house stuff but LISTENNNN i watch a lot of architecture videos ok LFJDSJ
thank you all so much for your continued support and incredible feedback on this series! it seriously means so much to me and i love seeing asks and messages from everyone telling me how excited they are to read more. i hope this satisfies you!!!
~
jeonghan is pretty sure he always loved seokmin. it wasn't something he would ever be able to change about himself, he figured, as he watched his friend date woman after woman in college with varying seriousness. he decidedly ignored any amount of feelings he harbored for the younger, especially after he dropped architecture as his major and he saw less of him.
jeonghan tried to get over the destined musician (he would always be singing or fiddling with his guitar when he was meant to be helping jeonghan with a diorama) with several women, and after decisively focusing on his career for a couple years, he found success in another man. his short lived gym buddy, but lasted quite a bit longer as his boyfriend. they had connected first when jeonghan had offhandedly commented that he liked the logo on his shirt, to which the long lashed, broad shouldered man had said he had gotten it at the brand's store down the street, making jeonghan chew his cheek before he admitted that he had helped design that location. they connected the second time later that night, clumsily but intensely, and jeonghan liked his plush pouty lips and how his messy black hair felt between his fingers.
while that didn't last forever, he found varied success in other men, and he figured this was why dating women had always been so difficult for him. definitely not that he had been given small choice amongst the rotten apples that attended his college.
he was single again, and at an industry party when he reconnected with an old friend from college who happily reminisced about the fun their small group of friends had back then. he asked if jeonghan remembered seokmin, the guy that dropped the program.
"lee seokmin?" he asked, his brows knitting as he tried to react normally to the name, and mingyu hit his shoulder, laughing.
"yeah! guess what? that son of a bitch is teaching my niece piano!"
jeonghan smiled at the idea of seokmin as a piano teacher, nodding along as mingyu talked about how he had volunteered to take her to her lesson one week, only to be put face to face with a long lost friend. jeonghan laughed as mingyu imitated the face the other had made, laughing harder when he recognized it and remembered seeing it on seokmin's face in the past, then telling mingyu about how he had once pranked him by making the poor guy think that he was going to fail a project because seokmin had accidentally destroyed a diorama. it had already been graded, and he was going to take it apart to save on materials anyways, but the younger nearly cried when he thought he had wasted hours of jeonghan's time and cost him the grade by accidentally kicking it off his desk.
he asked how seokmin was doing these days, and mingyu told him he seemed well, and that he takes his niece to her lessons as often as he can spare, just to chat for a while. "i could give you his number," he said, feeling his pockets for his phone. "i'm sure he'd love to hear from you."
mingyu had been right. seokmin did love hearing from him. and he loved the way seokmin made him laugh with his ever joking tone and physical comedy antics. the way his eyebrows creased as he tried to keep a stern face but was unable to hide the smile across his lips. the way he always fought with him for the check despite jeonghan being older and notably better off.
he didn't love, however, how seokmin nodded his head after the waitress and asked him if he thought he had a shot.
maybe he was desperate, or maybe he wanted an excuse to not date seriously, or maybe he just wasn't ready to let go, but jeonghan continued to invite seokmin out, despite the fact that their relationship would never develop past friends who met in college. he enjoyed his company anyways, even if it felt bittersweet.
he poured himself into his work for several months, taking more contracts than usual and keeping himself occupied, only really seeing others for meetings and constructions, or when he was depressed on a friday night and caved, asking seokmin to join him for drinks somewhere. he continued this cycle for too long, his personal assistant noticing his mood changes before most.
"are you taking your vitamins?"
"yes, seungkwan, i'm taking my vitamins," jeonghan bit back, fully aware that he wasn't asking about vitamins at all, but about his state. confirming he was still making an effort to take care of himself rather than spiraling, sat in his living room on a tuesday after being told by a doctor to rest, for god's sake as a solution to him nearly collapsing several hours earlier. seungkwan shifted on his feet, tongue running over his teeth as he stared at the architect, hands folded in front of him.
"you need to stop seeing him. it only hurts you."
jeonghan sighed, staring at the black screen of his television. "i know."
his assistant studied him. "you should come out with the team sometime," he said. "we get drinks on wednesdays, usually. come tomorrow, it could take your mind off things."
jeonghan looked up at seungkwan, who was clearly sucking on his cheek. he knew he was right. more importantly, seungkwan knew he knew, but jeonghan had a hard time wanting to take his mind off this one specific thing, considering the way this one specific thing laughed like a hyena, poured himself over a piano like an ocean wave, and sang along like an angel. his head fell back on the couch, and he had to take a long, conscious breath to lower the ringing in his ears at the silence. "i'll be there next time."
seungkwan exhaled in defeat, eyes flickering around as he excused himself and said goodnight, knowing his boss was lying.
jeonghan found you on accident - put in an uncomfortable corner by an ultimatum from his publicist and the circulating rumor that he sleeps with men because he can't keep a woman around that seemed to pile on top of everything else on his plate - and the second you opened your mouth, he knew you were special.
he remembered the profile he had seen from your broker, and knew you were attending university. he asked you your major, and when you told him you wanted to produce music for a living, something deep in him stirred. you had been sitting in his car for all of twenty minutes, and you nearly had him under your spell already.
he couldn't understand his fascination with you, but he continued to book you for dates, sometimes deciding what event he would be attending by asking what day you were available that week. he figured if he needed to prove to the world that he wasn't gay (which he was, he was pretty sure), you were the only one he was interested in doing it with.
maybe he had a thing for musicians.
he had taken out quite a few escorts before you, but none of them were nearly as fun. you always did an incredible job engaging in whatever event he brought you to, but also hit his chest as you tried to stifle a laugh at something he muttered into your ear, guiding you away. his friends liked you, too, the few he had. the ones that had met you. yongsun had even tugged him aside briefly, asking if he really liked you. you seemed nice, she had said. and good, in general, but also for him. she wanted to make sure he wasn't just leading you along to quiet some stupid rumor. he glanced at you, smiling wide as you excitedly discussed music with one of his other friends (the fifth and last person he liked at this event, the two of you included), and wasn't quite sure why he told her he actually liked you, but didn't feel the need to correct himself.
then you told him you were quitting, and he realized what he would be losing. then you kissed him, and he realized what he had been feeling. then you looked at him with wide eyes, just as shocked as he was by the explosion of fireworks you had both just experienced, and he realized what he had been missing out on all this time.
he figured he must have always loved you as his eyes scanned the hotel bar, confused at how you had managed to get away so quickly. he was running into the hall to see if you had escaped to the lobby when someone caught his arm.
"hey, you seen yongsun?"
jeonghan blinked at his blonde friend, recognizing her play. "have you seen y/n?"
"try the bathroom," she said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder in the direction she had come from.
he looked down the hall at the restroom signs, nodding. "i saw her at the chocolate fountain a minute ago."
byulyi patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "good luck, yoon."
it felt good telling you the truth, while sitting in your well organized and tastefully decorated studio apartment that you had insisted he would hate, even if he was too scared to admit all of it. why he had needed you before, but wanted you now. his heart nearly beat out of his chest when you agreed to his conditions, though he recognized that he had given you just about every advantage in the deal. it would have been near impossible for you to say no, especially after the way you had kissed him before someone had finally tried to enter the bathroom you were hiding in.
for a while, he only kissed you as a farewell, mostly because he enjoyed the old school romanticism of kissing a beautiful woman in the moonlight, her back against the passenger door of his black vehicle parked on the street outside her studio apartment. then, when he had invited you to his home after the two of you had ditched a boring dinner several hours early, you had curled up in his side to watch a movie. at some point, he caught you staring at him, and you put a hand on his cheek and kissed him sweetly. slowly. kissed him in a way that only made him crave more. you smiled, settling back into his side for the rest of the movie, and even though you had done it unconsciously, the back of your hand rested against his thigh in a way he had a hard time ignoring, and he decided he must have just had real shit taste in women before he had met you.
the following sunday, when you mentioned how pitch black the sky seemed at that late hour, having gotten caught up binging some drama, he not-so-vaguely hinted that he'd be okay with you spending the night in his bed. you eyed him, and he shrugged playfully.
"or i have guest rooms. up to you."
"i have class tomorrow," you tested.
"i can take you," he responded. "if you want."
you paused, watching him as he recorked the wine bottle the two of you had opened earlier in the evening but only managed to have one glass of each before abandoning it to cuddle on the couch. he was always so thoughtful, even in his teasing. he cared about your comfort. he wanted to maintain your boundaries. but it had been a really long time since you had gotten laid, and everything in you yearned to say yes. jeonghan's voice in your head reminded you, no expectations. this could be whatever you wanted out of it.
so you went to bed with him.
jeonghan would swear up and down that you were the most beautiful woman in the world, and his beliefs were only confirmed when he pulled your shirt off of you, dragging your pants down your legs, and got a real look at you for the first time. you felt unexplainably embarrassed under his gaze, asking if he was okay.
"yeah," he said breathlessly, a hand running up your side, your back arching slightly to his touch. he curled over you before he whispered "god, yeah, i'm more than okay," against your lips.
not even ten minutes had passed before you told him you loved him between your panting, and he was so ecstatic when he could tell you, wholly and truthfully, that he loved you, too. and after your pulses had died down and you were falling asleep in his arms, he said that if you were staying under his roof, you were not allowed in any guest rooms. that if you needed space, he would find a different bed to sleep in, because this one looked best with you in it, and he refused to have it any other way.
jeonghan never got bored with you. over time, you began going to his place after events and dinners more than he dropped you off at your apartment, becoming an often enough occurrence that he had asked you one night to fill an online shopping cart with clothes for you to keep in his closet, so you could stop this silly packing bags nonsense. he had already bought you a full set of toiletries for his bathroom, started keeping your favorite snacks in the pantry, and even gone as far as to buy you the house slippers you had offhandedly said were cute when the two of you wandered aimlessly around a mall together. you were becoming a part of his home in more ways than one, and he was happy to have you.
he offered you an unused office on the second floor when you started studying for finals on the peninsula of his kitchen counter one monday afternoon, and you asked what was wrong with you doing it where you were.
"because you're not going to clean it up," he pointed out.
"maybe if we had a rewards system," you argued. "if i clean up, i get a prize."
he laughed, rounding the small jut of countertop, thinking about how he would probably need a proper kitchen island if you were going to be sticking around. "just because i give you an allowance, doesn't mean you're a child. you're not supposed to focus on the baby part of sugar baby."
you pouted as you turned on the stool to face him, a hand gently tugging his tie to pull him into you. "what if i focus on the daddy part of sugar daddy?"
a hunger dropped in jeonghan, gazing down at you as you sat at his kitchen counter, surrounded by textbooks and notes. your eyes sparkled under the lights, and his fingers went behind your neck before he kissed you, muttering against your lips to try calling him that again, angel.
the kitchen remodel had gone about as smoothly as it could have, given the fact that it was nearly impossible to transport such a large slab of granite for his dream island without it snapping in half from its own weight, but they managed, and when the light fixture finally turned on for the first time after the new cabinet doors had been installed, he felt justified in remodeling a kitchen that had hardly needed updating. he felt even more justified when he came downstairs to find you, having woken up in an empty bed, only to have you yell at him as you flipped pancakes on the griddle of his new gas range, saying you were going to bring him breakfast in bed and if he didn't cooperate, he wouldn't see you for a week. he laughed at your threatening spatula, putting his hands up in surrender, unable to stop smiling as he made his way back up the stairs.
you had enrolled in online courses for your last year of school, mostly so you didn't have to be anywhere specific for several hours every day, and instead could keep your schedule massively open to cater to jeonghan's needs. this also meant you usually attended your afternoon lectures at his home, waiting for him to get off work and distract you.
then the two of you started attended wednesday drinks with the team. seungkwan had thanked you, though you hadn't realized that you were deserving of a thanks.
"he'll tell you when he wants to, i guess," he said, twirling the beer in his hand. "but he wasn't in a great place before he met you."
you could hear the subject of your exchange laughing further down the bar, and you wondered what kind of place he meant, but tapped your glass against seungkwan's instead of asking the question. "to better places."
he chuckled, bringing the beer to his lips. "cheers to that."
jeonghan enjoyed having you on his lap on the couch, listening to whatever r&b record you had chosen as you worked your lips against his. he nudged several kisses down your neck, and you mentioned offhandedly that there was a perfect place in his living room for a bar, pointing at the wall behind him. he pulled away from you, turning his body with an arm over the back of the sofa, and his head cocked as he stared at the wall that only held a painting. he silently agreed with you, wondering why you seemed to inspire all his recent projects as you nipped at his neck, drawing his attention back to you with a smile on his face.
the bar was finished in time to hire a bartender for a halloween party. he hadn't told the guests that it was an anniversary party, but you had been made aware of the secret arrangement during a conversation the two of you had over a private meal in your favorite restaurant the week before.
"a threesome," you asked, hoping for clarification.
"with a guy, preferably," jeonghan said. "but i could be convinced to approve of a girl if that's what you would like."
"you're being serious?" you seemed to find yourself asking him that a lot. every time he suggested something that he knew you wanted, you wondered if he was pulling your leg. "and you want me to choose?"
"yeah, at the party," he said, watching you shake your head incredulously with a smile on his face. the two of you had discussed the possibility in the past, and he thought it made a fun gift. an unexpected one, from someone who had enough money to comfortably gift you just about anything. "i have to approve, obviously, but you get to pick the candidates."
you thought a moment. "what if we can't agree on anyone?"
"then i take you to bed alone and we have fun anyways."
he laughed when you squinted at him.
"if the opportunity comes up down the line, we can try again later," he said. "but i thought this would give you something fun to do while i'm hosting guests."
and it had, as you sneakily scoped out the guests, flitting around the party of both familiar and unfamiliar faces in your angelic cheerleading costume. visiting and laughing heartily with the team, as well as your uni friends that jeonghan insisted you invite, offering them more drinks, then saying something about having to play hostess so you could continue your search. byulyi and yongsun were there, and you complimented their matching rapunzel and flynn get up, jeonghan catching you for just a second to ask if you needed anything.
you settled in on one target perhaps too quickly, without even really having made an effort to see all the options. you had been struck by the same sharp cheekbones, puppy dog eyes, and crooked smile that jeonghan had once fallen for. when he saw you tucked into lee seokmin's side, recognizing your flirting even from a distance and noticing how receptive the musician was to it, his heart fluttered, and he couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing.
a good thing, he decided, when seokmin had asked him permission before he came in you. because, seemingly, sexuality was much more of a spectrum than jeonghan had once thought, and perhaps his college crush just needed the encouragement of an incredible woman to try something a little beyond his experience, much like he had.
and when you wouldn't stop mentioning the musician the two of you had enjoyed the company of while schmoozing guests at the opening of him and his friend's collaborative art exhibit, he got a slick idea. on the way home, he told you that you weren't allowed to make a noise until he hung up the phone, but you were already writhing in the passenger seat just as the phone rang.
and when he answered, you clamped a hand over your mouth, a bare foot landing on the dashboard as you tried to grind against jeonghan's hand, his voice steady as he talked to the younger.
and when he mentioned you, your walls pulsed around his fingers, a smile finding its way into his lips as he spoke. he tried not to take too much pleasure in the way you looked at him with begging eyes and your fist between your teeth, or in the way seokmin's tone dropped as he confirmed that he would get a cab, but he truly couldn't help himself when he made eye contact with seokmin as you sucked him off, his hips canting into yours recklessly, forcing seokmin to break the contact as he reacted to your moan on his cock.
he noticed the way seokmin's hips began to move on their own, begging for enough control to chase his nearing high in your mouth but having it brought right to his doorstep instead. jeonghan felt your perfect heat cling to him in reaction, and before he could think to stop himself, he pulled you into his chest by your throat, not daring to let you claim it all as he lapped cum from your mouth. you whimpered against him, your orgasm lasting impossibly long as he fucked into you, getting milked by your needy walls.
when he caught seokmin staring directly at him, he grinned and wiped the back of his hand across his chin and lower lip, languidly licking any escaped cum off it, and asked if he wanted to try his, too.
seokmin agreed, nodding shakily before jeonghan massaged at your sides, pumping himself into you a few more times. he told you to give seokmin's mouth a ride. you groaned, his cum dripping down your thighs.
jeonghan watched the younger's cock twitch as you moaned over him, one hand on the wall and the other on his scalp, his fingers digging into your thighs. he stared at how it never lost hardness. he didn't even realize that his hands were on seokmin's hip and thigh before he even asked if he could touch him, but a large hand left your thigh to shakily bring jeonghan's to his thick cock, answering the question despite you occupying his mouth, his fingers lingering over jeonghan's as he pumped his length.
he couldn't deny that how badly he wanted to fuck seokmin, but he could settle for making him cum in his hands until he was ready for something more, especially with the surprising amount he had to give after already having cum once. he let himself indulge in a single lick across seokmin's sensitive slit - though it was hard to stop there - triggering a garbled moan before he left to shower.
a week or so later, jeonghan asked you if you were interested in dating seokmin. you put your phone down and rolled over in bed, propped up on your elbows as you asked him what he meant.
"i love you," jeonghan assured, pulling you to lay closer to him. "and i can tell you like him."
you studied his face. "but i'm with you."
"that doesn't have to stop," he said, smiling at you as he tucked a hand behind his head. you eyed his arm briefly, then refocused on him. "but you know how things get in the winter, and i would be okay with you trying things out with him while i'm busy."
"you're being serious?"
jeonghan laughed at the familiar question. "yes, y/n, i'm being serious. i know you want me, but i also know you want more than me."
you had never told anyone about your desire for multiple partners, not even admitted it out loud to yourself, so his candid assessment caught you off guard. "how did you-"
"just little things you've said," he teased, leaving you to question how much you had revealed about yourself without realizing. "besides, no one can deny the chemistry."
you paused. "boundaries?"
"just tell me," he said, putting his arms around you and tugging you into him. "i just want to know when you're seeing him. and, eventually, i would like to be invited every once in a while."
"invited to dates?" you asked, throwing a leg over his lap to straddle it as you laid over him. "or invited to bed?"
he smiled up at you, hands running over your rear. "either. both. whatever you two want."
you agreed, but only after you made him promise he would tell you if anything changed for him. that he had to tell you about every doubt and worry he had. "i'll always choose you," you stated plainly, lips brushing against his as he gently rolled his growing length up against your clothed heat. "no matter what, i'll choose you."
"i know, sweetheart," he said, a hand on your cheek as he kissed you. "i promise."
after he came back from a business trip in december, you admitted to him that you and seokmin had exchanged i love yous, and he just put an arm over your shoulder and turned down the volume on the tv, telling you that he was pretty sure he loved seokmin, too.
"it was him, wasn't it?" you asked, studying his profile. "he was the guy you couldn't get over?"
jeonghan rubbed his face with one hand, sighing. "yeah, it was him."
"why didn't you say anything?"
he thought a moment. "i didn't want you to feel obligated, i guess."
your fingers straightened the seams of his long sleeved shirt across his shoulder. "obligated to win him over for you?"
"obligated to love him, too."
"jokes on you," you giggled. "he's very easy to fall in love with."
jeonghan supposed that was true, thinking of how quickly he had fallen for him, even back before he had admitted he liked men. how he had fallen into the same spot even years later, just over a shared meal and a few bottles of soju.
but you were easy to fall in love with too, he thought, remembering how he hadn't even understood his feelings towards you until you had kissed him, but he had felt them strong enough to want you to stay by his side anyways. maybe jeonghan just fell easily, but maybe he was lucky enough to have found his people at such a young age.
you settled back into the crook of his arm and asked him what he thought about seokmin coming over to join you two for christmas. while much of the world celebrated with family, it was more of a hallmark holiday in korea, often times spent with a long time sweetheart or a budding romance. or both, in your case, jeonghan supposed, when you were distracted trying to find the third christmas music lp you had specifically gotten for the occasion (out of eight, of course, because you didn't want to run out of christmas music). he was leaning against the tasteful home bar that had been hardly touched since halloween when seokmin shyly admitted that he knew jeonghan was interested in him.
he said nothing for a moment. "she told you?"
"kind of, back when you were in japan, but-" seokmin paused. "i think she was just suspicious, but i should have known. you were always too kind to me."
"not too kind," jeonghan said, hiding behind his wine as he sipped at it, trying not to show his embarrassment.
"i think i'm interested, too."
he looked at seokmin, who was staring down at his hands. "are you sure?"
"i'm-" he paused, catching jeonghan's eyes for only a second before scratching the back of his neck. "i think so. i've never even thought about doing anything with - uh - men. until you."
"that's okay," jeonghan said, looking to where you were flipping through records. "i didn't like women until y/n."
seokmin faltered. "wait, really?"
he nodded, a small smile on his face. "i thought i was gay. turns out i'm not."
"but you-" the musician stretched his jaw. "weren't you kind of a player in college?"
he almost said something about how having sex to meet an end and keep an appearance was different than enjoying it, but stopped himself when you announced that you had found the lost record, switching the lps with a flourish and setting the player again. and while he was curious about the level of seokmin's interest in him, he was happy to leave the conversation where it stood when you excitedly rejoined them at the bar.
"do you think i could be a bartender?" you asked, leaning over the counter and grabbing an unused shaker.
"probably," seokmin said.
"for sure no," jeonghan laughed.
you pouted at the latter, holding the shaker between your hands as you directed your attention to the former. "thank you, seokmin. i appreciate you encouraging my dreams."
"any time," he joked.
jeonghan rolled his eyes. "what about that music degree i'm paying for?" he asked, taking another sip.
"just because you've known what you wanted to do forever, doesn't mean everyone does. maybe i'll change my mind." you tried to spin the shaker in your hand, but the force you used was too little and it stopped on your palm too quickly, clumsily clattering to the counter. you stilled it, exhaling sharply when jeonghan giggled beside you, looking to seokmin. "he might be right."
"it's almost like i know you," jeonghan teased, nudging you. "she was convinced she could become my personal bartender for all of two weeks."
"i tried," you whined. seokmin laughed. "the tricks are harder than they look."
"and you hated shaking drinks."
you put the shaker back, defeated. "the ice made it cold."
"isn't that the point?" seokmin asked.
jeonghan smiled at you. "you're lucky i like wine."
"i'm gonna talk to you now," you announced, turning your body to seokmin. "because you're nicer to me than he is."
"aw," the architect chuckled, and seokmin watched you react to a squeeze at your butt. "did he make you soft? can't take my teasing anymore?"
you ignored him, trying to ask the man in front of you about his lessons, but you yelped when his hand firmly landed on your ass, grabbing seokmin's arm in reaction. he looked at you, seemingly just as shocked, and you tried to continue the conversation, but jeonghan's hand didn't leave, and your entire body was reacting to the way it was slowly hiking up your skirt and running between your thighs.
your eyes fell shut, and you muttered for him to cut it out as your grip on seokmin's arm tightened, but jeonghan just made eye contact with the other male, asking him instead if he should.
without thinking, seokmin shook his head and put his hands on your jaw, pulling you in to kiss him. your moan against his lips was involuntary, and jeonghan grinned as his fingers ran over your core, making you whine.
"did you tell him?" you gasped out, asking seokmin with hooded eyes. he shook his head, saying that he hadn't told him everything.
"told me what?" jeonghan asked, interest piqued as he put down his glass, pulling his hand out from your skirt and placing them on your hips instead, squeezing gently as he stood behind you, and your head fell back into his shoulder without much intention as you licked your lips. "seokmin?"
he pulled his gaze, trained on your mouth, to look at jeonghan, and he felt his breath stop in his throat as he fully processed the sight in front of him. you gasped again, as jeonghan's hand came up to knead at your breast, and you tried to pull seokmin closer, but he didn't stop moving even when he was pressed against you.
jeonghan thought he might faint. he wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but when seokmin's hand found the back of his neck and pulled him over your shoulder, his mind went blank. when his lips found his, his vision went white. when he felt his tongue against the inside of his teeth, he couldn't help but moan, one hand gripping your waist and the other aimlessly tugging on seokmin's shirt, seemingly just to hold something that belonged to him.
"fuck, okay," jeonghan breathed, staring after the musicians lips even when they left. you giggled, recognizing the feeling. "okay," he repeated. "got it. understood."
you spun around, hands on jeonghan's chest. "we prepared something for you," you said, and seokmin's cheeks and ears were bright red when he sheepishly nodded with you.
jeonghan looked between the two of you, swallowing suddenly. "what?"
you tugged on his hand, then grabbed seokmin's, too, when he didn't move right away, leading them both to walk around the couch. you pulled jeonghan onto the cushions with you, kissing him briefly before he realized someone was between his knees. when he saw him, that was when jeonghan's dick woke up, suddenly realizing what was happening.
"be nice," you muttered against the shell of his ear, your hand running down his torso. "it's his first time."
seokmin's hands were strong but gentle, and despite never having touched a dick that wasn't attached to him, he knew what felt good. he needed a bit of guidance from you to begin, less from lack of knowing the process and more because he was nervous, but quickly found a comfortable rhythm. jeonghan sighed when he finally got pulled out of his pants, and you were sucking a mark into his neck, his arm wrapped around you and his hand kneading at your rear. his eyes could hardly stay open when seokmin ran his flattened tongue up the underside of his cock.
"isn't he pretty?" you asked, whispering, a smile on your lips.
he groaned, threading his fingers behind seokmin's ear, desperately trying to hold back his release because he hasn't even put you in his mouth, yet, jeonghan, for god's sake, keep it together. the younger's eyes flickered up to his, and he nearly came just from the feeling of his soft lips around his member, sinking slowly.
"fuck, you're too good at this," jeonghan said, the half chuckle on his lips falling quickly when seokmin's tongue ran over a vein, the warmth of his mouth feeling like heaven. his teeth bit down on his lower lip, watching your hand run through seokmin's hair. he hummed at the contact, his grip tightening slightly, sending a jolt through jeonghan's system. "fuck, i'm gonna cum already."
"there were lessons," you giggled, your hands wrapping casually around his neck. his breathing hitched, eyes falling shut, focusing on the mouth sheathing his cock as he recognized your fidgeting fingers over his pulse. "merry christmas, daddy."
he inhaled sharply right before you squeezed at his throat, and he thought that he should maybe let you lead more often if it was going to feel this good. seokmin seemed surprised by the feeling of jeonghan cumming in his mouth, but he did his best to pump every drop from him, swallowing thickly. you only smiled when jeonghan sat up, leaving you behind as he pulled seokmin's face to his, his hands running up jeonghan's thighs as he kissed him.
jeonghan decided the sunroom extension was all wrong, and that he'd have to redo it.
"you just built that," wonwoo said, having been the contractor that oversaw the construction. "besides, it's snowy season, we can't do outdoor construction. you'll have to wait til spring."
"not outdoor," jeonghan said, rolling out the drafting papers he had drawn up over the course of his new year break, the final pieces being completed in the wee hours of that morning. he had sent wonwoo a text as soon as he thought he would be awake, asking for a meeting despite it only being two days after the new year. "the shell can stay the same, we just need to build indoors. besides, i need this done in february."
wonwoo blinked at him. "when in february?"
"it has to be fully furnished by the 18th."
the contractor laughed at the deadline, only a month and a half out, as he looked over jeonghan's drafts. it would be a tight schedule, considering the structural changes he wanted, but he recognized his long time work partner's determination and knew there was little he could do to argue. "okay. let's get to work."
he turned down a contract for a café to make time for the new home project, but not before recommending they contact a kim mingyu, giving him the vaguest thank you for introducing seokmin back into his life. he didn't have time to draw several attempted variations of every café he had ever designed, he was too busy mapping out the logistics of adding a lofted space to the two story sunroom. too busy planning to tear out the outer wall of your office and picking the right sliding glass doors that would lead to the loft. you had to ask him several days in a row before he finally told you what he had planned.
"a music room?"
he tried to gauge your reaction. "is it crazy?"
you broke out into a smile, studying his design, gripping the mug that held your latté that morning. "absolutely, but i love it."
he asked you to help him pick instruments, saying his wishlist included a white grand piano and three to five guitars that could be displayed together. he also told you to pick out your dream computer setup for production - you were graduating that year, afterall, and it was about time you started using something other than your laptop and a midi controller to make music - and you almost started crying from how fucking excited that made you.
hiding the plans from seokmin was the hardest part, especially when he started spending weekends at the house. he saw the construction area often, and one friday afternoon, he had even asked if he could help, leaving you to usher him away and assure him that jeonghan didn't like help when it came to these things. he believed the white lie, allowing you to distract him with the option of watching shit television in bed, even convincing him that tonight was the night to surprise his new boyfriend. seokmin laid in bed with his arms wrapped around you, trying not to move too much, fully aware that even the slightest movements in his body caused his dick to come to life, until the last of the workers left and jeonghan appeared, asking if there were dinner requests before he went to take a shower.
seokmin had been training with you for over a week. you had bought him some toys, even helped him try them out in the comfort of his loft, and he got increasingly excited - generally, but also in those moments - to show jeonghan what he had learned. the surprise he had been keeping had already made him beg you to cockwarm him as he waited, but you refused on account of knowing him, and by extension, knowing that he would not being able to stop himself. he had a bit more confidence, though it may have only been fueled by horniness, when he pulled the vaguely sweaty architect toward him on the bed. he tried to say something about how he should really wash up, but seokmin just kissed him, hands gripping around his skull in desperation, his dick already hard against jeonghan's pelvis.
jeonghan's hands wandered, as they usually did, and when he reached down to palm at seokmin's ass, he reacted in a way that earned him a questioning glance.
"we - ah-" his eyes shut, jeonghan's hands getting closer to his surprise. "she's been helping me-"
and that was when he felt it. the small, hard handle of a plug, situated between seokmin's perky asscheeks, easy to feel through the loose fabric of his shorts, and jeonghan felt his arousal tenting his pants just from the concept.
jeonghan hadn't even noticed your movement off the bed until a bottle of lube hit his leg, looking down at it briefly before looking to you.
"i'm gonna go clean up," you said, running a hand through your hair as you retreated to the bathroom, leaving jeonghan with an already flustered seokmin.
before long, he had him on his back, naked, and finally got to see how sweet his little ass looked when jeonghan pushed his knees towards his chest. when he saw the black knob fitting tightly into his hole, he groaned, his own bare cock flinching in need. he put a hand on seokmin's dick, gripping it lightly, then put a thumb against the plug.
"nngh- fuck," seokmin stammered, fingers gripping at the bedsheets as his neck stretched out against the pillows, bucking into the hand wrapped around him. "j-jeonghan…"
"this is cute," he said, slowly moving his thumb in a circular motion, the plug's movement making seokmin let out choked moans. "but i really need to play with you now."
seokmin nodded, hurriedly, brows knit together. "please."
he hooked his fingers under the knob of the plug, slowly pulling it out and relishing in the reaction. the younger's back arched in a way that jeonghan wished he could see from every angle, knowing that the way his shoulders and back looked must have been incredible, but satisfied by just watching the way his mouth hung open and his eyes clamped shut, his fingers gripping at jeonghan's hand where it stayed on his dick.
he began to pump the dick in his palm, setting aside the plug and grabbing the lube, popping it open with just his left hand and quickly squirting a healthy amount onto the tip of seokmin's penis, making quick work of spreading it completely over the engorged member, the slickness making him moan even louder and reach out for jeonghan's shoulders.
he let seokmin tug him over him, kissing him briefly before looking down at where the younger's thighs spread over his, wanting nothing more than to just fuck him already.
jeonghan's hand left seokmin's cock, leaving him whining against his lips, but it was short lived as his lubed fingers slid down to his puckered hole.
"seokmin," he muttered, studying his face. "you're sure, right?"
"fuck, i've been wanting this for since christmas, jeonghan," he sputtered out, eyes barely able to focus when there were fingers teasing his entrance. "yes, please, i'm sure."
jeonghan slid a digit into the tight hole, watching seokmin's face as his brows creased and his head fell back, a moan tumbling from his lips. another finger, jeonghan decided, and the reaction was similar, making him smirk.
"god, you're ready, aren't you?"
"please," he begged. "i want you."
jeonghan sat back, and the musician got on his elbows to watch as he readied his cock with lube, putting more on his finger and spreading it around seokmin's hole. he whined when jeonghan placed the head of his dick at his entrance, tugging him over him again.
"i'll go slow, okay?" jeonghan assured him. "tell me if i need to stop."
seokmin just nodded, eyes trained on his, and they locked lips as jeonghan pushed his hips forward slowly, the man under him immediately moaning and huffing against his mouth.
jeonghan really liked sex with seokmin. he also really liked sex with you. but he was pretty sure he liked it the most when you were both present.
seokmin didn't walk right for a day and a half, and while he was slightly embarrassed, you told him it was a badge of honor he should wear proudly. afterall, he had done the same to you on halloween.
"how's your butt?" you asked when he came down the stairs, the sunday morning after they had done the deed without you, making him choke out a laugh as you got his tea out of a cabinet in jeonghan's kitchen.
"better than yesterday," he said, gingerly seating himself at a stool. "but not as good as friday."
you eyed him. "before or during?"
seokmin thought a second. "both."
"good morning," jeonghan said, quickly planting kisses on the man and then you, cheek and lips respectively based on the convenience as he walked past you, making his way to the espresso machine. "i think i'm gonna work on the sunroom today."
"today?" you asked. "wonwoo's gonna say no."
"wonwoo isn't getting invited. i still have to find furniture," he said, rinsing out the espresso shot glass and wiping down the portafilter. "we're getting close to deadline, i need boo to order the upholstery job on tuesday and i have a meeting tomorrow."
"when's deadline?" seokmin asked, wondering why he had one for a home project.
jeonghan blinked at the wall, not even turning towards the younger. "don't worry your pretty head about it."
you pouted, closing the short distance and wrapping your arms around him, your chin on his shoulder. "it's sunday. can't we cuddled puddle?"
"you mean like we do every night?" jeonghan asked, but grinding espresso beans so you couldn't answer the rhetorical question, packing down the grounds. "if you want to cuddle puddle, don't get out of bed so early."
you huffed as you dropped your arms, leaving him to prep a glass for his americano. "whatever. seokmin and i will have fun without you."
"what kind of fun?"
you stick your tongue out at him, using a teasing voice when you said "wouldn't you like to know."
innocent fun, was the truth, but you thought it was a victimless bluff. you spent the morning sitting on the couch with seokmin while a record played, discussing everything from your favorite movies to your weirdest dreams. you had to get up every six songs or so to flip or change the record, but seokmin liked that every time you rejoined him on the couch, you got closer to his side until you were eventually snuggling into his side, arms wrapped around his torso.
the innocence stopped when jeonghan emerged from his study, joining the two of you for a break. he planted himself on the other side of seokmin, under his arm, letting his hand not-so-subtly run over his thigh. you noticed the contact, peeking around to jeonghan.
"what kind of break are you looking for, hannie?"
he adjusted. "an inspiring one."
you giggled, recognizing the euphemism he used whenever he was stuck on something for work as you leaned back again. "that means he's horny."
seokmin sputtered out a laugh, jeonghan chuckling at your direct observation. "it's hard to not think about you two sitting out here, having fun without me."
"you may not believe it," seokmin said. "but i don't think sex was even on the table for us two today."
jeonghan's eyes met his, and he swallowed harshly. "can it be on the table for all three of us?"
the comfort of returning to bed was hard to deny, especially when they had you laid out against seokmin's chest as he was pressed against the headboard, his mouth attached to your neck and his fingers twisting a nipple, all while jeonghan was digging his digits further into you with his tongue flicking against your clit.
seokmin grunted, rutting his hips against your back. "fuck, he looks good there."
you gasped, nodding, biting at your lip as he kneaded your breast, your fingers digging into jeonghan's hair. "you both do."
jeonghan never struggled to pull you apart, his deft fingers and teasing lips making you squirm and moan until you were shaking, mouth hanging open as your vision blurred and he told you you tasted like candy.
"minnie," jeonghan prompted, making the younger sit up with you whining against him to clean your taste off his fingers. his dick throbbed in need, watching the singer's agile tongue against him, wishing it wasn't just on his fingers.
seokmin had to practically beg jeonghan to fuck him again, but his only hesitation was that he may not have recovered yet. seokmin was on his back and gripped at jeonghan's thighs, urging him forward as your hand twisted around his thick, throbbing cock.
jeonghan swallowed, pausing despite being covered in lube and in position. "you're sure?"
"yes," seokmin said, gasping at your hand on him. "jeonghan, i appreciate you asking, but i'm always sure when it comes to you."
you weren't sure you had ever seen jeonghan blush like that in bed, and you smiled against seokmin's neck as he groaned, his cock firming in your grasp as the older pushed into him. you admired seokmin's silent scream, his head lolling to one side at the feeling.
"angel," jeonghan sighed, settling into the way seokmin squeezed around him. "what do you wanna do?"
you teased a thumb over seokmin's slit. "i wanna ride."
"f-fuuck-" seokmin panted, his hips resting against jeonghan's spread thighs as his knees hung to either side. "i'm not- nngh- gonna last."
"you don't have to," you said matter of factly, adjusting to straddle his torso. jeonghan winced, watching your form as he pumped into seokmin. "we're done when daddy says so."
you put your hand, palm up, over your shoulder, and jeonghan chuckled at the recognized motion for him to spit on your fingers - usually, so that you could slick his dick to sit back on it. you worked jeonghan's spit over seokmin's engorged cock, then slowly lowered yourself onto him.
seokmin stared up at you, eyes fluttering and mouth open, suddenly not only feeling impossibly full, but also absolutely stuffed into you. he moaned out loud when jeonghan bumped into his spot, overwhelmed by the simultaneous pleasure. you fell forward onto his chest, holding yourself up with shaky arms as your face hovered over his, both of you trying to hold off your own demises.
then, jeonghan pushed himself deep into seokmin, who whined, his dick pushing up against your cervix. you nearly collapsed, whimpering as your forehead fell to his, gasping into a desperate kiss. jeonghan groaned, his hand running over your hip as he looked at the intersection of you all, staring at the way you barely contained all of seokmin before he leaned forward and kissed your spine.
"you two will kill me," he said, one hand holding you firmly at your waist while the other gripped seokmin's thigh as he picked up his pace. you both moaned, fingernails digging into the plushest part of your thigh when seokmin questioned how much longer he could hold out at jeonghan's unrelenting pace.
a long, high pitched whine fell from his lips. "fuck, i need to cum," he rushed out, bleary eyes barely opening as he looked at you.
"hang on, baby," jeonghan said. "ladies first."
you babbled against seokmin's lips, somehow never being able to get used to the way he filled you, though jeonghan pushing him into you didn't help. you could do nothing but repeat curses in increasing pitch, pushing your face into seokmin's neck as your walls clamped down around him. his mouth gaped, desperately trying to not succumb to your plush insides before he got the okay.
jeonghan smiled at how seokmin tried to focus on him, despite his hands gripping you as you shook against him. "go ahead, baby."
so seokmin went. and god, he went, coating you internally, immediately squeezing out around his stuffed cock and onto his lap, making jeonghan pant as he kept his hips moving, chasing his own end. he leaned forward, chest pressing against your back as he fucked into seokmin, not stopping until his eyes were clamped shut and he was painting his walls white.
there was a long period of time where none of you moved, then another after you had all managed to untangle from each other. jeonghan sat back, leaning against a hand and scratching his brow as he breathed heavily.
"bathtub cuddle puddle?"
you laughed, chest heaving as you looked over to him, but it was seokmin who spoke. "that sounds nice."
he started to get suspicious when his birthday got closer.
jeonghan told you to suggest a dinner outing for that night to divert attention, but he had caught you moving one of the guitars for the music room only a few days before his birthday, and he looked at you with squinted eyes when he asked if it was for him and you hurriedly said no, hiding the guitar behind your back despite him clearly being able to see it.
"i panicked," you told jeonghan, eyes wide. "he saw it in me. he could tell it wasn't just the guitar."
"it'll be fine, y/n," he said, pushing around potted plants until they satisfied him. "he has to think it's weird that we haven't let him see this room yet, anyways."
you chewed your cheek, looking around the almost completed sunroom. the tall windows showed the light snowflakes falling from the sky, not quite thick enough to leave a layer but enough to make the enclosed yard look slightly pastel. despite the open space that looked out into the cold seoul winter, it stayed cozy, heat radiating from the floorboards and the faux fur rugs laid across them. the space near the entrance had a raised floor with a grand piano, along with several guitars hanging upon the wall, while the area partially covered by the balcony had two heavily cushioned, dark heather gray couches and a bright armchair, adorned with pillows and cable knit blankets.
jeonghan had a slight obsessive nature when it came to his home projects. he was meticulous with contracts, too, but he truly wanted this house to be perfect - not just for him, but for the people he loved. so you watched him rearrange pillows about four more times before you ran up the stairs to the loft to see if he had changed anything there since you had looked the day before.
it almost felt as though it was outdoors, with plants hanging off the edge of the railing and the rustic desk he had originally picked for your office placed to one side. you imagined doing schoolwork here, fantasizing slightly about watching seokmin play piano from your vantage point as you wrote essays. you slid open the glass doors to peek into your new office.
he had painted the walls white, taking a hint from the styling in your own apartment when he picked out a neutral toned couch and light wood shelving, your early graduation present of a computer set up spread across an L shaped desk. he had even paid to have your upright piano moved here, and cut into the next room over to give you more space for an electric drumset. you couldn't help but smile, imagining your friends coming over to record stuff with you. you had always felt strange about inviting them to your rich boyfriend's house, despite him insisting they were welcome, but he had really gone through the trouble of making a room so perfect for all of them that you had no choice.
and it was brighter, you thought. you had told him you worked better in bright spaces.
despite jeonghan's promises, the music room renovation felt like it was as much a gift for you as it was for seokmin. though, maybe he couldn't help it, when the reasons he loved you both overlapped so much.
you went to seokmin's apartment the next day with a bagged gift for him, arriving again right as his client was leaving, and you smiled at the same young man you had seen the first time you had come to visit seokmin. you knew his name now, not because you had spoken to him much, but because you had been told about him by his teacher, and you congratulated him on getting a gig the upcoming weekend.
"oh," jisung said, glancing between the two of you. "he talks about me?"
you laughed and gave him a fighting, seokmin looking upwards to hide his embarrassment as he ushered his student toward the door. "have a nice week, jisung! i'll try to be there this weekend," he said, throwing you a look as you giggled.
"it's not for guitar, you don't have to come," the younger assured. "but if you want to, bring your girlfriend!"
"yeah!" you said, putting your fists on your hips. "i'm getting you dinner for your birthday tonight, the least you can do is take me to an underground rap show!"
"okay, both of you, no more talking," seokmin said, trying and failing to prevent jisung from stopping in his tracks at the news that it was his birthday.
"woah, teach, happy birthday!" he laughed. "you weren't gonna say anything?" he kept talking even as his teacher pushed him out of his apartment.
you couldn't stop grinning when the door closed, seokmin turning to you. he pointed at you, trying to hide his smile as he could only get out a vaguely annoyed "you."
"happy birthday, baby," you said, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. he softened against you, smiling as you pulled away, his hands on your waist as he thanked you quietly.
"he asks about you a lot," seokmin said, joining you when you laughed at the fact. "i think he has a crush on you."
you rolled your eyes. "stop bragging about me, then."
"i don't brag," he said, smiling into another kiss. "i just tell the truth. i can't help that you're a dream come true."
you only pulled away from him to grab the two thick paper bags that you had set on his couch. "c'mon, we gotta head out. open your presents."
seokmin's mouth dropped open when he saw the logo on the bag. "wait, you didn't."
"i had to," you said, giggling as he grabbed one and tugged it open, moving to the couch to pull the garment out. "you said you wanted it."
"where did you find one?" he asked, staring at the corduroy parka from the brand you saw him wear constantly. "they've been sold out for weeks!"
"i got it before then, duh." you poked his cheek when he pouted at you, his eyebrows knit. "there's more, stop getting distracted."
seokmin hugged you extra tight as a thank you for his romantic crown haul, and he decisively pulled on the golden yellow shirt with the pizza on the back, making you grin at how perfectly jeonghan had predicted his thought process before you dragged him out of his apartment to go get dinner.
"we're just picking it up," you said, jangling a keychain. he gave you a quirked eyebrow, and you giggled, pulling him over to jeonghan's car. "do you wanna see it self drive?"
you pushed the side door closed with your butt and called out to jeonghan, saying the birthday boy was here. seokmin took the pizza boxes from your arms and put them on the kitchen counter as jeonghan walked around the stairs.
"well one of us has to change," jeonghan said facetiously, and seokmin looked down at the yellow shirt peeking through his half zipped parka, looking back up at jeonghan, who was wearing the same shirt.
"wait wait wait," you giggled, turning around to undo the zipper of your own jacket, pulling it open as you spun around to reveal that you, too, were wearing the shirt.
seokmin looked between you two with wide eyes, his eyebrows creasing. "you got us matching shirts?"
"pizza shirt gang!" you giggled, stripping off your jacket. "do you like them?"
he smiled into a disbelieving laugh. "how did you know i would put it on?"
"because we know you, minnie," jeonghan said, reaching for his hand after he took off his new coat. "before we eat, i finished the sunroom today, wanna see it?"
"hang on," seokmin stopped, making his hand fall from jeonghan's. "that's not the gift, right?" he looked at you. "the sunroom isn't the gift?"
you pursed your lips, looking at the ceiling, and seokmin started to argue, making jeonghan laughed. "who cares if it's for you, i just want you to come look at it."
jeonghan is pretty sure he always loved seokmin. it wasn't something he would ever be able to change about himself, he figured, as he watched his lover cover his face with his hands, sinking to crouch on the floor as his eyes looked around the large room that was lit by fairy light. the first thing he had seen was the piano, which made him gasp, then he saw the guitars, and looked at your smiling face, suddenly connecting dots, unable to stay standing from the shock as he understood why he hadn't been allowed to help.
and then he started crying.
the two of you ushered him to a couch, sitting him down as he sniffed back the tears. you sat beside him, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and cooing, jeonghan crouching on the floor in front of him.
"i'm sorry," jeonghan said, smiling slightly as he gave him an apologetic look. "i didn't mean to overwhelm you."
seokmin choked on a laugh, wiping at his cheeks. "how did you think i'd react?"
"i don't think he thought about it," you whispered, knowing full well jeonghan could hear you.
"i got a little carried away," he admitted, hand rubbing comforting circles on seokmin's leg. "you're special to me, so i wanted to make something special for you."
"this," seokmin said, looking around, gesturing at his surroundings. "this?"
the older huffed out a laugh, almost embarrassed. "yeah, this."
seokmin laughed too, eyes wet as he looked into the other's. "i can't believe you would make something this incredible for me."
"you're incredible," jeonghan said. "i want you to feel welcome in my home."
"i couldn't believe the record wall, either," you offered when seokmin seemed speechless, pressing your cheek against the his shoulder, hand rubbing his back. "jeonghan's love language is a little unique."
seokmin sniffed one more time, studying jeonghan's face, his brow creasing ever so slightly. "holy shit, i'm in love with you."
your heart stopped as you pulled away slightly to look at him, then jeonghan, who was frozen.
"i didn't realize that's what this was," seokmin said, hand gripping the one on his thigh. "i knew i liked you, but this is-"
jeonghan rose quickly, seating himself at seokmin's other side and kissed him. "i love you," he said, thumbs wiping over his slightly damp cheekbones. "it's taken me years to admit it, but i love you."
seokmin kissed him again in response, his face feeling hot from the continued attention. he broke away, only to look around the room again, jeonghan studying his face with a smile as he did.
"i think," seokmin said, clearing his throat when the words came out weak. he looked to you, then to jeonghan. "i think this is the best birthday i've ever had."
jeonghan laughed. "we haven't even had the pizza yet."
#dude just like magic by ariana is just about the mc of this au deadass#middle finger to my thumb and then i snap it#anyways#seventeen fluff#seventeen smut#seventeen imagines#seventeen scenarios#jeonghan fluff#jeonghan smut#jeonghan imagines#jeonghan scenarios#dokyeom fluff#dokyeom smut#dokyeom imagines#dokyeom scenarios#yes all of svt are in this au even the ones not mentioned by name exist in this universe ok#they all have a place i have a chart#whenever jeonghan gets an idea for a project at home seokmin runs and grabs a bass guitar and does the home improvement bass riff#i wrote dis#seokhan poly au
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Phantom Children Ch. 7
Massive thanks to my awesome betas for this chapter!
In Which: A Story is Given to the Locked Room
AO3 | Prologue | 6 | [ 7 ] | 8
DICK DOESN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO FEEL. Surprised, maybe? Though he really isn’t all that shocked. Not that the revelation of another Wayne kid isn’t surprising, it’s just that—well…
Bruce has a tendency to attract foolhardy kids with a strong sense of justice and a willingness to harp on Batman until he gives them wings and teaches them how to fly. It’s the way of the world. The sky is blue, the sun sets in the west, and little Robin-hopefuls flock to Batman like ducklings to their big, brooding, mother duck. (That most of them are black haired and blue-eyed with some sort of traumatic backstory is a coincidence. Probably. The universe is just weird that way.)
And Bruce, bleeding heart that he is despite all the steel walls and nuclear spike fields he placed around it, always had a soft spot for children. It’s what people don’t get when they call Robins and Batgirls, former or current, child soldiers. They think that Batman picks these children up from gutter alleys and unfortunate homes, breaking and reshaping them into crusaders for his war against crime.
(What most don’t get is that the easiest way to gain ‘favorite child’ status in the Wayne household is to just stay home and live the most normal life possible. All of them—with the exception of Damian and Cass—chose this life. And even those two chose to stick with it, even when Bruce was more than happy to give them a way out.)
Dick was one of the first to stand at Batman’s side. The original. The ‘golden boy’ as Jason always put it. He’d been there so early in Batman’s career that, years later, it’s nearly inconceivable to imagine Batman without his Robin. He’s been there for Bruce’s soaring highs, his crushing lows, his mundane middles, just as Bruce has been there for him. Sure, they’ve had their fights, but Dick had always settled himself with the knowledge that he was one of the few people that knew everything about Bruce Wayne.
But this . This nursery—no, this memorial . This monument that spoke of a life that could have, should have, would have been, is something that predates Robin’s existence. A story, a memory that had hurt Bruce so badly that he would rather hide it away than breathe even a word of its existence.
Until now. Until Bruce had no choice but to rip the wound open once more.
“Bruce. I—what’s going on?”
“Perhaps,” Alfred interjected. “Perhaps it may be best to take this to the cave. Such a story should be told once.”
Bruce laughed, a broken, shuddering thing. “What is there to tell? I was naive with a heart too open and full of longing. I let myself hope, and I let myself get crushed . I picked myself up, moved on, end of story.”
Alfred raised an imperious brow. “As you are the one who always insisted on detailed reports, I do hope your summary to the boys downstairs would have a little more detail.” His face softened as he placed a comforting hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “What recent information that has been passed to us paints a worrisome picture, given what little you have shared, but know that this time you are not alone to deal with this matter. Regardless of what you do, the rest of the family is involved by proxy."
Bruce seemed to release some of the tension in his shoulders at that. “Yes. Of course. Dick, why don’t you see if Tim is back yet. I don’t want to explain this more than once, if possible. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Yeah. Yeah, sure, I’ll get right on that.”
“And, Dick?”
“Yeah?”
Bruce’s gaze was intense. “How is Damian doing?”
He remembered the way Damian sunk deeper into the chair, hands clasping and unclasping at air. The white of his cast hanging limply as Damian’s legs could just barely brush against the cave floor. Dick swallowed a lump in his throat. “I don’t know. But I do know that he could really use his father right about now.”
Bruce gave a shaky nod and Dick left.
_______
Everyone has heard this tale before.
His boys have learned about the birth of Batman, of how a boy lost his parents in an alley at the age of eight. How at 14 he took to the study of criminology to an almost religious fervor. He took and aced every AP test, graduated high school at 16, headed off to get a college degree, then disappeared off the face of the earth.
Batman may have been born kneeling in the shadows of a dirty alley, but it was on the streets abroad where Batman grew up. Learning and studying and fighting until he knew what made the criminal underworld tick, how to escape almost every type of restraints, how to solve a murder with only the smallest of clues. He trained under a demon and met his daughter. When their ideas of justice clashed with each other, he tried to leave, they tried to stop him, and he set their base on ablaze.
He returned to Gotham the prodigal son, the favored prince, the charming socialite. Bruce Wayne took his place at the center of Gotham’s solar system, shining and bright and unbelievably foolish. Batman put on a cowl and learned the shadows of Gotham’s streets, and built himself up to be a symbol of fear and justice. Soon, he acquired a Robin to temper that darkness. To bring a light of hope, to instill a sense of peace— something more than vengeance and the night.
The rest is history.
Here is the part of the story that Bruce had omitted:
Early in his career as Batman, a man named Quayin had plans to steal a weather modifying US satellite. This, and certain other events, led to Bruce and Ra’s al Ghul crossing paths—and working on the same side. The details of that mission, in the long run. do not matter. Not anymore. What’s important is that accompanying him is his daughter, Talia al Ghul. She was as deadly as she was beautiful—and Talia was very, very beautiful.
It was a whirlwind romance. A storm of passion. Gotham’s Bruce Wayne and socialite Miranda Tate. * Batman and the Daughter of the Demon. The tempest reached its peak on that fateful day in the gardens of Wayne Manor. The hot summer sun and buzzing insects fading away as she pulled him aside and said “Beloved, I am with child. I am pregnant.” **
Bruce was caught unawares by the news. Stared dumbfounded at her until his brain caught up with his ears and he felt such unbridled joy bubbling in his chest. He laughed, clear and bright. He held her tight against him as if she held the world in her hands—because she did . Talia held his world within her and Bruce vowed to protect it with every fiber of his being. He called Alfred immediately to tell him the news and started arranging for discreet interior decorators and shipments for everything they needed for a nursery.
Thomas, for a boy. Martha for a girl. He swore that very day that it would be the happiest baby in the world. **
And then—
And then…
As Ra’s and Bruce planned their next move to stop Quayin from initiating a war between America and the USSR, Talia collapsed.
Talia collapsed and the baby was just…
Gone.
And suddenly Talia wanted nothing to do with him. Told Bruce to leave her alone, that their relationship would never be the same.
His child was gone .
By the time the rogue satellite was recovered, Quayin defeated, and all loose ends tied up, the nursery was fully furnished. Bruce took one look at it and then turned away. Locked the door and hid the key god-knows-where.
His child was gone.
Batman continued to work.
There was no use for an empty nursery.
--------
End Notes:
The story I'm using for the circumstances surrounding Danny's birth is basically a modified version of what happens in Batman: Son of the Demon. Modified so that people knew that Bruce Wayne and Miranda Tate were a couple and to give enough time for a nursery to be built along with the rest of the events of that comic.
*Miranda Tate is the name Tahlia al Ghul went by in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
**These lines are taken from Batman: Son of the Demon
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Beauty Queen - Chapter 10
B E A U T Y Q U E E N
Synopsis: You are the Ice Princess of Narnia during the Long Winter. Your sister Jadis, the White Witch, hates that you’re always helping Narnians escape prision. She decides to hunt you down and you have to run away from the palace. What happens when you find the four humans lost in Narnia?
- Edmund Pevensie x reader
Masterlist
<Chapter 9 | Chapter 11>
(There’s probably a lot of errors, but I just translated real quick because there’s been ages since I updated.)
—-
C H A P T E R T E N
They walked through the snow that lazily melted. Their footprints showed the path they passed through towards the frozen river. Of course, no one could erase the footprints so the maximum they could do was to speed up the pace so they wouldn't get caught.
“Come on, humans! While we are young!’ yelled Mr. Beaver, who went ahead to show them the way.
“If he rushes us again...” Peter said, bending so Lucy could jump on his back. “I'll make him into a very cute hat.”
Susan let out a quiet laugh.
“Quick! Come on!” cried the Beaver, a few meters in front of others.
“He's getting bossy!” said Lucy.
“No!” cried Mrs. Beaver. ”Look behind you! It's her!”
They looked and saw a few meters away, a carriage that glided easily through the snow. Lucy jumped off Peter's back and they all ran.
“Run!” cried Mr. Beaver.
They heard the reindeer hooves getting closer and closer and knew it wasn’t a good thing. They ran across the snowy field and came to the edge of a forest, where they spotted a small cave between the roots of a tree. They saw the snow fall slightly to his feet only when they saw a big fat shadow walk close to the rock where they were hidden behind. They could see the person's shadow reflected in a snowy dune in front of them. They saw the shadow moving away, almost giving up.
They looked at the dune curiously while the beaver sniffed the air in a desperate manner.
“It seems...” whispered Lucy. “That it’s gone.”
“I better go see it.” said Peter, about to come out of hiding.
“You will not serve Narnia dead.” said the Beaver, turning to the opening.
“And neither do you, old man.” said Mrs. Beaver.
“Thank you darling.”
That being said, the Beaver got out of hide, sniffing and crawling to find out if they were gone or not. There were moments of tension between those present. Suddenly, the beaver appears on the edge of the rock, causing Lucy to cry out.
“Get out! Get out!” said the Beaver. “I hope you’ve been nice, because you have a visitor!” And then left.
They came out of hiding, a little afraid. In front of them was a fat man with a white beard. He wore a wine red cloak over ordinary red.
The man laughed.
“Merry Christmas, sir.” said Lucy, approaching.
“For sure, Lucy.” He said, his voice hoarse. “Ever since you arrived.”
“ Look, I can take a lot of things since I arrived...” Susan said to Peter. “But this!”
“We thought you were the Witch!” interrupted Peter, addressing the man.
“I'm sorry, sorry for the bad way, but I must say that I've been driving one of these for longer than the Witch.” He said, referring to the carriage.
“I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia.” said Susan, also approaching him.
“No.” the man replied. “Not for a long time. But the hope you have brought, Your Majesties... it begins to weaken the Witch' power. However, I dare say you might need these.”
He turned and took a big red bag from the sled .
“Gifts!” said Lucy, excited.
The man opened the bag, revealing boxes, teddy bears and many other things. He took out a small dagger sheath and a flask with a dark liquid.
“The juice of the fire flower.” he said, showing them the vial. “A single drop heals any wound.”
He handed the vial carefully to Lucy, who studied it carefully.
“Although I hope you never use it...” he said, handing her the red scabbard that contained a small dagger.
“Thank you, sir, but...” said Lucy. “I wouldn't be able to not be afraid.”
“I bet you would.” he replied. “But battles are ugly fights.”
Lucy nodded and walked away. The man picked up a basket of arrows with an ornate bow.
“Susan.” and called her and Susan approached. “Trust this bow. It will almost never go wrong.”
Susan took the bow.
“But didn't you say that battles are ugly fights?” she asked.
He laughed.
“Although I have no trouble expressing myself...” he said, showing her a small white trumpet. “blow this, and wherever you are the help will come.”
“Thanks.” she said.
The man turned and took a sheath from a large sword.
“Peter.”
The boy approached, afraid.
“The time to use this may be close.” said the man, handing him a sword and a shield.
Peter drew his sword and they all could see that there was something written on the blade.
“Thank you sir.” said Peter analysing it.
“They're guns, not toys. Use it well and wisely. Now I need to go. Winter is the almost at the end...” he said, turning to the big bag into the sleigh. “and everything accumulates when you disappear for a hundred years.”
He turned to everyone and said, before getting on the sled.
“Long live Aslam! And Merry Christmas!”
And he was gone, while everyone shouted different farewells.
“I said he was real!” said Lucy, turning to Susan.
“He said that winter...” said Pedro. “it's almost over.” and turned concerned to the girls and the beavers. “Didn't you notice?!”
When the girls looked at him confused, he continued.
“No more ice.”
~ * ~
Y/N ran like never before. She heard the howling of the wolves behind her. She could almost be sure that they would surround her from the front too, but didn't have much time left. She could try a spell, but that would only slow them down a bit. She could fight, but there were too many and they would surely defeat her. She needed a more complete plan. Then, while running through the forest, trying to lose them, she finally looked at the trees. Of course! The trees! She could hide in the trees for a while, until she was sure the wolves were far away.
Then, without warning, she brought up an extensive wall of ice in the snow between her and the wolves. And while they were thinking about how to overcome the obstacle, she quickly climbed a tree, a little further away. She used a spell to hide her scent and make it seem like she continued running. When the wolves came around the ice wall, they moved on without noticing Y/N's location. When she was sure that the howls were gone in the distance, she descended from the tree and continued her walk towards the frozen river. She knew that there would be the best way to go towards the Stone Table. She just didn't think she would see a shocking scene before that.
Several meters ahead of her, near the frozen waterfall, was the three Pevensie with the beavers, surrounded by the wolves that chased her on both sides. And their voices were propagated to her.
“Go while you can.” said the wolf, approaching them and forcing them to join closer to the liquid water. “and your sister goes with you.”
“Stop, Peter!” shouted Susan above the noise of the ice breaking. “Better do what he says!”
“Smart girl.” said the wolf.
“Don't believe him!” shouted the beaver, struggling. “Kill him! Kill him now!”
Y/N looked around uneasily. She knew that Maugrin was lying, but wouldn’t be able to reach them time. She would be caught by the wolves before that. But she needed to do something to help them. Next to her there wasn’t much she could use, but then she returned her gaze to the discussion the just a few meters away from the frozen waterfall. The waterfall!
“Oh, please, that war isn’t yours!” Said the wolf, getting closer. “My queen just wants the good of your family and they disappear.”
“Look, just because a man in red handed you a sword, you can’t pretend you’re a hero!” Susana said. “Put it down!”
“No , Peter!” cried the beaver. “Narnia needs you! Kill him while you still have a chance!”
Y/N quickly gathered the snow that was on the banks of the river and transformed it into an bow of ice. She also made some arrows of ice and aimed right at the waterfall, at its weakest point. Ice and snow were her specialty, so even from afar, she could make out the weakest part that had been frozen. She lauched five arrows in that point, which went unnoticed by all.
“How will it be, Son of Adam?” asked the wolf, near Peter's sword. “I won’t wait forever. Neither will the river!”
Y/N threw her bow and arrow in the floor, and it quickly returned to snow. She concentrated on the crack she had made in the waterfall. Melting the ice was far more difficult than forming it, but she always did it anyway. This time, however, instead of helping, the adrenaline was holding her back. Then she gave up trying to melt the ice, she needed to think about something else. And fast.
Lucy looked at the waterfall. It was collapsing.
“Oh no!” She murmured to herself and then shouted. “Peter!”
Y/N then had an idea. She stared at the frozen waterfall, that was starting to crack, and the extended her hands in front of her.
Peter looked desperately for the next safe thing to do.
“Hold on to me!” He shouted.
With a sudden movement, Y/N pulled her arms away, and the waterfall came down.
#edmund pevensie#King Edmund#edmund the just#edmund pevensie x reader#edmund pevensie imagine#edmund pevensie x y/n#pevensie#lucy pevensie#peter pevensie#susan pevensie#aslam#narnia#narnia imagine#The Chronicles of Narnia
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Here’s another filler chapter! I like how it turned out so I hope ya’ll do too! Enjoy.
AO3 Link
<Previous | First | Next>
Scattered Cicadas - Chapter Twelve: Memory Proof
Tang learns a bit about the twins. Being in the same body as them might have something to do with that.
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Tang hid behind some debris in the ruined theater as he watched Macaque approach the shattered Shadow Lantern. He had been hoping to collect the pieces for himself to try and study the artifact’s ability to trap souls. The data he could potentially obtain from it would be priceless in trying to come up with a counter to his curse once he found it’s cause.
But just because they were intelligent, didn’t mean they had common sense. The amount of harebrained plots and ideas they had that blew up in their faces due to not thinking everything through was almost comical.
Abandoning his plan for now, Tang waited patiently for Macaque to leave so he could make his exit as well.
Suddenly the Mayor was there.
Tang tensed in his hiding spot as he watched the man taunt Macaque before surprising the monkey and grabbing him by the throat.
Tang’s pulse raced as he watched Macaque get captured with little effort.
Was this why they never saw Macaque again after these events? Did this happen in every cycle? Just how strong was the Mayor to be able to subdue the shadow demon so quickly?
He needed to get out of here.
Tang froze when he realized the Mayor had vanished without him noticing.
“Now what do we have here?”
Blinding white and blue pain flashed behind Tang’s eyes as he stumbled back. Gasping in panic he looked up to find the Mayor right in front of him, giving the scholar his trademark nonchalant smile.
“Can’t have you running off to spoil the end of the show for the others, now can we” the Mayor said as he held up the Shadow Lantern. “I do love a captive audience!”
Before Tang could react, the lantern was activated, and he knew no more.
----------
He was in the cave, thankfully. The voices called out in concern. The golden-yellow light wrapped around him.
----------
Tang awoke with a start, gasping in panic.
Damn that man!
He hadn’t been killed this time, but being a puppet for the Mayor until the cycle ended was just as unpleasant.
The more he learned about him, the more terrifying to Tang he became.
He would have to do his best to avoid him as much as possible from now on.
Once he got his breathing under control, Tang made his preparations for the day and began his remembering ritual.
It seemed this cycle was one where there were only a few changes. Everything seemed mostly the same except for two details.
The first was that Jin and Yin had been good friends with Mei for years, acting almost like older brothers for her.
The second was that this cycle had Fusion.
Tang groaned at this revelation.
There were many strange and weird magics and powers he had come across in the timelines, but Fusion was the most conflicting for Tang.
Fusion was a special ability where two or more beings would physically combine together into a new, more powerful being. The result was usually a much larger combination of the participants that mixed together their physical characteristics and often sported extra limbs and eyes. Whether the minds of the original beings remained separate or fused into a new personality as well as the permanence of the Fusion tended to be randomly determined like most things in these cycles.
The only constant was the need for absolute trust between all parties that fuse.
Fusion was an intimate process as you shared not just a body with someone else, but your mind as well. Thoughts and memories could not be hidden from a Fusion partner. It was an implicit sign of trust, and oftentimes love, to want to fuse with someone.
Forcing two unwilling beings to fuse was possible, but never went over well in Tang’s experience.
Tang didn’t dislike Fusion. It was an incredible experience the few times he had done so with either Pigsy or Wukong. He had never felt so close with anyone as he did when fused with them.
The problem was the curse.
Fusion required trust and the participants working in synchrony to function. His curse made it impossible for anyone except himself to know about it. When fused, his partners would become confused at the strange gaps in Tang’s mind they couldn’t perceive. The disorientation would destabilize the trust between them, causing them to fall out of sync, and result in the Fusion ending prematurely.
The questions he would receive were ones Tang couldn’t answer, and he was usually treated with suspicion and distrust for the remainder of those cycles. The same problem would occur if he refused to fuse at all, as that implied he didn’t trust anyone.
Luckily for Tang, he wasn’t in a romantic relationship with anyone this cycle and hadn’t fused with anyone yet. There was also a precedent this time for some people finding Fusion nauseating, so he could always fall back on that if pushed.
Hoping it wouldn’t even come to that, Tang left his apartment and made his way to work. He began to think of the second change as he walked.
Jin and Yin. The Gold and Silver Demon Brothers.
The two trouble makers loved to spread chaos wherever they went. Even during the rare occasions like now where they were allies. Schemes, pranks, and hijinks were to be expected whenever they were around.
The twins were smart. That was pretty much a given being the former lab assistants of Lao Tzu. Their talent in crafting magical items was impressive by mortal standards.
But just because they were intelligent, didn’t mean they had common sense. The amount of harebrained plots and ideas they had that blew up in their faces due to not thinking everything through was almost comical.
Tang had to admire their tenacity though. Their determination never faltered no matter how many failures they had. This was particularly handy when they were allies.
The twins’ self destructive tendencies usually got smoothed out whenever they befriended the group as well. Tang was genuinely surprised a few times by what they had managed to come up with when given a proper sounding board to help point out problems.
He may not consider Jin and Yin to be a part of his extended family, but Tang couldn’t help but have a soft spot for them. Perhaps, in time, he could include them. Maybe when their redemption became more common in the cycles.
But for now he was perfectly fine with just being their friend.
----------
The attack came without warning.
They had all been hanging out at Pigsy’s Noodles when multiple explosions went off across the city. Tang wasn’t sure what happened in all the confusion, but he was currently with Jin and Yin, the three of them separated from the others.
They had been trying to find everyone when the twins had suddenly pushed Tang away from them. There was a loud crashing sound and the air was filled with dust.
Coughing and waving away the dust, Tang stood and looked around. As the smoke began to clear, his heart dropped at what he saw.
“Jin! Yin!”
The twins were trapped under the rubble of a partially collapsed building. Jin’s entire left side was stuck under the debris while Yin was pinned from the waist down.
Neither demon had super strength and were completely helpless. They couldn’t even fuse to escape as they were just out of reach of each other and Fusion required contact.
Tang scrambled over the torn apart street and knelt next to the groaning brothers.
“G-go get help Tang,” Jin said, teeth clenched in pain. “We’ll be fine for now.”
“I am not leaving you two here,” Tang said, looking around for anyone to help, but the street was deserted.
“Come on, we’ll be right here when you come back,” Yin said with a strained smile. “I promise we won’t get up and leave.”
Before Tang could scold him for joking, there was another distant explosion followed by a rumbling sound. The three looked up in horror as the remainder of the building began to sway.
“Shit! Tang you need to leave now!” Jin pushed against the concrete trapping him, but made no progress.
Tang’s mind raced.
None of them were strong enough to push the rubble away. He had no time to go get help before the rest of the building fell. Jin and Yin couldn’t grab each other to fuse.
But he could.
Tang reached out and snatched up the hand of each twin.
“Fuse with me!”
“What?!”
“There’s no time! Fuse with me!”
Spurred on by the urgency of his voice, the twins closed their eyes and focused. Tang did the same and the world melted into gold, silver, and yellow light.
Fusing was always an indescribable experience. Tang felt warm as he felt his body stretch out and merge seamlessly with the twins’. He had no idea which physical traits would be picked from each of them, but their appearance was the least of his worries.
When they opened their eyes, they were standing several feet away from the pile of debris, just as the building began to topple.
“Shit! Go go go,” Jin said from their shared mouth.
They quickly dashed away from the area, their much taller stature allowing them to easily outpace the collapsing structure. Their new body didn’t feel strange in any way, and their combined movements came naturally.
‘Damn, I think my legs are broken,’ Yin said in their shared mind once they paused to take a breath. ‘We’ll have to keep this up until we get to a hospital and unfuse inside.’
‘Pretty sure some rebar had stabbed into my side so ditto on that,’ Jin added.
‘That might be a problem...’ Tang’s nervousness caused their stomach to twist.
‘What does that- Oh. Huh. That’s interesting.’ Jin explored the gaps he found in Tang’ mind with curiosity. ‘Hey Yin, take a look at this.’
‘Whoa. Trippy. Haven’t seen a memory-proof seal like this in a while.’ Yin poked at the spaces gingerly, not wishing to be caught completely in its effects.
‘Look at how big it is though,’ Jin said. ‘You are much older than I thought you were Tang.’
‘No, no, no. His body is definitely only 41 years old. So that means his mind is much older.’
‘Time travel?’
‘That usually has the person physically moving through time, so I doubt it.’
‘How are you two not disoriented by this,’ Tang said as they began to move towards the sounds of the explosions.
‘Should we be?’
‘Oh, yeah, I see what you mean,’ Jin said as he found the context for Tang’s confusion.
The demon didn’t vocalize it, but he projected how he found it interesting that he could get the knowledge on Tang’s past experiences with fusions without the full picture.
‘Oof. Forcefully unfusing and being treated as untrustworthy must suck,’ Yin said.
Tang was about to ask how they were being so unconcerned about this when the context came unbidden from their minds.
Lao Tzu had placed his own memory-proof seals on the twins to prevent them from revealing his secrets. They had to deal with it every time they fused.
Along with that knowledge came the feelings of the desperate need for approval and attention from their master, but never receiving it.
Always having their ideas dismissed. Being told their work was never good enough. Belittling their reliance on one another. Outright destroying their inventions at one point.
‘What an ass,’ Tang said vehemently.
He had worked too hard across the cycles to keep MK from drowning in his insecurities. It was insulting to him that someone he had once respected for their vast knowledge would ever treat anyone like that to make them feel this way.
‘I know, right?’
‘Why do you think we left,’ Jin said.
Tang sent over the context that, while he couldn’t tell them how, he had become an accomplished magician and artificer in his own right.
‘We’re going to make him regret ever dismissing you two,’ Tang vowed.
‘You… You want to take us on as students?’
Tang’s righteous protectiveness over how small Yin had sounded shocked the twins as they felt his warmth of comfort envelope them.
‘I would be honored to have you two as students. There is no way I’d ever let my family feel like they are unwanted.’
‘Family?’
Tang let the context for that free as well as the love he felt for his family, which now included his two new students.
They had to stop walking for a moment as Jin’s and Yin’s emotions caused them to start crying. Tang made sure to keep watch from his set of eyes while they were indisposed.
The joy and appreciation they sent his way in silent thanks was returned with his own.
‘Let’s get you two to a hospital.’ They continued to move once they had composed themselves. ‘I would never forgive myself if I let my favorite students perish from a simple collapsing building.’
‘Aren’t we your only students?’
‘Oi! And what do you mean by a “simple collapsing building''? Are you saying there are other ways you’d let us perish?!’
The master and his students bickered playfully back and forth as they looked around for a hospital that had been undamaged in the attack.
Tang may not have been expecting to add the twins to his family this soon, but he knew he wouldn’t regret it. How he felt for them would live on even past the memory erasing effects of the curse.
Jin and Yin returned the sentiment a hundredfold.
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And thus Tang’s family grows in numbers once more! He’s almost completed the whole set by now.
Fusions are an interesting concept and there are plenty of great designs for different combinations out there. While none of them show up in this chapter, I’d like to give a shout out to @winterpower98, @smallpwbbles, @sketchquill, and @ninja-knox-ur-sox-off for their amazing fusion designs! Go check them out!
Don't worry about that bit with the mayor. It's fine.
Next chapter will be another filler! Until then!
#Ink Writes#Monkie Kid#Scattered Cicadas#Tang#Jin#Yin#Lao Tzu#Fusions#Fusion#winterpower98#smallpwebbles#sketchquill#ninja knox ur sox off#Tang Monkie Kid#LEGO Monkie Kid
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Not Today XIX
A/N: Well, I believe we have reached the climax of this story! Literally *so much* is going to happen in this chapter, and I am calling this my two hour midseason finale. Don't worry- I'm not going on any hiatus! This chapter is just twice as long as most chapters XD It's going to be really intense, *hopefully* really epic, and really emotional I should expect. This is also the last chapter before canon starts to change dramatically, aside from the addition of Aethelind, of course. So, I leave you with that information, and without further ado, present the climax of Not Today. Skål!
Summary: When Ivar takes the throne of Kattegat, Lagertha flees to Wessex along with Björn, Ubbe, Torvi, and the Bishop Heahmund. There, they seek the aid of King Alfred. This aid comes in the form of his sister, Aethelind, who agrees to travel to Kattegat and try to reason Ivar, who she spent some time with during their youth, when her grandfather King Ecbert hosted Ragnar Lothbrok in their castle. Now, she is the only hope for Lagertha and her supporters to retake Kattegat from Ivar the Boneless.
Masterlist
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Blood rushed through Aethelind's ears as she heard the screaming and clashing of swords outside. For a while, she had debated fighting with Ivar's army, but if she were to be killed... That would mean the loss of England's princess, when the only royalty they had now were Alfred and Elsewith. But Ivar was out there, and Freydis was in here, and if anything went wrong either of them- or, God forbid, both of them- could be gone in an instant.
How could she stand by and allow that to happen? Even without any sort of confirmation it would happen, the thought of it alone scared her out of her mind. There was no doubt in her that Freydis was the closest friend she'd ever had, with Ivar right beside her. Losing them was something that suddenly felt like a very real possibility, and it terrified her. Picturing their cold, lifeless bodies on the ground, blood seeping out from some wound, was just enough to make the decision for her.
Aethelind ran to her chambers and threw open the trunk she'd brought to Kattegat, searching through it for the sword she had brought with her. When she found it, she tossed the sheath aside and onto the bed. She wasn't going to be needing it on the battlefield after all, was she?
Preparations had been begun as soon as Ivar had ordered it, after she'd given him the letter which detailed his brother's attack on Kattegat. Or, at least, when it was coming. Being a friend to Björn had given her this benefit- he wanted to warn her when the attack would come, having not pictured, in any version of these events, that she would have become so close to Ivar, and ended up essentially on his side of the war he intended to start.
When Aethelind ran into the battlefield, her heart was pounding. This, she realized, was exactly what Hvitserk had been training her for for so long. This was what Björn had known she might face, as had all those Vikings who had trained her, when they wouldn't give her very many breaks during the fight. There was chaos in Kattegat, arrows flying and sticking in shields- something she very suddenly realized she didn't have.
It wasn't difficult to find one, though, and she managed to pull a red shield with a black sun on it- Ivar's symbol- from a bloodied corpse. She couldn't even tell who it might have been. But, they wouldn't need a shield now, and she did, so she took it, and lifted it above her head just in time to catch an arrow. Looking at the arrow with wide eyes, she focused again on the battle ahead.
People had been coming over the gates, while she could see something was trying to break through them. There was smoke coming from somewhere up ahead, and someone must have been burning, because the smell in the streets was horrific. No, that was the scent of multiple people burning alive.
Her eyes caught sight of Ivar, standing up on the gates and giving orders to his warriors- even if she couldn't hear every order he gave. That was the first place she began to fight toward, and she managed to reach him quickly enough. After all, though there were many fighters in Kattegat, most of them were on Ivar's side, waiting on Björn's forces to break through the gates. This made it easy enough to reach Ivar, and he looked stunned when he saw her, standing there with a shield and sword. The Princess was gone, and before him stood a Shieldmaiden, one loyal to him, he now knew for certain. After all, why would she have told him of Björn's arrival, and then fought against Björn's army, if she meant to betray him?
"What are you doing out here?" he ended up demanding of her. Perhaps she was every bit a Shieldmaiden, but he wasn't about to risk her life. Not if this battle could be won without doing so.
"I'm joining the battle, isn't it obvious?" she questioned, looking at him incredulously. "What does it look like to you?"
"Like you are mad!" he answered. "You cannot die out here, I won't allow it. You must be somewhere safe."
"And risk something happening I could have stopped?" she demanded, and let out a little laugh. "I don't think so! Ivar, what do you need me to do? I want to help." He blinked a few times as he watched her, and then finally, nodded a little. The gates caved.
Suddenly, there was a much greater threat to each person in that town, and both Ivar and Aethelind knew that. Their attention had been pulled momentarily to the gates, and then they looked back at each other, Ivar's orders for her decided.
"Get to Freydis," he commanded, and she gave a curt nod.
"No harm will come to her," Aethelind told him. "I swear it."
With that, the battle back to the Great Hall began, and she counted herself lucky that she was mostly able to keep the offending soldiers off of her, make them someone else's problem, as opposed to being forced to kill. But many of Ivar's warriors were beginning to form a shield wall, pressing Björn's army into a place they couldn't escape from. Vaguely, she wondered if Björn was among them, but she didn't have time to linger on that. She had to find the Queen.
The sound of the iron gate Ivar had commissioned being dropped reached her ears, and it became obvious what Ivar's plan was. The few stragglers didn't bother fighting her as they began to panic, looking for a way out, and she found she didn't quite have the heart to stop them- even if Ivar would have.
Instead, she kicked the door of the Great Hall in, and called out, "Freydis?! Freydis, where are you?!"
The Queen emerged with a frightened look on her face, and Aethelind rushed to her. "I looked for you and you were gone," she said shakily, her hands immediately going to the Princess's arms. "I was afraid they had taken you. Where did you go?"
"I went to see what I could do to help," she said. "Ivar sent me back here, to protect you. His brother's forces are inside the city, we need to get you to safety."
Freydis nodded a little, but shrieked and pulled away, causing Aethelind to whip around and see what had frightened her so badly.
There stood a man much larger than either woman, and he brought an axe down immediately against Aethelind. She threw the shield up to try and stop him, but it hacked through the shield and splintered it in half. Aethelind used this to her advantage, taking the sharp edge of the shield and stabbing at him with it while he lifted his axe again. It found its place in his neck, and blood sprayed her face. The man gurgled, and collapsed at her feet, but the sound of Freydis screaming, and the sickening sound of a knife piercing skin in the same place, multiple times over, kept her from feeling too horrified for the time being.
The man who had been attacking Freydis dropped to the ground, clinging to her skirts for a few moments, and Aethelind watched as Freydis began kicking him, screaming for him to let her go. Eventually, he did, as the last bit of life in his body left him, and the two women looked each other in the eyes.
"Come here," Aethelind said, and walked toward Freydis, opening her arms so that the young Queen could walk into them. She did exactly this, and Aethelind held her tightly as she cried. Her own heart was pounding, her eyes wide as she realized what had just happened, what had almost happened. That man had nearly killed Freydis, and the thought made Aethelind hold her just a little tighter. "You're safe now," she whispered. "You aren't going to die here. Not so long as I can help it."
Freydis nodded a little, and the two stood there like that until the sounds of battle died out, until she could only stand and shake, the tears having passed, and Aethelind couldn't bring herself to move. She was like a statue, eyes staring off at some invisible point on the ground. They had both survived, both taken a life to do so, but that was the nature of war.
Ivar was the one who eventually found them like this, some ash covering him, but no blood, which he was grateful for. He was not, however, grateful to find the two women he cared so deeply for covered in blood. When he saw the two bodies there, he knew exactly what must have happened, and he wordlessly approached, wrapped his arms around them. Letting his crutch fall to the ground wasn't exactly the safest call, but the battle against Björn Ironside had been won. He noticed that Freydis didn't pull away from him now, and he was grateful. He feared, sometimes, that their fighting would pull them apart to an unrepairable place. She seemed colder now, had even seemed colder than he was used to when he had asked her if she forgave him before this battle. Though she'd said yes, a part of him had to wonder if she was being entirely honest about that. He wouldn't have been so surprised if she weren't.
There was quiet, and peace, for the next few days, but Aethelind had changed. She didn't feel like the same woman who had left Wessex, and she doubted if she ever would be that woman again. Princesses in England didn't kill people, they didn't defend Viking Queens in distant lands, fight at the command of the most feared man in the world she knew. Maybe she wasn't so much of a Princess, anymore.
It almost felt, truthfully, like there was a darkness in her now that hadn't been there before. Ivar and Freydis had both noticed it, and while things hadn't gotten all that much better between them, there were shared glances between the two whenever they noticed her behaving in a way that didn't fit the Princess who had first arrived in Kattegat.
She drank more readily at the feast that had been held for their victory, as a start. That had never happened before. Perhaps she'd gotten a little tipsy the first night in Kattegat, but this was something else. It became glaringly obvious when she went to bed that night nowhere near sober.
Some days, she seemed to be in a daze. She'd avoid much interaction with people, hiding out as if she could avoid what had happened. Ivar still had her fitted with a new set of armor, made at full haste in case of another attack, and because he truly wanted her to be a Shieldmaiden, assuming she recovered mentally from this battle, and could handle it. They wouldn't see her recovered until something broke her out of the haze she seemed to be in. And that wouldn't happen, until she woke in the morning to the sound of her door being thrown open.
Aethelind shot up in her bed and pulled the blankets and quilts tighter to herself, looking at Ivar with wide eyes. He was dressed in his full armor, hair hastily braided out of his face, ready for battle. "What's happening?" she asked, anxiety clear in her voice.
"My brothers are in Kattegat," he said. "Someone let them in during the night." The sounds of battle registered in her ears, and she looked out the window. "If you are able, we need every sword we can get. It is chaos out there."
She nodded, and he couldn't decide if this was a surprise to him, or not so much. But, he also nodded, and left her, closing the door behind himself to give her time and privacy to prepare. He'd told Freydis to hide in their chambers, and she had done so. The lack of fear in her eyes had soothed him slightly, and if Aethelind joined him on the battlefield, then he believed they would have an excellent chance at victory.
Soon enough, his hopes came to pass. He was witness to the way the doors to the Great Hall opened, and the Shieldmaiden emerged, a sword fixed to her hip, armor covering her body in a way it hadn't before, her hair braided back away from her face. For just a moment, he could honestly believe she was not an English Princess at all, but a Viking Shieldmaiden, born and raised there in Kattegat. He wondered briefly if she might have had some Viking blood, somewhere in her history.
When she began to fight, he felt as though he saw it confirmed. The woman fought with a new ferocity that hadn't been there in the previous battle. Now, she fought with a strength and power behind every motion that stunned him. She slung her sword about, having unsheathed it a few moments before, and used her shield just as effectively as a weapon as it was an object for defense. The sight took him aback.
The battle raged on for hours, long enough that Freydis had managed to get herself dressed, had even done her hair, as if she were only preparing for her day. She was safe enough, she figured. Ivar's army wouldn't hurt her, and after what she had done for Björn's, she knew they wouldn't either. So, she was free to go about her business, so long as she didn't leave the longhouse.
Part of Aethelind wanted to go and look for her, be sure she was safe, as she noticed that Björn's army was gaining more and more ground, getting closer to the longhouse, and then she was doing all she could to defend it. Ivar was nearby, and he noticed the anxiety written in her eyes as she fought in the shield wall.
They didn’t speak, but an understanding was reached between them. Ivar went immediately into the longhouse to find Freydis.
What Aethelind didn’t realize, was Ivar’s anxiety was coming from a very different source than hers. Whereas she feared for Freydis’s safety, Ivar had been thinking. From what he could tell, Björn had led his army in through the secret escape, that he’d had built for his family in case of an emergency. The thing was, only his family knew of it. And Freydis…
She had gone somewhere that morning. She claimed it had been to relieve herself, but the timing now had Ivar unsure. He wanted it confirmed.
Aethelind wasn’t aware of what happened inside that longhouse, not as she fought with the other warriors and shieldmaidens to defend the King and Queen inside. But eventually, she saw they would be lost. This battle was essentially over, and Björn would win. Ivar and Freydis needed to leave Kattegat, and she would go with them to defend them. It was the only way.
She abandoned the shield wall and ran into the Great Hall, grabbing chairs and shoving them against the door to hold it. “Ivar, Freydis!” she called, not yet really looking into the room. “We need to go, they’re going to take Kattegat.”
The Shieldmaiden turned, and stopped in her tracks.
There, in the center of the hall, sat Ivar, holding Freydis in his arms, cradling her against his body with his crutch abandoned to the side. Aethelind blinked a few times, her heart pounding as she stepped forward. “Ivar…” she breathed, and he looked up at her, a hopelessness in his eyes she hadn’t ever seen. “What happened?”
He looked back at Freydis, and his voice cracked as he explained, “She let them in.”
This made Aethelind freeze again, blink a few times, before finally coming to kneel across from Ivar on Freydis’s other side. Her eyes were barely open, almost as if looking tiredly over Ivar’s shoulder, but the marks around her neck left no room to question what had happened. Aethelind brought up a hand and brushed the back of it over Freydis’s cheek. She hadn’t gone cold just yet, though she was cooling.
Freydis’s belt had clearly been dropped, was now sort of caught between Ivar’s hands on her chest. Ivar hadn’t found her this way, Aethelind realized. He had done this.
“What did you do?” she whispered, shaking her head slowly.
“I had no choice,” he said, his voice cracking once again. “She betrayed us, Aethelind. What was I supposed to do? Huh? I could not… I did not know-”
“You thought we still had a chance,” she finished for him. “And it would be better for everyone to believe she was killed in battle, as opposed to being charged with treason and executed for it.”
He nodded, and she swallowed hard, tears coming to her eyes. “I could not humiliate her that way,” he said.
It was a very Ivar way of trying to give mercy, she knew. This was the same sort of strange mercy he had tried to give to Baldur, in leaving him to die. And Aethelind knew, looking back over everything Freydis had said after her son’s death, why she’d done what she did. She knew the truth about Baldur, knew how horrible the fighting had become between her and Ivar- though the full extent of that, the fact Ivar had hit her, and choked her once, had not been made known to her- and she knew Freydis had begun to question if Ivar was fit to be King. Looking back, this made sense.
The fighting was growing quieter, aside from the cries of death. It would be done soon, and their warriors would not be the ones still standing. Time was running out. Aethelind looked up at the door as she realized this, and then turned to Ivar.
“You have to go,” she said sharply. “We aren’t going to win this. If you want to live, you need to leave Kattegat, now.”
"I cannot leave-" Ivar tried to protest, but Aethelind looked in his eyes, her own eyes almost begging him with a sort of soft desperation, and his words died on his lips.
"I cannot lose you," she whispered. "I won't. So go, before your brothers come, and they find you here. Please. Don't make me lose you, too."
He swallowed hard, and she could see the determination come over him. His mind was made up to escape, and so she nodded. Aethelind reached down and lifted Freydis into her arms, standing and carrying her back toward the chambers she'd shared with Ivar. The Shieldmaiden laid the Queen out on the bed, and Ivar went to find something, a small box, which he laid beside the bed. Neither of them needed to speak to know what was held within it.
"We'll go through the same way my brothers came in," Ivar said. "There is a secret exit. If we go now, we can be gone before Björn and Hvitserk find us."
Aethelind shook her head, and replied, "I'll meet you. If we go together, they'll follow us. But I can buy us some time if I intercept them here." He tried to protest, but she shook her head. "There’s no time to argue this, Ivar. Just go, I will follow. You have my word."
Ivar nodded when she promised him this. Her word had always been good before, and he knew it would be now. Especially knowing Björn and Hvitserk wouldn't kill her, not so long as either of them still cared for her as he knew- from the letter and from having observed her with Hvitserk- they both had at some time.
So, he slipped out the back, and Aethelind watched him go. The longhouse felt deadly silent once he was gone, and her eyes turned back to the body of Freydis, laid out on the bed. She moved to fix her belt around her hips once more, before sitting beside her, and taking one of her hands into her own.
"Oh, my love..." she began softly. "Dearest Freydis. My heart aches from your loss. I have loved you overwhelmingly, in some way I am sure I have never loved another. You were the closest friend I have ever known, a woman I'd have been happy and proud to have had in my life until the end of it. But now, I will mourn you until my final breath leaves my lungs, and I will love you twice as long. I pray you will be happy in your Valhalla, sweet Freydis." She reached up and cupped her cheek, tears leaking from her eyes. "You are gone from this world too soon, and this world will never know another like you. I love you deeply, and though I will never see you again, I will hold your memory as a light in my heart, and I pray you are happy in Valhalla, for I know that must be where you've gone. I hear your people go there when they have died fighting, but I believe your sacrifice, for what you believed was the best future of Kattegat, will have earned you a place in Odin's halls. So go with haste, my love, and know there will never be a day I don't miss your presence in my life."
Her voice cracked, and she leaned up to kiss Freydis's forehead softly, before pressing her own forehead to hers, and bringing her hand to her lips. "I failed to protect you as I said I would, and I doubt if I will ever forgive myself for this. But I doubt you have ever truly hated Ivar, and so I want you to know, I will save him. Even if I could not save you, I will save him. I swear it to you, Freydis, on your gods, and on mine. I will not let him die, whatever the cost."
The doors were kicked in at the front, and Aethelind looked back, hearing calls for Ivar. The voices were those of Björn and Hvitserk, voices she would have recognized anywhere. It was time to go, and time to ensure Ivar had time to escape.
She arranged Freydis's hands so they were folded on her stomach, and kissed her cheek one last time. "Goodbye, my beloved Freydis," she whispered again, and then she stood, to go out into the Great Hall to do what needed to be done. “Goodbye.”
Björn and Hvitserk were stunned by the sight of Aethelind as bloodied as she was, with tear tracks running down her face. The woman had a look of devastation about her, but with a sword at her side, covered in armor, they realized what she had been through that day. She had fought, and she had lost someone.
Hvitserk was the first to try and speak to her, even if her eyes hardened the moment he did. "Princess," he said, and she threw up a hand to stop him.
"Don't," she hissed out. "Too much has happened here, I don't want to hear my old titles. Not now, until I know what to think of myself."
Björn blinked slowly as he watched her. Somehow, even if he'd seen her fight in Wessex as she was training, he had a hard time recognizing this as her. Perhaps it was the fact she had still always returned to the polite princess, whereas Hvitserk saw her at feasts, eating and drinking (though, the latter in moderation) with the other Vikings.
"What has happened to you?" Björn asked, taking a step toward her. She took a step back.
"I have lost the woman I loved most in this world," she said. "Most of my family are dead, save for Alfred. And now, I have to leave Kattegat and disappear."
"Why are you leaving Kattegat?" Hvitserk questioned, confused. "Björn said-"
"Björn has not been here," Aethelind interrupted. "I told you, too much has happened here. Things have changed, now." She took a deep breath. "I have to go with Ivar."
Both brothers froze in their place, and looked at her with shock on their faces. Hvitserk didn’t move as he processed everything, though Björn did, stepping back and chuckling bitterly. He shook his head and put his hands on his hips.
“You are going with Ivar?” he questioned. “We sent you here to change his mind, to get him to step down, not to join his side! What are you doing, Princess?”
Her eyes hardened a little more. “I told you I don’t want that title,” she reminded him. “Not now, at least.”
“And why not? Has he changed you so much? Is that it?”
Aethelind huffed. “I find myself in the same place as my father, if you must know,” she confessed. “I am trapped between the English and the Norse, and I can’t choose one right now. I have come to love this place, but… I’m not sure I can just abandon Wessex. I am their Princess, but I also feel I am a Shieldmaiden. My people would never accept this, so I have to choose which I’m going to be. I’ve been the Princess my entire life, and I have to try this, now. It’s the only way to know where I belong.”
“Then stay with us in Kattegat,” Björn begged. “There is no need to run off with my brother!”
She laughed at that, and shook her head. “There is every need!” she countered. “He has lost everything. His son died, as has his wife, and you unseat him from the throne he won in battle. He has no family and no home, because I can see you’ve deserted him as well. Both of you.” Her eyes turned to Hvitserk, and he could see the pain in them. In going to Björn, he had effectively left her, as well. She felt betrayed. The thought of betraying her caused her pain to be reflected in his own eyes now. “I can’t let him be alone,” she continued. “If no one is left to care for him, I will. I promised Freydis I would protect him, and I told him I would not lose him. He will not lose me, either. I couldn’t save her, but I will save him if it is within my power. And if it is not, I will do all I can to try and make it so.”
Björn was clearly becoming frustrated with this. “Princess, step aside,” he said, and started to walk toward the back of the longhouse. Aethelind got in his way and drew her sword.
“I am not Princess Aethelind any longer,” she said sharply. “I am a Shieldmaiden, daughter of Athelstan, who was dear to your father, and just as he followed your father, I will follow Ivar. Perhaps one day I will have a child, and they will follow one of yours, and that is the fate of our lineages, but we will not know until then. So for now, Björn Ironside, I advise you stand down. Ivar will have already gone, and I need to catch up to him.”
“Where will you go?” Hvitserk asked her, taking a non-threatening step toward her. She gave him a sad smile.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I go with him.”
Björn huffed. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “Step aside, or I will have to move you to get to Ivar.”
“You’ll have to fight me,” she said decisively. “You won’t get to him except through me.”
Hvitserk was growing more and more uneasy, seeing his brother’s temper grow, especially when he knew Aethelind had become a well-trained swordswoman. He couldn’t guess how much she had grown since he left, but if she’d continued to practice… Fighting her may not be the wisest thing.
But, when had Björn ever been the wisest?
He finally growled and unsheathed his own sword, bringing it down hard against her. She threw her sword up and caught his with it, holding it away from her face. “So, your hatred for your brother outweighs any care you have ever had for me?” she asked, and Björn could see the hurt in her eyes. “I would have given you Kattegat. All I would have asked is that you let us go free.”
“It was never yours, nor Ivar’s, to give,” he answered her, and she pushed back against him, bringing her sword back around toward his side. Hvitserk could only stand aside as he watched the two fight, and he could see she had changed.
The amount of blood on her face suggested she’d killed that day, and the fire in her eyes suggested she would again, if she must. Taking a life was something that could change a person, and he knew he could see that change in her. The way he spoke, he could tell she was, at her core, still Aethelind, still the kind woman with a depth in her he hadn’t expected from a Saxon Princess. But it was like she said, she was caught between the English and Norse sides of herself. Now, she was indulging the side of herself that did not shirk at the sight of blood, didn’t recoil when it splashed over her face. In any other circumstance, he might have been proud.
Watching her and Björn standing off again, however, was not that circumstance. She’d flipped her sword around to her other hand at one point to block one of his attacks, and then he had gone over her head again. She’d still managed to catch his sword as she had at the beginning of their fight, but her grip was weaker now, her sword being braced by her non-dominant hand. Hvitserk remembered a trick she’d pulled on him once, and he could see the calculating happening in her eyes. For a split second, she could picture Björn hitting the ground, pulled by some unseen force, and she made her move.
Her leg wrapped around the back of his, and she yanked it out from under him, throwing off his balance and pulling him to the ground. As soon as he was down she stepped on his wrist, making his hand open reflexively so she could use her sword to sling his away. Pointing the tip of her sword at him, she began to back up.
“I’m leaving,” she said sharply. “With Ivar, and you will not follow us. You have Kattegat, that is all you need. You don’t need to kill your brother. After all, I was under the impression you had that grievance with him. Surely, you don’t want to follow in his footsteps.”
Björn blinked up at her in shock, and Hvitserk stood back, watching her. “Go then,” Björn said. “You fought for his life, and you won. But I won’t back down again.”
Aethelind nodded sharply. “Noted,” she said, her voice tense. With a deep breath, then exhaled, she finished, “Goodbye, Björn.” She nodded once more at Hvitserk, before turning and rushing from the room.
She paused and looked at Freydis briefly as she hit the threshold, and swallowed. She couldn’t stop and spend a final moment with her. Aethelind began to move again. However, the sound of someone running after her in the hall stopped her, and she turned back. It was Hvitserk, and instead of attacking her when he reached her, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her.
“I thought we would have a happy reunion,” he said quietly. “It appears the gods had other plans.”
When Aethelind realized this would not be anything hostile, she smiled sadly and returned his embrace. “For the time being, at least,” she agreed. “You and I both know I have to go with Ivar, but though I leave with him, you need to know my prayers stay with you.” She chuckled a little. “And with Björn. We have fought today, but I cannot find it in myself to harbor ill will toward him.”
Hvitserk allowed himself a small smile as he pulled back, looking down at her with his hands on her arms. “I knew you had not changed so much,” he said. “But I see you are a Shieldmaiden, now. If it makes you happy, then I want you happy. I just want to be sure you are careful.”
Aethelind nodded, her eyes falling to the ground for a moment. “You warned me once to be careful of Ivar, before you left,” she said quietly. “I still am. But I have come to know him too deeply to let him go alone with good conscience. You have Björn, and I hope with Kattegat reclaimed, you will soon have Lagertha, and Ubbe, and Torvi as well. They will love you here, while my love will still be with you, just… from wherever Ivar and I go.” Her eyes had lifted back up to his at the end, and she found him smiling sadly.
“I trust you,” he said. “I do not trust Ivar, I still think he is crazy, but I trust you.” She gave him a small nod, smiling bittersweetly, and he leaned down to kiss her forehead, before pressing his to hers. “Goodbye, Princess, Shieldmaiden… whoever you decide to be.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head and stepping away now. “I won’t say goodbye anymore. Everyone I have said goodbye to has died before I see them again, save for my brother. I won't risk that with you, Hvitserk."
“You don’t believe you will see Björn again?” he questioned, realizing she had said goodbye to him.
“If God wills it, I will,” she said. “But I doubt it. You, I will hold out hope for.”
Hvitserk gave a small chuckle, and nodded. “Then I hope to see you again,” he said, and her smile grew.
“That is much better,” she said agreeably. “Until then, my Prince.” She bowed to him, formally recognizing his new position in Kattegat, now that Björn would be King. “I have to go to my…” She paused, not quite sure what exactly to call the man who she knew was getting farther away, and who she really needed to get to. “To Ivar,” she settled on.
“To your friend?” Hvitserk offered.
“He’s more than that,” she confessed.
“Brother?”
Her face scrunched up in a very disturbed way. “Definitely not.”
There was silence for a moment, before Hvitserk suggested, “…Lover?”
She seemed to consider that for a moment longer than the others, before coming dissatisfied with it as well. “Not quite.”
His face revealed a little shock, but not too much. Not so much that he wasn’t still a little amused by her admission. “Your Ivar, then,” he allowed, and she chuckled.
“My Ivar,” she agreed.
And, with that, Aethelind turned and left. When the door swung open, he saw Ivar standing there, and realized he hadn’t gone just yet. If he called for Björn, they could catch him. Instead, the two brothers locked eyes, and Hvitserk nodded once. Ivar mirrored him, and Aethelind took his free hand in her own. The messages passed between the two were clear:
Take care of her.
I will.
Hvitserk returned to the Great Hall to find Björn, and Ivar and Aethelind, hand in hand, left Kattegat to go wherever they must.
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#ivar the boneless#ivar x oc#vikings#vikings history#history channel vikings#not today#chapter nineteen#ivar's heathen army#ivar ragnarsson#alex hogh andersen#ivar x ofc#ivar x original female character#ivar x christian!oc
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Chapter 1
Wc: 1.8k
@chokemeanakin request, my very first fanfic hope you like it <3
There it was this familiar feeling of fear, anger, and frustration creeping into my mind consuming my very soul and leave my body frozen.
I failed.
I needed a moment to realize what just happened, a moment I missed to dodge the shot that split my lightsaber in half.
Not that It was of great use to me, now that I was lying on a destroyed federation tank, probably deadly injured and without any support that could turn things for the better.
The stars dancing over me confirmed my worries and slowly a jabbing pain kept me from breathing in more of the burnt air that wavered over the battlefield.
That was it.
That was the end.
The end of a traitor, of someone who left her troops in the middle of a crucial fight only to hunt down a phantom, a specter. There were clear orders to be followed, there was a code that showed a Jedi how to lead, how to live, and most importantly how to survive.
Especially the last part seemed more reasonable to me, as I was dying on that piece of metal junk.
My vision began to blur and the sounds of the battle surrounding me became numbed.
I desperately tried to reach my communicator and I believe more color left my face when I felt the warm blood on my finger.
Tears formed in my eyes as I started to realize what I had done, in what position I had brought not only my troops but the whole galaxy, the republic ... and General Skywalker.
I winced at the thought of Ani, we were friends since we first met as younglings at the temple.
The mission we were sent to was most likely one of the most significant, it held the potential to capture General Grievous and end that monster once and for all. After a defeat of General Grievous and his droids, the Jedi council and chancellor Palpatine were informed by republic supporters that Grievous fled to the Outer Rim.
Palpatine made it clear that two of the most powerful Jedi should execute this mission to ensure certain success. The council was as confused as I was when the chancellor recommended me for this mission, of course, I was a Jedi knight but I was neither a master nor the chosen one, on the contrary, I had never felt strongly connected to the force or was especially skilled with the lightsaber. If it wasn't for the severity of the situation and the lack of available Jedi, the council would have never even considered sending me on this mission.
I closed my eyes and gasped at the pain that slowly numbed my body and my consciousness.
In the Carlac system, we finally tracked a sign, in hindsight obviously way too easy and after we landed on Carlac it didn´t take long and an army had surrounded us. Any communication was blocked and Anakin and I were separated right at the beginning of the battle.
The snow-covered planet made it difficult to keep an overview, heavy blizzards made it nearly impossible to see more than two feet in front of you.
Tiny sobs escaped me when I thought of him being out there alone facing this gigantic army of battle droids. In the Jedi order was no personal attachment allowed and that was the hardest price to pay in order of being a Jedi. He had to be dead by now, yet I didn´t feel any change in the force.
The tears burned in my eyes, realizing that everyone could be dead by now and my weak connection to the force could easily hide it from me.
My thoughts became disorientated and the aching pain had now reached every limb and bone in my body.
My eyelids became heavier and it started to snow again, flakes nearly as big as my hand, they really looked beautiful combined with the fading sunlight.
Something felt so familiar with that picture and for a moment it soothed my pain sending me into something between sleep and unconsciousness.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The nightmare that haunted me was the same as I dreamt it almost every night for as long as I could remember.
Usually, I was wandering through a cave until I would spot daylight and hope to escape this hell only to stop before a dead end every single time. A horrifying scream fills the cave, echoes, and becomes louder and louder until I´d crouch on the ground. Desperation and fear would paralyze me until the cave would begin to crumble and collapse burying me.
This time was no different and with a loud gasp I opened my eyes, adjusting to the harsh mechanical lights that were directed on me.
I couldn´t make anything out in the glaring light, apart from the metallic room that surrounded me, and the fact that I was levitating in the middle of this room, held in some sort of slowly spinning electrical captivation.
It was a wonder that I survived the shooting before but there was no way I would live long enough to...my train of thought was interrupted by the opening of the door.
Battle droids of course and behind them a horrendous creature, half a robot and half Kaleesh.
"General Grievous", I stated, trying to sound as unaffected as possible.
His pestering laugh filled the room as he eyed me carefully.
"I´m a Jedi", my voice sounded horrible, an embarrassing mixture between voice cracks and whispering. Why was I even talking to him, I silently cursed myself.
"Jedi scum for sure, but what´s your name little Jedi?"
"Emerald", I answered slowly starting to feel the pain coming back.
"Is this even a name?", the droid next to Grievous chattered, "Never is that a name.", he continued clearly sure of himself, "We found her on the top of a tank, and her lightsaber was broken. I have it right here. Look at it yourself." he proudly held my lightsaber in front of Grievous face.
"What am I supposed to do with it you stupid droid?", the Kaleesh snarled. "You´re soon will look like that saber, Jedi scum. Droids, guard her." with that he stamped out, leaving me with that awful sound of "Rodger, Rodger" echoing through the room.
The thought of Anakin and the clones haunted me, there was no way I would give them up so easily.
This was my chance, a new sparkle of hope gave me life, the moment a somewhat brilliant idea came to my mind.
With my most suffering expression, which I didn't even need to fake that much I wailed "Oh, no. I´m gonna die, I can feel it. If I die now, Grievous can´t kill me. How are you gonna explain to him that you let me die when you were instructed to guard me." I sighed dramatically and slowly closed my eyes.
"Is she dead?", "Hey you, Emerald Jedi.", "I think she is dead", "We need to check, I was just promoted." the discussion continued until I roughly landed on the ground, hearing the two battle droids approaching to check on my health.
I quietly groaned at the aching pain that definitely originated from the left side of my body.
I felt the cold metal hand on my throat, clumsily checking if I was still alive. "I think she is...dead?!"
I calmed myself collecting everything that's left of my strength and grabbed the droid and ripped his head off. "Whaaat the", the other droid screamed in shock, still compensating why I was still breathing, which made it easier to grab his blaster and shoot it.
I gasped again, this time out of physical exertion, this little fight had brought me near unconsciousness again.
Struggling to set one foot before another I reached the door and opened it, trying to be as quiet as possible while sneaking out of the metallic hellhole.
There were only a few other droids, the base definitely didn´t seem heavily guarded, which was somehow strange.
"Grievous, you know that it is of utmost importance that the Jedi girl...", I froze and slowly approached the corner the voices were coming from. "Skywalker has to walk into our trap..." My heart made a little jump when I realized that Anakin probably wasn´t dead. "...Sidious ordered that she is only to be killed when Skywalker watches." I frowned and carefully retreated. The pain became more unbearable by the second and I still needed to find a way out of here.
Still, I couldn´t keep my mind from start rattling about what I just witnessed.
What in the force's name did they mean by setting a trap for Anakin. I wasn´t sure who the other one was, but I was definitely planning on figuring that out.
I needed to get to our ship and contact the fleet, call for help and inform the Jedi council about this.
I looked for something that would keep me alive and my luck had turned at least that's what I thought the moment I spotted a little something above me.
It seemed like there was some sort of container that had a medical sign-on. My shoulder made a terrible sound as I tried to reach for the switch to open it.
The pain that shot through my whole body caused me to abruptly slump down to the hard metal ground.
Before I could hit the ground hard, I was caught by a pair of strong arms that seemed familiar to me.
Could this be... "Ani?", I croaked and turned around, tears once again forming in my eyes as I saw his eyes full of concern and his hurt expression.
"You promised me you weren´t going to do anything reckless", he whispered and tried to sound taunting but his voice broke when he turned me a bit and saw my side.
I tried to form a laugh that sounded more like Grievous coughing, due to the amount of blood that came with it.
"Don´t worry it´s gonna be fine. Help is on its way, we-we contacted the fleet.",
My hand clutched for his that tried desperately to soothe my pain somehow.
"Ani, please hold me", I whimpered holding on to him even stronger. I couldn't read the expression that crept on his face but it scared me.
"They are gonna pay for this, every single one of them." he hissed and my stomach turned.
"Just look at me, Ani, please. It´s not that bad.", I whispered caressing his cheek and tried to smile. His expression softens and he carefully picked me up. "You´re so cold, Ems." I huffed and grabbed his hand pressing it against me, placing a soft kiss on his palm. A sad smile graced his face while he covered me with his robe. "See, I´m here, don´t worry.", he placed in return a kiss on my head.
"Ani, I´m scared." I whispered and I don´t know what hurt more the stabbing pain in my side or how his eyes became watery.
I ran my hand softly over his chest and buried myself into his strong arms. I barely felt the pain nor the burning sensation that had caused his touch.
And once again I drifted into sleep, only this time I felt as safe and warm as I never had before.
#anakin fic#sw anakin#star wars fanfiction#star wars#anakin fluff#anakin x reader#anakin x fem reader#original female character#fluff#hurt#angst
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Shelbys at Somme: Chapter 5
Thomas X Reader
2389
Summary: Police interrogation turns to torture.
By: @adventuresintooblivion
While it was still late summer, hints of fall had begun appearing during the earliest hours of the morning. A crispness in the air that didn’t belong to any other time of year sent thrills through Y/N as she set out to find more work for herself.
If she was to become self sufficient she’d need a continuous flow of requests, which usually came from reputation. The only reason she’d gotten to play the other night was because the host there owed her a favor for getting rid of a clingy lover. Now with that under her belt she wouldn’t have to start at the bottom, but it wasn’t much of a head start.
She hopped from dance hall to dance hall. Without references or a traditional music background Y/N wasn’t having much luck. It wasn’t until the fifth stop that someone recognized her.
“Hey, aren’t you the girl who played the violin yesterday? You know, down at the Garrison?” a tall man asked as he sloshed his beer.
The barkeep raised his eyebrow as Y/N replied, “Yes, that was me.”
The man hiccuped, “Best music I ever heard. And I’ve heard lots of music. My mum used to play clarinet for one of those orchestras. You were better than any of those stiff necks.”
Y/N felt her face go hot but she thanked the man regardless. The barkeep on the other hand eyed the two of them.
“Is this some ploy to garner my sympathies?” he growled, scratching his beard.
“No, sir.” Y/N replied. She had considered it but if she wanted to earn a legal wage she’d have to do it on her own.
He grumbled, “Come by tomorrow. If the customers like you then, I’ll book you again. I can’t afford every night, but you’re lucky enough getting this out of me.”
“Understood. Any requests?”
“Yeah, wear something saucy.” He winked at her like the lecher he was.
Y/N replied with a tight smile, her hand closing around the brass knuckles in her pockets. With great effort, she wrangled in her anger and left.
She made it down a couple blocks before her internal alarm went off. Something was wrong. The street that had been packed with people a couple moments before was now empty except for a handful of men.
She froze, head whipping around as she looked for an exit. Residual pain from yesterday made her stiff and she didn’t know the town well enough to slip away unseen, but she had to try. Just as she was about to beeline for a nearby alleyway, filled with crates for cover, the click of a gun stopped her.
“Move one more inch, Ms. Y/L/N, and Thomas Shelby will be tossing pieces of you in the river.”
Y/N lifted her hands in the air, “Well I knew Thomas had friends here, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”
A soft growl answered her, “Cuff her, men!”
The remaining people on the street began to converge on her. It was a practiced formation meant for the thinner streets of Birmingham. Y/N silently cursed as she rolled, bracing herself for the pain.
Her body hit the ground, but the momentum carried her away. The man with the gun hadn’t expected her to run for it and shot off a round a foot above her head. She kicked at his ankle, using her heel to get the most force she could on that one spot. As he yelped in pain she got on all fours and launched herself towards the alleyway.
Two men stood between her and escape, but she didn’t stop. Instead of leaning down and tackling them, she leapt onto a crate. The wood had enough give that she was able to propel herself into the air above their heads onto another stack of crates. She gripped the brass knuckles in her pockets and used her height to her advantage.
She swung, keeping her balance as low as possible. Y/N didn’t aim for the jaw like most people did. She aimed for the nearest man’s temple. Bone collapsed beneath her fist. Another shot fired ricocheting off the brick walls. With one man down she descended. The others were closing in, there was nothing left to do but run. So run she did.
Each step was a knife in her back. It nearly stole her breath away but she needed every ounce of oxygen she could squeeze out of her lungs. Footsteps pounded on the stone behind her. The walls closed in as the alley twisted and curved. Soon her shoulders were brushing the brick but the end was in sight. Crowds hustled by oblivious to the chase they were the key to ending.
A great shout came from behind and something hit her from behind. She fell hard, her hands scraping against the sharp stone. Her head cracked against the hard surface causing bright spots to appear in her vision. Her legs were jelly beneath her. Move. Move Goddamn you!
One of her pursuers had hucked his billy club at her in desperation. It had caught her in the knee forcing her to collapse in on herself. Only one man at a time could fit through the alley way at a time. Rough hands closed around her shoulders and hauled her to her feet. Or tried to. She couldn’t stand if she wanted. Y/N’s head lolled back fighting for consciousness. A groan escaped her as they dragged her back into darkness away from the crowd.
〜
She awoke to the sound of a cane clacking against tile. A black hood had been draped over her head to keep her from guessing the location in transit, but since they weren’t moving she assumed they had arrived. Rough rope tied her hands behind her back. It splintered and dug into her skin all at once making any movement uncomfortable. The chair she sat in had no back and wobbled even as she turned her head.
“Ms. Y/L/N, you know I could charge you with assaulting an officer at this point. Throw you in jail and let you rot. But you’ve faced the jury before haven’t you?”
Her hood was ripped off. A bright light was shining down at her causing her eyes to water. She didn’t need to see him to know the guy talking was the same one who’d pulled a gun on her. She gave a soft smile when she heard the cane make contact with the tile once again.
“No, sir.” Y/N’s voice broke. It felt like hours since she’d last spoken a word. Or had anything to drink.
“Sir? That’s such a respectful word from someone who tried to break my ankle.”
She shrugged, wincing as the rope bit into her wrists. “Well you did pull a gun on me. So I figured fair is fair, Mister…?”
He bent down, his silhouette suddenly a dark mass against the light, “It’s Inspector actually. Inspector Chester Campbell. Matthew on the other hand didn’t have a gun.”
Y/N glanced up, “Matthew?”
“That man whose head you caved in. His name was Matthew,” he growled shoving aside the light.
Now she could get a proper look at him. Y/N felt her stomach drop out from underneath her. This was the man Grace had met at the Opera. Bile rose in Y/N’s throat; now she couldn’t play fast and loose tossing her life to the wind. Now she had to make it out of her and warn Thomas.
Inspector Campbell leaned in close enough Y/N could smell his breath. “Is that shame I see? Or fear? What a pity. I was hoping you were the cold blooded killer your files said you were.”
Y/N tried to clear her throat, “My file?”
“Your military file. Once I realized what your name was, I had every bit of information I could dug up on you. And believe me I almost had to pay an arm and a leg to do it. Nothing creates red tape like military shame.” he slowly paced the room turning his back to her.
He sure likes to hear himself talk. “Find anything fun?” she goaded.
He raised his eyebrow, “Oh, I bet you’re used to people just being stunned that you were able to join. It was a fun story I’ll admit, but that’s not what caught my eye.”
She heard the noise before she felt it. A billy club made contact with her flesh just to the left of her spine. A thunderous crack resounded throughout the room. The sound that ripped out of her mouth wasn’t human.
It felt as if someone had slipped a red-hot hook inside her and ripped her insides to shreds. The world went white. She couldn’t stop screaming long enough to breathe. Y/N’s skin was instantly covered in sweat as she shook.
The men around her recoiled. Some even turned green. Yet Inspector Campbell’s face remained smooth as glass as he watched the aftermath of what his men had done.
When she collapsed, doubled over and panting, he reached down and yanked her head back by her hair. Y/N could barely focus on him in the weird lighting. And quite frankly she couldn’t give two shits about how close he was.
“Look up. Look at me. You killed an officer of the law today, so I can’t just let you go. But don’t worry; you’ll make it out of here alive. I mean sure we’ll have to strike a deal first-”
Y/N spat in his face.
He sneered, letting go long enough to wipe away her saliva. Then he backhanded her with a resounding thud. Her head snapped to the side almost causing her chair to wobble dangerously. Inspector Campbell’s voice was soothing as he spoke, “Now disrespect me again and there will have to be real consequences. I want you to tell me everything you know about Thomas Shelby. Judging by the fact that you put all this work to hunt him down three years after your service ended, I’d wager to say you and he have something special.”
Y/N mulled over her options. She was in a room full of people who would face no repercussions for what they did to her. The only thing that stopped them was whatever passed for morals in a torture session. If war had taught her anything it was that good men gave way to monsters when push came to shove.
“What’s left of my platoon lives here, Inspector. The military let them think I was dead, all because of shame. I came here to tell them I was alive.”
“And now that that’s done I suppose you’ll be on your way?”
She shook her head. “Put a down payment on a place. Gotta job lined up that starts soon. I’m here to stay, my good sir, and I’ll say this is one hell of a welcome party.”
Inspector Campbell tapped his cane on the tile, “Did Thomas bring you in to deal with the guns?”
“I would’ve loved to see that seance.”
The Inspector nodded towards whomever stood behind her. His men recoiled before the blow even landed. CRACK. Pain. Blackness.
Y/N started awake sputtering as water as thrown in her face. She was somewhat aware of a clicking noise. It was the Inspector.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you were a British soldier, the best of the best. Now why is it that you black out from a couple of switches to the back?” His grin caused nausea to twist in Y/N’s gut.
She didn’t answer, only took slow deep breaths. That wasn’t going to be the last time he hit her. They all knew it.
He circled around her, using his cane to lift her shirt. “You were shot in the abdomen correct?”
When she stayed silent he cracked his cane on the tile floor. She flinched before nodding.
“Then why is there no exit wound? Did they remove the bullet through your stomach?” he continued.
“No.”
His eyes flashed in the dim light, a triumphant smile on his face, “So it’s still there. Tell me, Ms. Y/L/N, do you think old age will get you first or lead poisoning?”
She rolled her eyes. “My own pride is what’ll get me.”
Inspector Campbell opened a small pocket book. “And why do you say that?”
“Well for starters if this is what you call torture you’re fucking awful at it.” She slowly sat up refusing to huddle in on herself any longer. She could see a man who stood opposite her shake his head. He didn’t want to watch what was about to happen. At least someone here is smart.
“Do enlighten us Miss.”
Y/N cackled. “No. This is a beat down. You have limited time before Thomas notices I’m missing. You need to get me in and out with little to no markings as fast as possible otherwise he’ll know I got nabbed.”
He interrupted. “It’s just information we want.”
“Oh, that ‘information you want’, why haven’t you gone to his other war buddies? The town is thick with them. Oh that’s right, cause they won’t tell you jack shit. Think I’ll just spill the beans because I’m a woman? Fuck you.”
His eyes turned dark, “We can do more to you than beat you, Ms. Y/L/N.”
Then he saw it, the wild look he’d only seen in Thomas Shelby until now. A grin split her face as she snarled at him. Her gaze was that of a starving predator that had finally caught sight of food after a long winter.
Her voice was filled with venom as she spat, “Give me a reason to hang your flesh from the good ‘Ol Tower of London.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Inspector Campbell raised his cane and brought it down across her back so hard it knocked over her chair. Her rage filled scream resounded off the walls as the rest of the men closed in on her. Most of them looked sick even as they beat her with their fists, their clubs, whatever they had that would bring maximum pain. Eventually, they stopped to check and make sure she was still breathing.
#tommy shelby x reader#thomas shelby x reader#thomas shelby imagine#tommy shelby imagine#tommy#peaky blinders imagine#shelbys at somme#adventuresintooblivion
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I’ll still be with you
AO3 | Next
Master List
Chapter 1: Awake
It was a mistake.
It was a damn mistake.
Damian drops the katana on the cold, grimy concrete of Gotham's rotten streets, the scene in front of him barely allows him to register the muffled sound of the gun crashing unevenly on the ground, nor can he focus on the alarmed screams his brothers emit through his communicator. The only thing his mind is capable of registering is the presence of his father on his back, well aware of his disappointed gaze staring at him.
I didn't want to kill him.
He was fighting as usual, he learned the correct direction of his attacks not to kill and better ways to fight to avoid mistakes like this, but it happened. He still killed someone. Because right now? He's no longer a murderer, he runs proud wearing Robin's cloak and what it represents, he learned from Grayson, from his other brothers... why does he always fail at something? Why does nothing ever go right for him? Why does the world keep yelling in his face: MURDERER?
"F-Father…"
"When everyone's done, we'll see you in the cave."
Damian turns to his father, but he's already gone. He bites his lip in frustration and doubt, stays in the middle of the night turning his back on the body of the criminal he killed... and looks at the empty space where Batman once stood, now only showing a direct path to the street. The loneliness and darkness of the night leave the invisible moon as his only company, forcing him to submit to the ups and downs of the life that was imposed on him and the life he chose for himself, which continue to diverge from each other, colliding, searching to destroy each other, even when he swore to himself that he would always be careful, that he would be better.
He was proud of his progress, proud that his father trusted him more.
He was proud of the person he was becoming, he was sure that his growth would put him on the same level as his brothers.
He was wrong.
A presence behind him makes him turn and his reflections force him to take his sword, which is still on the ground, so he only has the posture to face the stranger.
Nightwing watches him with a sad expression and reaches out to place a hand on his shoulder, Damian hunches at the friendly and understanding touch, doesn't help with the guilt, but makes him feel lighter, stronger to face the inevitable gaze of disappointment from his father.
"You don't have to explain anything to me, I know."
Damian no longer has to look up to face his older brother's gaze, but he would like him to remain that way, he would like to still be a child to be pampered by Grayson's excessive affection, but he cannot hide in that way. .
He made a mistake and must face the consequences.
"I'll be backing you." Grayson whispers in his ear before bending down to take the katana and return it to him, a small smile dedicated only to him.
It was only a moment, but it meant everything.
With a new confidence, a little hope, he makes his way back home. Take one last look at the person who murdered and follow Grayson.
It's almost nostalgic like a year ago it was just the two of them against the world, jumping the same way through the rooftops, but now Richard doesn't wear a cape or a somber expression, yet the feeling is the same: freedom.
If I were Grayson's son in some distant universe, would I be happier? Would the feeling of failure disappear? Would I stop falling down the deep pit I was thrown into?
I would like to dream a little more, why did they give me the world and take it from me as if I wasn't worthy of looking at it?
Will I never be enough?
…
Even if I never were, I don't want to give up, even if only pieces remain of me...
He's the last to reach the cave, his thoughts submerged him in the comfort of routine and his steps slowed down as if deep in his being he knew that it would be the last time he would run through those worn roofs, even the drizzle nocturnal caressed him like a silent farewell.
Something within himself screamed at him: it's the last time you fly through these skies.
When he stands in front of Batman, everyone else remains distant, but attentive. Drake drops his hood and meets his gaze, soft and, perhaps, a bit of concern reflected in his eyes.
It was a mistake. His father can't get too angry because he made a mistake, can he? Only it wasn't a simple mistake, you killed it.
"Robin."
"Yes father?"
Every second the silence stretches, Damian feels the air grow heavier. The most terrible thing about Batman is not his reprimands, it's his silences and looks that say more than any language is capable of expressing. No matter what he says, nothing is worse than being in front of his father while silently judging him.
"You'll be on the bench indefinitely."
"Bruce!" Richard shouts from one end, the tone of reprimand in the older man's voice doesn't escape him, although he knows it will have no effect on his father. "You can't treat it like it was done on purpose."
"A death is a death, Nightwing."
"And he knows it, but..."
"If I knew, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'll not change my mind, we are finished."
He just watches the exchange, Richard even came over in the middle of the conversation to be by his side. Damian just raises his head with dignity, accepting the facts, but isn't it even worth a scolding anymore? Did he just treat him as a lost case?
It doesn't hurt.
Damian frowns and walks off to the locker room, not saying a word to anyone despite feeling all eyes on him, despite noticing that Grayson intends to speak to him.
It doesn't hurt.
He stops in front of his locker, looks at his clothes and disconnects from his surroundings. He takes off his costume automatically, he can't allow himself to feel anything in those moments, he just has to act with the dignity that Damian Wayne has to maintain, he just...
"Damian, I'm proud of you."
Grayson's hug is both a relief and a weight that threatens to break it. A cry from the depths of his soul claims for the betrayal, disappointment and despair that a simple accident brought to the surface. The gentle waters of the crystalline lake hid in its depths the shadows of the beast that resided in them, taking him with it at the slightest disturbance, devouring him completely.
What if he just gave up? What if his destiny is to be devoured by the beast?
Still, I don't want to give up.
"I’m aware, G-Richard..."
Grayson lets out a muffled gasp upon hearing it, Damian can't blame him, it's the first time he's called him by his name, but he deserves it, right? Richard was always for him, he accepted him even with everyone against him, he understood him where no one else did him and he love him as no one else seems to do it.
Why couldn't I be another normal boy? Why was I born as Damian Al Ghul? Why did I become Damian Wayne? Why am I required to choose only one?
"I'm going to change and go to bed... Can I... sleep with you?"
The words almost caught in his throat, locked by the lump that had formed. These feelings want to compel him to bow, hug himself, and scream. He will explode, unable to contain himself and there will be no force capable of stopping him from collapsing.
"Sure… and Damian, you're still learning, Bruce is too strict with you."
Damian can feel Richard's smile in his words, a curvature that always forms with the same ease of the smooth flow of a river, without disturbances or rocks that interrupt its flow. He was always surprised by the ease with which he smiles at him, through every mistake, through every difficulty. Richard Grayson always tries to face the world with a smile.
It comforts him to know that he exists, that he's real and not another cruel joke to make life laugh in his face.
Holding Robin's mask for the last time, he really feels like he won't be wearing it again.
Maybe it's for the best. Robin is a symbol and he could not represent it.
He hasn't wings to fly the skies that Robin must fly.
Still, I could not help stretch my hand and try to reach the vast sky above me...
It was a good dream, but now I'm awake.
I'm not Robin, nor a Wayne, and I'll never be an Al Ghul again.
I don't want to give up, I'll just go back and find my way.
This is not my last battle.
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Chapter 37
Carry On My Wayward Son
The NINE Engines
"Alex"
Site Hotel Bravo - Lab
Kicking the door open, Alex quickly dashed through the squeaky halls while Jack held on to his shoulder for support. The alarms echoed through the facility and everyone else was gone. Whoever was compromised among his teammates must be in a pinch right now, and the best thing the duo could do is plant the charges.
Alex paced through the halls and checked every corner, Jack continued guarding his six and they checked each room for intel. Luckily, they stumbled upon a framed layout of the building.
"Thank Goodness, a goddamn map." Jack sighed and looked at the thing, starting at the huge red star that said "You are Here"
"Any idea where the engine room is?" Alex turned to him, while leaning by the door, his body angled to peek at the hallway.
"Well for starters, this is an engine room." He turned and squinted his eyes in disbelief.
"But it's empty." Alex pondered.
"Shit. They already loaded this one." He continued.
"There are 9 other engine rooms out here. And with 10 engines on a single rocket, this thing was meant to go far." he explained and ran back to Alex.
"The next one's just on the other side of this corridor." He muttered and they immediately kicked open the second engine room.
"Empty. Eight more. Let's get a move on." Alex sighed as they continued kicking more doors and discovering more rooms. It looked like they were all empty.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Alex?" Jack asked as they slowly creeped on the stairs down to the lower floor of the facility.
"If you're thinking about Samantha right now, then yes. But I hope you're not because that would be weird." he retorted as the ground shook violently. The two of them felt the heat emanating from the area below them and it didn't bode well for the duo.
"Focus, kid. Now do you see where I'm getting at?" He replied, proving his point. Alex slowly nodded and stepped further down the stairs.
"How can we attach an explosive charge on a whole rocket?" Alex asked the million dollar question and was greeted with complete silence, other than the sound of their footsteps descending the stairs.
"If only we still have one engine… It could be enough to start a chain reaction of explosives." Jack hummed at the last step. The underground floor was where the rumbling was coming from. From the looks of it, the rocket was about to launch.
The launch grounds were already deserted and Shepherds Research team were already in a sheltered bunker somewhere far away from here.
"Fuck. How did Shepherd afford this bullshit off radar?" Jack cursed and looked at the towering rocket as it slowly hummed to life.
"There!" Jack pointed at the doors on the other side of the launch room.
"I trust you could stop those bastards from pushing that button." He nodded. Alex wanted to reason with him and stop his heroic act, because he was living proof that it won't end well for him, but the urgency of the matter at hand made him press on with his orders. It was the only shot they could do it.
"I'll see you on the far side." Alex muttered and Jack nodded, as he assured him that they both will make it out of this one.
Alex thought Jack's task was the hard one, it turns out that his 'stop the launch' mission was harder than he'd expected.
He peeked his head behind the glass of the launch room, as he surveyed three researchers who looked eager for the launch and the three big guys they once met back at the ship. Apparently, they survived the sinking ship part and here they are now.
He could go guns blazing, but the reinforced glass begged to differ. Standard bullets won't penetrate through these kinds of glass even at point blank range.
"Seriously, why do the bad guys always get the good stuff?" He complained, tilting his head to the guards.
The researchers looked unarmed while the big guys wielded AK-47s, which slung across their backs. The smiles on the researcher's faces lit, and that didn't mean well for Alex and his team. He needed to act fast and halt the launch. But he doesn't know how.
They were already mouthing the countdown when Alex knocked on the door and immediately hid. He never expected someone to open the door but he was glad someone did.
A huge blast shattered the room, sending enemies unconscious on the floor, struggling to get up. Alex's eyes focused and looked for the red button but it looked like he was a second to late. The ground shook as smoke billowed from the rocket, covering the whole area with smoke.
Alex knew he had to stay low for oxygen and he did, pressing the button for their comms he tried to alert Jack about the situation.
"Jack! I was too late! We need to get out of this place now! Jack?!" He roared as the loud rumbling noise of the launching rocket filled his ears making him temporarily deaf to any other noise.
He couldn't see the rocket rise up to the sky but he could sense it using the sound of the engine. It was getting away without the bang they were expecting.
"Jack?"
"Run kid! Away from that place!" Jack warned, panting as he did it. Alex quickly got up to his foot and swung his hand, clearing away the smoke as he dashed to the exit.
Halfway through the dark tunnel from which they entered, Alex heard a mighty booming noise, assuming it was the rocket that exploded to pieces. But he had no time to celebrate as the cave started to crumble and collapse just above him.
His elbows and arms sensed the pain of the rocks poking through his shirt as he crawled.
"Shit." He muttered as he felt the rocks fall from where he came from and his foot felt the heat of the now enclosed area.
"I got ya." Jack caught his hand and pulled him up but his metal leg was already stuck between the rocks, making it hard for him to escape.
"I can't pull you anymore!" Jack yelled and Alex let go of him, as he quickly removed the lock of his metal leg, as Jack pulled him free of the collapsing tunnel.
The two panted heavily and Jack supported Alex as they made their way to the other side of the base and met up with the rest of the squad. They didn't need to tell them how their task ended as it was already evident based on the falling rocket debris from the sky.
Extraction was the hardest part of the trip. With Alex losing his metal leg, he wasn't able to help the heavily injured Ghost and Roach and the weakening Alexandra. He frowned at the view as he sat there by the plane, looking at the pained expression from his comrades. Shepherd was also with them, all tied up and his face was expressionless. Alex's blood boiled at the sight of him, making him want to beat him up for another round, but he knew it wasn't necessary as the man would not cooperate. The former general's defeat was too fresh and he still had little pride to keep information from the team.
With Roach continuously bleeding, Nikolai decided to stop by a small town he once belonged in, the team settled on a small hospital which housed troops whom Nikolai deemed were his allies.
From there, they helped patch up Roach and tried to add more blood in him as he lost a lot. Luckily, he was able to hang on and is now resting.
"Rough day, huh." Soap sighed, sitting beside Alex and crossing his arms as they rested in the Hospital's waiting room.
"Yeah. I already missed my leg." Alex commented, tapping whatever's left on his thigh, chuckling at how it looked.
"Well, your leg could be replaced, you know. I know a guy. Actually, I'm not supposed to tell this to you yet, but… Samantha kinda asked me for help. Not me technically, but you get the idea." Soap rambled and all Alex did was look at him quizzically.
"Listen. She - OW!" Soap winced in pain as France teasingly pulled his ear.
"I knew you couldn't keep a secret. Okay Alex, what did he spill?" France looked at Alex seriously, and smiled as soon as she realized Alex doesn't know anything.
"You're lucky he didn't catch up on your babbling." France rubbed Soap's hair and smiled, leaving as soon as Price once again asked for her help.
"Hmm.. Seems like she had you on her ropes." Alex teased.
"On the outside." Soap added confidently. Alex didn't bother decoding what that meant, but he was glad they found each other in a situation like this.
"Hey Soap."
"Aye?"
"Do you have international minutes?"
He nodded and fished his phone from his pocket and handed it to Alex. And after thanking the man, he quickly typed the numbers he memorized and dialed Samantha.
"Hello?" Her voice filled his mind almost automatically. He was indeed smitten by this woman as he smiled goofily on the phone.
"God, I miss that voice so much." Alex exhaled.
"Alex. I miss you too. How are you? Is everyone safe? Are you hurt?" her questions flooded Alex's ears.
"I'm fine Samantha. We had a few injured people but we're fine. We got General Shepherd."
"Oh thank goodness! That's one step closer to ending this war." She excitedly said over the phone.
"I wish I could hug you right now." Alex said out of the blue.
"Yeah. Me too. I'm with John's Mom downtown. We're helping her up with her shopping." she said and he could feel her snickering on the other side.
"Looks like fun!"
"Yeah. I'm seeing a lot of places here, and all I ever imagined is walking around the place with my arms wrapped on yours." Alex couldn't help but blush at her words.
"I love you." He muttered.
"I love you too. I gotta go, duty calls." She chuckled and hung up the phone, leaving Alex in a dreamy state.
He fished a small box from his bag and opened it, showcasing a beautiful ring that he'd been keeping for quite a while now.
"When this war is over…" he muttered, looking at Soap who he forgot was beside him all along. But the guy was already peacefully asleep, so he kept his phone with him for a while so as to not disturb the resting soldier.
Next Chapter : The EIGHT-Thirty Appointment
Notification Squad my Beloved
@ricinbach @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @whimsywispsblog @bumblingbee1
#alex echo 3 1#horrayfic#john soap mactavish#codmw#john price#gary roach sanderson#simon ghost riley#whateverittakes
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Hiraeth - I.VII: Shattered Memories
pairing(s): Hybrid!Im Jaebeom x Reader, Witch!Mark Tuan x Reader, Werewolf!Jackson Wang x Reader, Vampire!Park Jinyoung x Reader, Supernatural!Got7 x Reader
genre: Supernatural!AU, Dark Magic!AU, Angst, Fluff, light Smut
warnings: Mature language, mentions of death and murder, mentions of trauma, brief depictions of sexual content, nudity, mentions of alcohol, some satanic themes, etc.
word count: 6,9k
synopsis: How far are you willing to go to find out the truth about Moon Dye Bay?…
chapter directory
Your eyes desperately survey the dim room, searching for a way to escape from this strange man who magically appeared in your bedroom. There’s no possibility of reaching the door without alerting him to your motives, nor is the window even an option since your apartment is almost nine stories up. You’ll need to come up with a different plan… Even if it means fighting your way out.
“Look, I know it’s hard to believe—”
You glare incredulously at the stranger, curling further into your bed to create more distance between your forms while hissing, “Jackson Wang died years ago, so unless you have some logical explanation or something, then I’m going to kindly ask you to get out of my fucking apartment before I call the police!”
“I do have a logical explanation!” The man insists as you take another glance at your surroundings. If you play your cards right, you might be able to grab the tea mug off your nightstand, throw it at the stranger, and while he’s distracted, make a break for the door. If anything, the noise will hopefully wake up Sana…
You snap out of your thoughts when you notice the man beginning to approach your safe perch. Deciding now is better than never, you lurch forward to grab the cup and heave it toward the stranger with all your might. However, the object merely soars straight through the man’s head and shatters against the opposite wall with a loud crash. He continues to stare at you as if nothing even happened.
A choked breath slips past your lips. “What… the fuck…”
“I tried to tell you.” The man raises his hands, as if to promise pacifism, and literally slides one arm inside the closed door of your closet, “I am Jackson Wang, and I am dead… but you’re still somehow able to see my spirit.”
“So you’re… a ghost?”
He nods.
You narrow your eyes, still suspicious. “If you’re Jackson, then how did you die?”
“I was killed.”
“By who?”
Jackson tilts his head, “Mark never told you…?”
Your shoulders slightly loosen at the mention of your witch best friend, but you still remain on your toes in case you have to grab and weaponize your lamp. “How do you know about Mark and I?”
“Because I’ve been watching you guys.” Jackson’s eyes widen. “Shit—that sounded really creepy. Think of it like… a guardian angel? Kind of?”
“What?”
He waves his hands as if expelling the idea before moving on, “If you’re a supernatural being, and you die, your spirit doesn’t really cross over like a mortal would. You’re kind of just… stuck in this place of limbo called the Other Side.”
“But how are you able to be here? And how can I see you?”
“Spirits can attach themselves to people or objects, and use their energy to stay in the land of the living.” Jackson shrugs, “As for how you can see me, I have no clue. I’m honestly just as surprised as you are.”
You bite your lip, trying to configure whether he’s telling the truth. If only you had asked Mark to describe Jackson back in the cave, then maybe you could have matched up his appearance. But all you have to go off of is this ghost’s words… which for the most part, seem genuine. And he hasn’t tried to hurt you—big props.
“Okay. Let’s just say I believe you for now,” You start before quickly raising a stern finger to point your companion, “but I have tons of questions. For starters, why the hell are you in my room?”
“I don’t really know.” Jackson grimaces, rubbing the back of his neck. “It sounds really weird, but it was like I was drawn to you…”
“Drawn to me? You mean like a magnetic pull or something?”
He nods. “Exactly. But I really don’t know why. Maybe it has to do with how you can see me.”
Feeling hot, you shove the heavy blankets from your body and embrace the newfound cold air against your bare skin. An exhausted, baffled sigh escapes as you bury your face in your palms, hoping to calm the throbbing in your head. Your thoughts are too wild though, and you end up meeting Jackson’s gaze in a matter of seconds.
“So am I supposed to play Ghost Whisperer and help you cross over…?”
“I don’t think so.” You fight off the urge to flinch as Jackson collapses onto the end of your bed with a deep huff, “But whatever it is, it’s really nice to have someone to talk to…”
“Are you alone? Like can you talk to other ghosts?”
“I can, but it doesn’t happen very often. A lot of people on the Other Side can be pretty… intense.”
To your dismay, your heart yearns for him. You grew up on your own after all, so you can understand what it feels like to be lonely.
“You never answered my question from before.” You say after a brief moment of silence, “...Who killed you?”
Jackson’s eyes are dark as he thinks over your question, almost hesitating to give you the answer. While he’s debating with himself, you take the time to study his features. Now that he’s sitting entirely in the light and you’re able to see everything.
You’re not surprised you mistook him as a human, because there’s literally no physical detail that reveals his ghastly nature. Unlike the ghost stories you’ve known, his skin is dark like honey and not transparent, while his lips are slightly chapped and hued the palest of pinks. His hair is a mocha-type brown with a couple sun-kissed caramel highlights, complimenting the sharpness of his handsome features.
In summary, he looked no less human than another man. Although probably a bit more on the attractive side.
“It’s honestly a long and complicated story.” Jackson says after a while, yanking your attention away from his well-defined jawline. Even so, you still continue to stare as he leans back to lay on your mattress, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. “I should really tell you everything from the beginning.”
“It’s not like I’m going anywhere at…” You peer at the clock above your closet, “3 AM. We’ve got plenty of time to talk.”
He shakes his head, “It’s not that easy. I can’t stay on this plane for too long, or else some of the witches on the Other Side will pull me back.”
“How long do you have?”
“Honestly… seconds.” The ghost forces himself back to a sitting position in order to better face you, “We’re technically not supposed to cross into the plane of the living. I’ve been caught a couple times before, so the witches have been keeping a close eye on me.”
You furrow your brows. “Why don’t the witches want you over here?”
“Because they’re afraid of upsetting the balance of nature. You’ve talked to Mark a little about that, right?”
“He mentioned it once or twice.” You watch as Jackson rises from your bed and begins to head back to the corner in which you first saw him. He catches your gaze when he turns back around, offering forth a small smile.
“Sorry for scaring you, by the way.” He chuckles.
You shrug, your own lips upturning slightly. “It’s not everyday you talk to a ghost.”
Jackson nods at your response before glancing toward the mounted clock. It’s subtle, but you manage to catch the slight flash of worry that overtakes his bright irises. When he turns his attention back to you, however, the concern is gone.
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to return, but in the meantime, I want you to go talk to my pack.” Unlike beforehand, Jackson’s tone is scarily serious. Though it still contains remnants of his unusual gentleness. “They’ll tell you the basics you need to know to start. And, (Y/N)?”
“Yeah?”
Jackson’s eyes soften. “I don’t want Mark to know anything about this, okay? You’ll understand better when you hear the story.”
“Of course.” You thumb at a loose thread along the seam of your pillowcase before shaking your head toward the ghost, “Before you go, can you at least tell me who killed you?”
“Like I told you, it’s complicated…” He sighs, “But if you have to know, the Prime Two had a hand in my death… specifically Jaebeom.”
You don’t know what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the name of the ancient hybrid. Still, it surprises you, and it doesn’t. Given the tension all between Mark, the pack, and Jinyoung and Jaebeom, it actually kind of makes sense. But what about the conflict that Changbin hinted at? Or Jaebeom’s bitterness with Mark? What has everyone been keeping from you?
So many puzzles pieces, yet no clue how to fit them together.
“I have to go now, but I’ll come to you as soon as I can.” Jackson’s urge brings you back to reality. “Just do what I said and get as much info as you can, okay?”
You nod. “I’m on it. See you soon, I guess?”
Jackson smiles again. “See you soon, (Y/N).”
You open your mouth to say something further, but in the literal blink of an eye, Jackson is gone. Just vanished into thin air. If you didn’t know any better, you swear you hallucinated the entire conversation… but after all you’ve witnessed in Moon Dye Bay, you do unfortunately know better.
With a groan, you fall back into your pillows, although the exhaustion from before is long gone. You doubt you’ll be able to fall asleep anytime soon, so you rise from your bed and set out to clean up the broken pieces of the mug you threw at Jackson only minutes before.
Guess having tea before bed comes in handy sometimes.
☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾
Steam wafts through the tiled bathroom, gathering in a blanket of fog along the glass walls of the shower. Jaebeom releases a sigh of relief as the hot water beats against his bare back and shoulders, massaging the tension from his muscles and soaking the rest of his naked body. To gain better access to the stream, he leans forward and presses his hands against the fogged glass for support. Less he wants to slip and fall.
Jaebeom peers down to watch the water spill down the drain, tinted red from the blood decorating his skin—Jinyoung’s blood, to be more specific. His mind immediately rushes back to the memory of his brother calling out for help in such agony and pain. He wanted to ignore it. He tried not to care. But then Jinyoung called out his name… what else was he supposed to do?
Jinyoung deserved a lesson for getting involved in witch business again, but Jaebeom couldn’t just sit back and let him suffer through the hallucinations of their hell of a childhood. He curses himself for giving into such weakness and angrily scrubs away the patch of dried blood on his forearm.
Maybe if you hadn’t looked at him with those bright, horrified eyes of yours after he left the room… then maybe his inhumanity could have won the battle over his sanity.
Jaebeom continues to clean himself as his thoughts wander like the steam of the shower. Jinyoung’s fever broke earlier, so he should sleep much more soundly for the next few hours or so. His body will need time to heal, more so because of his stupid, anti-human diet. Maybe Jaebeom will be able to finally convince the pretentious prick to hunt with him after all these years. Or at the very least, drink from a blood bag.
A faint noise that sounds vaguely like footsteps awakens Jaebeom from his shower-thought reverie. He squints through the shower door, trying to see past the curtain of steam. The bathroom is vacant save for the blurred image of his own reflection. Even so, something still proceeds to urk at Jaebeom’s senses, like an itch he can’t scratch.
There’s someone here.
It only takes milliseconds for Jaebeom to corner the figure that sneakily crept inside the shower with him and press them against the tiled wall. A little, feminine giggle emerges from the intruder as the hybrid cages them between his arms and broad chest. His nerves immediately calm at the devious face that stares back at him, instead earning a loud sigh of annoyance.
“You’re lucky I didn’t rip your fucking head off.”
“Mhm. I know how… rough you like to be.”
Jaebeom provides the female an unamused expression. “What are you doing here, Tzuyu?”
“Come on. I know you’re happy to see me.” Tzuyu flashes Jaebeom a radiant smile that resembles one of a temptress. Because of their position underneath the showerhead, her dark brown hair is already soaked. He also quickly realizes that she is just as naked as him. “I can’t just drop by and see my most favorite person in the world?”
“You and I both know that’s a lie.”
Tzuyu smirks. “That you’re my favorite person in the world, or that you’re happy to see me?”
“What do you think?” He begins to pull away from the female vampire, but she stops him with a tight arm around his neck. Before he can blink, Tzuyu’s lips are pressed firmly against his own. Her sweet taste invades his brain like a parasite, and he can’t help but melt into the kiss, hungrily pushing his tongue past the seam of her mouth to find more of her delicacy.
When she pulls back, Jaebeom almost growls. He lowers his hands to tightly grasp her waist before pressing her even further into the wall with his own body. In an effort to make up for the loss, he busies himself by sucking and nibbling along the canvas of her throat. His pride swells when she moans at a particular nip.
“A little eager, aren’t we?” Tzuyu mocks, deviously brushing her knee against Jaebeom’s gradually swelling manhood. His body thrums at the brief contact, quickening his abuse against the patch where her jaw meets her neck.
“You’re the one who interrupted my shower, remember?” He abandons her throat to trail a hand up to her breast, roughly pinching at her taut nipple and smirking at the low groan that bubbles in her chest. “If anyone’s desperate here, it’s you.”
“Touche.” The vampire arches her back more into Jaebeom’s alluring touch. The hybrid welcomes the newfound access, dipping his head down to take one of her buds past his lips. Tzuyu releases a faint whimper before burying her fingers in his wet locks. When she harshly tugs against his scalp, Jaebeom responds with a warning growl.
He detaches from her nipple and chuckles darkly, “We also know that you are the one that likes it rough.”
“Maybe I do.” Tzuyu’s smile is dangerous. “So what’s the big, bad hybrid gonna do with a helpless damsel like me?”
Jaebeom relishes the squeal of surprise that flies from her lips as he lifts her body in the air, tying her legs around his waist with a smirk. “I can think of a couple things…”
Just as soon as the words are spoken, the muffled ring of the doorbell distracts Jaebeom from his lustful rendezvous. He releases a frustrated groan, carefully lowers Tzuyu back to the floor, then shuts off the water. The vampire follows him as he exits the shower, watching intensely as he towels off and slips into a loose pair of sweatpants.
“Stay here.” Jaebeom says before taking off, quickly making his way through his bedroom, downstairs until he reaches the front door. Shaking out his still rather wet hair, he opens the door, prepared to tear apart whoever interrupted his moment.
However, all his anger vanishes into thin air at the visitor on his doorstep.
His eyes widen to saucers. “(Y/N)?”
“Jaebeom.” The animosity along your features falters when you notice his bare chest. You clear your throat before locking your gaze with his own. “How’s Jinyoung?”
Jaebeom’s mood deflates. You’re here for Jinyoung. Not him.
“The worst is over.” He replies truthfully, “He should be back to full health in the next few hours or so.”
“I’m sure he could have been better a lot sooner, but whatever, right?” Jaebeom decides not to drop the fact that he actually did heal Jinyoung. Besides, even if he wanted to, your voice would have beaten him to it, “Anyway, I’m here because I need to know what happened to J…” Confusion invades his veins when your voice suddenly cuts out. He notices your gaze on something over his shoulder, internally cursing himself for already knowing what it is.
“Who’s this pretty, little thing?” Tzuyu sidles up beside Jaebeom, eyeing your speechless form from head to toe. Her hand slithers to lazily rest on his tricep, but the hybrid can spot a symbolism of claim anywhere. And judging by the strange look in your eyes, so can you.
“I thought I told you to stay upstairs.”
“And miss meeting your human pet? How could I ever?”
Jaebeom shoots the vampire a warning look. Tzuyu innocently bats her eyes.
“I was actually just leaving.” You say, tearing Jaebeom’s attention away from his devious companion. He wants to say something further, maybe ask you to stay a little longer, but you’re already tugging your bag further over your shoulder and backing away from the door. “Tell Jinyoung that I hope he feels better, ‘kay?”
Jaebeom shakes his head. “Sure, but (Y/N)—”
You’re already walking away before he has the chance to finish his sentence. Jaebeom watches your form until it disappears inside a car, and even then, he watches the car until it drives past the entrance gate of the estate and out of sight. A strange, empty feeling remains in his chest, as well as the beginnings of annoyance and rage.
Tzuyu leans forward to litter light pecks across his bare shoulder. “Should we… get back to where we left off?”
Jaebeom slams the front door shut with a pound before pushing past the vampire without so much as a response. Tzuyu’s sigh follows him as he makes his way into the living room where he heads straight for the liquor table. He begins to pour himself a drink while Tzuyu situates herself against the doorway. Even with his back to her, he can feel her piercing gaze staring into his soul.
“She seemed nice… (Y/N), was it?”
Jaebeom downs his first glass of bourbon before shaking his head, “Drop it, Tzuyu.”
“So I’m not allowed to learn about your other girlfriends? Though I have to say, I’m surprised you’d ever go for a human.”
“It’s not like that.” He answers, glaring at the pouting vampire from over his shoulder. “She’s a friend of Jinyoung. We’ve only met like twice.”
Tzuyu smiles. This time it doesn’t spark arousal through Jaebeom’s body. It strikes fear.
“I saw the way you looked at her, Beomie… I wasn’t lying when I said she’s a pretty thing.”
Her tone of voice sends warning bells through his chest.
Jaebeom hisses darkly, “Stay the fuck away from her, Tzuyu. I mean it.”
“I would never lay on hand on your fragile human, Beom.” Something about the way her eyes gleam leaves an uneasy feeling stirring through his chest. That, and the way she looks down to check her nails with a sinister smirk. “Though I’m sure it would be so easy to cut out that sweet tongue of her—”
“Tzuyu—”
“Just kidding.” The vampire leaps from her perch against the doorway to steal the drink from Jaebeom’s hand. He watches her warily as she skips toward the window, staring out on the estate courtyards as she sips at the alcohol. Though her back is turned, Jaebeom can practically feel the cogs turning inside her head.
He only hopes she keeps true to her words. For your sake.
☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾
The purr of the car engine blends with the hum of your cell phone receiver. With each ring that passes, the trees outside the window grow more and more abundant while the hope within your heart only becomes less and less. You sigh when the familiar monotone message clicks across the line. For a moment, you debate on whether or not to leave yet another voicemail… It’s not like she’s answered the dozens you’ve already recorded before.
The little hope that remains outweighs your logic. “Hey. It’s (Y/N) again. I don’t know if you’re not getting my messages or just ignoring me, but… I’m really worried about you, Jihyo.” You bite your lip, readjusting your grip on the steering wheel before steering the vehicle onto another branching, dirt road.
“Sana was really shaken up last night and things are just kind of screwed up right now—for fucksake, Ji, please just pick up your goddamn phone and call me!” You end the call with a lot more force than necessary, tossing your phone into your open bag resting on the passenger’s seat. In order to calm the frustration bubbling through your veins, you focus your attention on the winding road ahead.
After somehow managing to acquire the location of the werewolf pack’s hangout from Bambam, Sana agreed to lend you her car. She needs some time to cope, especially with Momo and Mina’s “sudden disappearance”, so she’s taking the next couple of days away from work at Moon Dye Bay’s local cafe.
You thought it would be wise not to drop the real bomb about her high school friends when she was already wrecked over Jihyo’s walk-out, and while you hate lying… what choice do you have? If you tell Sana the truth, then you’d have to also tell her how and why Momo and Mina died. And with that, you’d have to tell her about the bay’s secret society of witches, werewolves, vampires, etc.
Disgust filters through your body as you’re reminded of your less than awkward visit at the Project Estate. The fact that Jaebeom is able to fuck one out of probably very many of his pretty call-girls while his best friend endures the worst of all sicknesses right down the hall just rubs you all the wrong ways. Maybe that whole speech about his humanity from Jinyoung was one big hoax to get you to feel sorry for him, but you refuse to do so.
You also refuse to linger on how that woman you saw with Jaebeom was one of the most beautiful women you’ve ever seen… and how it settles an uncomfortable pit in the depths of your gut.
At the sight of the cabin, you push all thoughts from mind and maneuver the car to pull up in front of the large residence. It surprises you how abandoned and poorly-taken care of the outside of the cabin is, considering Bam said that everyone in the pack basically lives here. Then again, if one of your closest friends and packmate was killed out of the blue, you wouldn’t care much about appearances either.
After cutting out the engine and grabbing your bag, you exit the vehicle. Bird songs and the buzzing of mosquitoes welcome you as you make your way up to the front door. You almost trip over a loose board on the cabin’s wraparound deck, but you manage to catch yourself before you slam nose first into the wooden ground. Just as you’re about to lift your hand and rap your knuckles against the door, a familiar voice seizes your attention:
“(Y/N)? Is that you?” Dahyun emerges from around the side of the cabin, carrying a homemade, woven basket full of wet laundry. With a hand on her hip and a raise of her eyebrow, she continues, “You’re the last person I expected to see today… Did Mark send you?”
“No, no.” You shake your head, “I was actually hoping to talk to Chan, or maybe Yugyeom about something?”
Dahyun offers a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, hun. Everyone’s out today except me and some of the youngsters.” She pauses to support the basket against her hip. “Is there anything I can help you with? If you’d like, we can talk while I take care of these clothes?”
“That would be great actually.” You agree, returning Dahyun’s bright smile with a weak grin of your own. The werewolf nods and gestures for you to follow her with her free hand, which you do so without any complaint.
Once you turn the corner, your jaw almost drops at the sight of the backyard. Unlike the front of the cabin, which looks so unkempt and depressing, the back is the total opposite. It almost reminds you of a mini oasis, with the tiny pond full of flowered lily pads and the bushes of vivid, flourishing roses. Twinkling fairy lights hang from branches of trees, and you can only imagine how pretty it would appear at night.
You and Dahyun pass a couple of other strangers playing Uno at one of the few picnic tables stationed around the massive yard. One of them, a young dirty-blonde teen, looks up as you walk by and offers a kind smile, which you can’t resist to return.
Dahyun hums, “That’s Felix. Chan’s little brother.”
“Really? I didn’t know he had a brother.”
You take a seat on a mossy tree stump, watching as Dahyun sets down her basket and begins to hang the wet laundry along an already prepared clothesline. After staring for a few moments, you climb back to your feet and move to help the werewolf.
She grants you a grateful smile and shrugs, “Most don’t. Felix hasn’t triggered his gene yet.”
“His gene?” You repeat, pinning a large, black T-shirt onto the line.
“Oh right. You probably don’t know much about wolves yet.” Dahyun peels open a moist towel and continues, “Basically, we’re born with this gene that has to be ‘triggered’ in order for us to activate our werewolf abilities.”
“So the whole werewolf bite or scratch thing is a myth?”
“One hundred percent bullshit.” She laughs.
You chuckle as well, before inquiring further, “How do you trigger it?”
Dahyun’s laughter immediately cuts out. Thinking you said something wrong, you open your mouth to reconcile, but the wolf beats you to it. Her tone nowhere near as light-hearted as before:
“You have to… kill someone.”
Your stomach twists, butterflies of revulsion fluttering all the way up to your chest. You notice how Dahyun no longer tries to meet your eyes, instead fully investing her attention in wringing out the dripping wet mass of fabric before pinning the corners to the line.
“It’s usually an accident for most of us though.” She shrugs with a faraway expression, “Sometimes we just lose control of our emotions and things get out of hand… then somebody ends up dead, and you turn the next full moon. Whether you meant to or not.”
You reach over to place a comforting hand on her elbow. “I’m so sorry… That sounds horrible.”
“It’s just the world we live in.” Dahyun seems to snap out of her traumatized state and throws a slightly awkward smile in your direction, “Anyway, once your gene is triggered, you turn into a wolf every full moon for the rest of your life.”
“Do you have control when you turn?”
“Not exactly. Our werewolf form is like a totally different part of us.”
You nod in understanding. At her guidance, you begin to take down the clothes that had dried beforehand while she finishes hanging the last of the remaining laundry. Once the last garment is pinned to the clothesline, the werewolf takes a seat in the grass and moves to begin folding the dry batch. You do the same.
“Now with all that aside, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”
“Oh. Right.” You bite your lip, trying to come up with the best way to bring up a dead Jackson without striking a personal chord. After a moment of silence, Dahyun must notice your apprehension, as she drops the socks in her hands and leans forward to lightly pat at your calf with a patient smile.
Her kind facial expression alone is enough to evoke a slight wave of bravery from your soul:
“Well, I was wondering about… Jackson Wang.” You say carefully, keeping your eyes on Dahyun’s gradually faltering smile.
The werewolf leans back from you with a heavy sigh before releasing a soft chuckle, “It’s been a while since I’ve heard that name. Though I’m a little surprised… I thought Mark would have told you all about Jackson by now.”
You shake your head.
“Jackson was our first Alpha, before Chan took over. All of this actually belonged to his family—” She pauses to gesture to the cabin. “—but after his parents found out he triggered his curse, they gave it to him so he could have somewhere to get away. Eventually it became a sanctuary for the werewolves of Moon Dye Bay.”
“Mark told me Jackson was his best friend…”
Dahyun nods. “Ever since high school. Mark helped Jackson when he turned the first time, and Jackson was there for Mark when his mother died.”
Your heart warms at the thought of Mark having such a close, supportive relationship with someone. However, that same feeling falters when you remember Jackson’s mysterious, tragic death.
“So how did he die?” You ask quietly, peering over Dahyun’s shoulder to check the state of the other inhabitants in the backyard. Felix and his other friends are still engaged in their rather intense card game and are paying no mind to you nor Dahyun. The information lessens your anxiety, though only slightly.
You return your focus to your companion when she tosses a wrinkled shirt back inside the basket with a bitter glare. “The Primes killed him.”
“But why?” Dahyun turns at your inquiry. “There had to have been a reason? Right?”
“When the Primes first came back to town, about four years ago, Mark and Jackson came up with a plan to try to kill their ancient asses once and for all.”
“How? They’re invincible?”
“Mark was going to gather enough power to break the immortality curse that makes them untouchable.” She answers, “Once Mark took out their safeguard, Jackson would drive a stake through each of their hearts.”
You frown. “I’m guessing that didn’t go as planned?”
“Mark couldn’t get the magic in time, but Jackson was never one to back down from a fight.”
“What do you mean?”
Dahyun rolls her eyes. “Jackson was one of the best people I will ever know, but his ambition always went to that big-ass head of his. That night, he was going to kill the Prime Two or he was going to die trying…”
“So you’re saying it was… his fault he died?”
“Yes and no.” She hums with a shrug. “Like I said, Jackson was always that ride or die kind of person. He was passionate and driven, but he was also reckless and stubborn.”
You furrow your brow before leaning back on your palms. Puzzle pieces are slowly starting to fit together, especially concerning Mark and why he blames himself for Jackson’s death, but what doesn’t make sense is why Jackson died in the first place? If Jaebeom and Jinyoung couldn’t be killed then, and still can’t be killed now, what threat is a brash, pig-headed werewolf?... And why would Jackson be so driven to kill the Primes that he’d give up his own life doing so?
Before you can spill your concerns to the waiting werewolf, the buzz of your phone seizes your attention. You retract the device from your bag to check the text message, finding a thread of new messages from Sana, one of which asking when you’re going to return to the apartment. You shoot her a quick answer with a promise to also pick up some dinner before you turn back to Dahyun.
“I should probably get going. I have a couple errands to run before the sun goes down.”
She rises to her feet in synchronization with you. “Of course. I hope I helped at least a little.”
“You helped so much, Dahyun. Really. Thank you.”
“I’m glad.” The werewolf smiles. “It was really nice to see and talk to you, (Y/N). If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to come visit me again.”
“I appreciate that more than you could know.” You lean in to give Dahyun a quick, easy hug before walking with her back toward the front of the cabin. In the midst of approaching Sana’s car, your mind shifts back to another important, yet crazy thought that occurred to you while in conversation with Jackson last night. Without thinking about the consequences, you pause and ask Dahyun one final question:
“Is it… possible to bring someone back from the dead?”
Judging by her tense shoulders and bewildered expression, your abrupt inquiry takes Dahyun by surprise. She merely stares at you with saucer-like eyes and parted lips for a moment, until she seems to regain her composure.
Even then, her words are muddled and full of confusion. “I-I mean, I don’t know anything about witchcraft myself, b-but I think so?” She narrows her eyes. “...Why?”
“Just wondering.” You play off her curiosity by pulling your keys from your bag and opening the driver’s door. With a weak smile and a nod, you bid the werewolf farewell. “Thanks again. I’ll see you around.”
You don’t wait for Dahyun’s response, too worried that she might somehow pick up on the plan slowly building inside your head. Without a second to spare, you switch on the engine, put the vehicle in proper gear and back out of the cabin’s driveway. Dahyun watches from the deck, and though you’re distant from one another, you can feel the intensity of her stare as you maneuver back onto the dirt, forest roads.
Once you’re a decent distance from the cabin, you find your cell phone, pull up a specific contact and balance the device on your shoulder. The line picks up after two rings, and you don’t wait for the usual chime of a greeting. Not when you’re so deep into everything now.
“Bam, I need everything you have on necromancy.” You say into the phone, squeezing the leather cover of the steering wheel in a mixture of anticipation and excitement. “And I also need you to promise not to say a word about this to anyone… Not even Yugyeom.”
☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾
Changbin is fuming. Absolutely fuming.
It feels like his entire body is made of electricity, coursing through his veins and boiling his blood red-hot. He can’t control the trembling of his hands. Not even when he stuffs them inside the pocket of his hoodie. The urge to break something is strong, but Changbin doesn’t want to break just anything… No—he wants to break someone. Hurt someone.
There was once a time he would have never thought these words. Then again, that was before the Primes came to town, and before Jackson was murdered. Everything changed after that. Everyone changed. When the pretentious, youngest asshole of a bloodsucker showed up to reveal that Jackson’s body couldn’t even be handed over, no one put up a fight. No one stood up for their Alpha. Life just went on, as if nothing had changed.
A hiss sounds through Changbin’s gritted teeth as he thinks back to his most recent argument with Chan and Yugyeom. Neither of them even cared when he told them that Dahyun was the one who came at him first. They didn’t listen… but why would they? Changbin is just the runt with the anger issues, right? Why would anything he have to say matter? Why should they give a damn about his perspective… about his pain?
No one understands how much Changbin misses Jackson, nor do they understand how much anger it brings him that his legacy still goes unavenged. For fucksake, no one is brave enough to say his goddamn name aloud anymore. And even when he’s mentioned, everyone pretends as if there isn’t one giant ass elephant in the room. It makes him sick. Furious.
Changbin is suddenly awoken from his racing thoughts when his shoulder slams into the body of another walking pedestrian. He reels around and regards the hooded stranger with a deep growl, “Watch where you’re fucking going, asshole! Unless you want me to break your fucking arm!”
“That won’t be necessary.” Changbin watches, unamused, as the stranger removes his jacket hood. His face is familiar, he realizes. Changbin feels his anger grow tenfold.
He pulls back his own tattered hood with another growl, “You better have a good fucking reason to be lurking in our territory, witch.”
“I came to talk to you.” The witch remains unphased by the wolf’s aggression, even when the latter stalks closer and closer to his lean form. “I think you’ll like what I have to say.”
“Oh yeah?” Although the male is slightly taller than him, Changbin doesn’t hesitate to get up in his face. “And what makes you think that?”
The witch doesn’t pull away, but merely shrugs. “Because we both want the same thing… Revenge.”
Changbin’s ears perk at that single word. His ferocity falters, prompting him to create distance between his and his companion’s bodies. After tucking his hands back inside his pockets, he doesn’t say a word, but nods for the former to continue.
The witch smirks.
“What would you say if there was a possibility to destroy the Prime Two?”
“I’d say you’re crazy.” The wolf bites his lips, “...but I’d also say I’m the slightest bit interested.”
“And if I told you there was also a possibility of hurting Mark Tuan in the process?”
This time, a mirroring smirk pulls along Changbin’s lips.
“I’d say I’m in.”
☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾
“Are you sure I don’t need to come over there?”
Youngjae rolls his eyes at Mark’s concerned tone, adjusting the phone on his shoulder to better his grip on the thick grimoire in his hands. “No, hyung. Jisung and Lia left hours ago, so it’s just me.”
“I can help you out.”
“I really don’t think I need your help for a plant revival spell.” He glances toward the array of wilting flowers and herbs, before releasing a chuckle into the phone. “Seriously, hyung. Take the time to rest… You had a long day yesterday.”
He can almost see Mark shaking his head over the line. “Trust me, I’m very well-rested. I slept close to sixteen hours last night.”
“Then sleep another sixteen. Satan knows you need it.”
Youngjae sets the grimoire down on the countertop beside a yellowing, potted basil. He lays his hand over the ancient book, feeling the electric rush of magic entering his body through his palm. Once he gathers a satisfactory amount, he removes his hand and instead points toward the dying plant.
“I just… hate not being productive, you know?”
Youngjae watches the leaves of the basil gradually lighten and shift from rotted to fresh, finally answering when the plant stands tall, proud and very, very green:
“You need to give yourself time, Mark-hyung. That’s the most productive thing you can do right now.”
“I… I guess you’re right.” Mark sighs, and even through the phone, Youngjae can pinpoint his friend’s exhaustion. He hums in response and turns to revive a drooping sunflower, making note to move the plant to a perch where it can reach the sunlight.
“By the way, have you heard from (Y/N)?”
“No. Not since last night.” Youngjae answers.
“I texted her this morning and this afternoon, but she hasn’t texted me back.” The siphoner doesn’t respond, focusing on ripening the cherries of the sick miniature fruit tree. “Jihyo apparently left town last night… You don’t think that’s something to be concerned about, right?”
Youngjae shakes his head. “She was probably spooked by an ex-boyfriend or something. And I’m sure (Y/N) is busy at the university. You know how hard she works.”
“Yeah, I know. I just wish she would at least text me back.”
“She probably needs time to process too, hyung.” He reasons with the head witch, glancing toward the front of the mausoleum when the knock sounds from the door. “I gotta go, but I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
Mark hums in agreement. “Thanks, Youngjae.”
“Mhm. Get some more sleep.” Knowing Mark would retaliate with his command, Youngjae hangs up the phone before he can respond. The siphoner mumbles a quick illusion spell to hide any evidence of witchcraft to the mortal eye, then heads toward the front door, unsure of who would be visiting the mausoleum this late in the evening.
Who Youngjae certainly doesn’t expect to see behind the door is you, standing outside with a large mass of books cradled within your arms.
Youngjae’s eyes widen when he notices one of the titles of the books, as well as the flames of determination burning inside your eyes. He parts his lips to inquire further, but you beat him to it… and your words nearly knock all the air from his lungs:
“I need your help to bring Jackson Wang back from the dead.”
#got7#got7 fanfic#got7 fic#got7 imagines#got7 x reader#got7 angst#got7 fluff#got7 smut#got7 au#im jaebeom#im jaebeom x reader#im jaebeom fic#mark tuan#mark tuan x reader#mark tuan fic#jackson wang#jackson wang x reader#jackson wang fic#park jinyoung#park jinyoung x reader#park jinyoung fic#kpop fanfic#kpop au
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LoL Chapter 29- Fae Magic
Masterpost
A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)
BDubs and Stress take a trip to the eternal spring fields in eastern Lairyon, where they face lighthearted trouble and grim fates.
________________________________________
“Oh! That tingles.” BDubs giggles, feeling the hot, dry heat turn into a comforting warm breeze upon entering the magical barrier. Wet, damp air hanging with droplets soaking in the warm sun rays, clinging to the vibrant flowers and trees that turn the enchanted forest into a painting. Eternal spring among the Flowerfruit Fields, petals and berries of rare specimens growing in the wild space. Pink and green grow from the collapsed buildings, vines laden with fruit creeping down the roof. The vines and bushes overflow onto the thin green pathways of the roads and walking trails.
It’s the fruit and herbs that Stress and BDubs are here for. If they hope to face Dolios, and to help their friends ward off the darkness that attacks them, they need an antidote for dark magic. Stress thinks she found a potion that could reverse any ill effects- if administered in time. Unfortunate for the hermits, the ingredients are rare and unusual. No apothecary she visited had the ingredients she needed. Most they never even heard of.
But if there’s one place she could find the ingredients, it was here in the fields. Foraging among neon green leaves and plump blue fruit. And if there’s one hermit that knows what weed is what, it would be BDubs- resident plant mage. And already, he’s like a kid in a candy store. “Amazing, I thought the starflower went extinct eons ago! Oh, is that a kipling scale vine? Absolutely incredible, stunning.”
Stress snorts back a laugh. “How do you keep all that information in yer head?”
“By removing non-important info, like how not to yell, or all my maths I learned in school. A-and names. If they aren’t a hermit, I don’t remember.” BDubs springs to his feet, grabbing the parchment of paper while Stress escapes the heat of her robes. It’s a little much, the fuzzy wool and thick fleece. She wraps the sleeves around her waist, revealing pale, toned arms and a bright pink undershirt. “Alright, what’s on the shopping list for today?”
Together, the two forage across the field. Stress plucks leaves that BDubs points out, bags fruit that she remembers from the potion book, but no matter how long they searched, they could not find the rarest, most elusive ingredient of all- dragonfruit. Though BDubs has heard of the unique plant, he has no clue how it grows. Is it a vine plant, like a melon? Or perhaps arboreal, or bushgrown. After stabbing himself on the thorns of an estenberry bush, for the fifth time, he snarls defeat.
“Aww, don’t give us that attitude, BDubs. We’ve been at this fer ages, it’s okay if we take a break.” Stress gazes at the sky, the sun already setting. They arrived here this morning, but all day among the fields has eaten up their daylight. A cold breeze nips at her nose, inviting her to set up camp.
“No, I’m not stopping until this job is done!” He plunges his hands into a patch of star flowers, hoping that maybe he’ll find something in there. Instead, he feels the sensation of something cool but energetic running along the tips of his nails. The sound of bells rings in his ears.
And Stress smacks her forehead, so hard that her pale skin turns as red as a Fi fruit. “The fair folk! Of course! They created the Flowerfruit fields, surely they’d know where we can find one of them dragonfruit!”
BDubs snorts, brushing dirt from his fingers. “You actually believe in faeries? What are you, twelve?”
“Would you-!” Stress claps her hand over his mouth, glancing from side to side, then glaring him down. “Of course they’re real, BDubs. What, you tellin’ me you’ll believe in dragons and plant monsters, but the other kind are too far outta the realm of belief?”
The plant mage only nods his head, glancing around at the evening field. Fireflies dance in the blue night sky, and bunnies hop across the trails, from fruit to fruit in search of their next meal. He sighs, backing away. If there’s one thing he learned, it’s best not to trifle with any of the girls. Cleo and False could run him through with their blades if he crosses them- which, admittedly, takes a lot to do. But he’s also the master of annoying people. Stress however… she needs no weapon to make an impact. “Alright, we’ll look for your faerie friends, if you think it’ll help.”
Stress’s smile is worth backing down on this argument. Seeing his friends happy is what he loves to see most. BDubs follows the ice blue trail of her robe into a thicket of trees, dancing around the rare and exquisite herbs growing at his feet. He can hear the sound of bells ringing in his ears, soft and sweet, just at the cusp of sounding like voices and laughter. Some of the dancing fireflies cast shadows that look bipedal, but he chalks it all up to his weary body. Stress and him had been traveling for days to arrive here, only to jump right into searching for ingredients. Ingredients that now swing in pouches and vials on his and Stress’s waist.
All except for this ridiculous dragonfruit. He can’t help but grumble to himself as he follows Stress. Why would a dragon even want fruit? Are they omnivores? It sure didn’t seem like it at the championship. Do they grow them, is that why? What he wouldn’t give to see a massive dragon tending to a tiny dragonfruit plant, tilling the soil and watering it at the mouth of their caves.
BDubs is yanked out of his own thoughts, Stress grabbing him by the arm and nearly throwing him into the mossy grass at her feet. He’s about to whine about the rough takedown, but she falls to the floor next to him. “Look!”
The two peer through ivy and bushes. Before their eyes, mushrooms and toadstools grow and glow in the moonlight. Pink flowers of cherry blossom trees sway, petals falling to the verdant floor in a storm of rose. Fireflies dim to reveal the festivities inside the ring. Dozens of fae, dancing with bare feet across the soft moss. Their laughter sounds like tiny bells, harps and pipes filling the air as if it were a human orchestra. No matter their tiny size, the music rose well beyond the center of their festivities.
Stress reminds herself it’s rude to eavesdrop. She crawls through the bush, about as unlady-like as she can get, but announces her arrival. “Hello, fair folk!”
The fae rise on dragonfly wings, an aura of light following them as they dance upon glitters and gusts. They bow and welcome Stress to the Flowerfruit Fields, though the music grinds to a halt and the glimmers turn red. Stress realizes what’s wrong, and elbows BDubs in the stomach. Hard. “Ow! Alright, Hello, other kind or whatever.”
“Don’t ruin this, be polite.” She growls under her breath, amber eyes turning icey. “Just...follow my lead.” Stress turns away, walking into the clearing. Careful to avoid stepping within the faerie circle. “I’m the Ice Mage, and that’s the Plant Mage.”
“My name is-” BDubs howls as a heavy snowboot lands on the arch of his foot. “Yep, that’s me, the Plant Mage.”
A young faerie, hair a dark halo of curls bouncing against deep hued skin. Pink petals stitch into clothing, a smile for jewelry and raindrops for gems. “Welcome, mortal mages! For what reason do you enter our forest? Do you wish to join in our celebrations? Perhaps you would like some food?”
At least this time, BDubs waits for Stress to tell him no. They do not enter the faerie circle, nor do they accept the food. “Actually, we’ve been lookin’ fer something all day long, and if there was anyone who would know where to find the final ingredient to our list, it would be the very people that created these fields.”
Just like BDubs, fae like their egos stroked. The fae accept the kind comments, a few playing with Stress’s short brown locks. BDubs steps away, unwelcome to the idea of tiny, glittery creatures touching him in any way. “Of course, we would love to show you our wonderful creation. Eternal spring, the time of birth and celebration!”
The faerie attempts to lead Stress into the circle, but she’s too clever to be caught in their trap. She’s a woman raised in high society- she can sniff out trouble a mile away. “We searched all day, but could not find the last ingredient we need.”
“A dragonfruit.” BDubs finishes, wringing his hands. If he gets his hands on the seeds of this rare plant, he’ll propagate it in his own jungle garden, until no one ever has to stick their hands in a fi fruit bush ever again in search. The fae around him titter, and he catches only snippets of the gossip and conversations around him. Something about the rarity of the fruit, the tender care needed, like it was a jewel or child. How much time it took for the fae to find one. He sneers, turning his back on the petite party. “Forget it, they don’t have the ingredient Stress. They just want to force us into their weird little realm they’ve got.”
“BDu- Plant Mage!” Stress claps her hand over her mouth. He said her name. Not her full name, thankfully, but it’s one piece to the puzzle the fae could use in their tricks. She turns back, kneeling to the tiny troublemakers. She has to pick her words carefully. “Please ignore my ignorant friend, he didn’t mean what he said. Your help is greatly appreciated from me, and my appreciation spans to him.”
“Oh, yeah. Thank you so much for all the help. I dunno about you, Ice Wizard, but I don't see a dragon-” His whining morphs into squeaking, and laughter crowds the illuminated air around Stress. Her fellow hermit is no longer at her side. A rabbit is instead. No, wait. Stress would know that tuft of hair between large, floppy ears anywhere.
“He runs his mouth like a bunny.” The pink faerie giggles. They turn their attention to Stress, a glint in their eye matching the mischievous tone of their voice. And Stress thought the look on Grian’s face was trouble. “Unfortunately, bunnies cannot carry a dragonfruit. And I don’t think we’d want to give such a rare fruit to ungrateful humans. No no no!”
“Fair folk, we humbly request your kindness. My friend here is an idiot-” She yelps as sharp bunny teeth nip her fingers. “And a right meanie. But we need the fruit. This potion is crucial to the safety of all Lairyon. Please, if he apologizes consider giving us the dragonfruit.”
“An apology will not be enough.” A fairy with a red aura and lanky wings deems. “Apologies are worthless to the fae. Your belittled bunny here must prove he is sorry, and lower his crown to that of jester to be granted reprieve.”
Stress glances at her furry friend, but he shakes his head, crossing his paws in defiance. “It’s a deal! What’s one little prank gonna do?”
The fields flurry around the two, separating Stress from bunny BDubs. One faerie settles on Stress’s shoulder, warning her she should stay back. They don’t want the kind human to be caught up in the misgivings of the illfated. Another faerie drops a flower crown atop Stress’s head, though Stress is careful not to accept any food the fair folk offer.
BDubs, on the other hand, is picked up by his fluffy cotton tail by three different fae, their laughter a cacophony of bells. His tiny claws dig into the dirt, but the otherworldly beings are must stronger than his thumper feet, and they succeed in pulling him to a faerie well. The pink aura fairy flits to the stone siding, casting dust into the ripples as if she were sowing seeds. The water turns a milky shade, swirling like clouds trapped in the ground. Mist pours from the sides.
Fae pull BDubs off the ground, suspending the rabbit above the well. “Enjoy your nap, Plant Mage.”
Stress joins in the raucous laughter from all around the forest, and a short squeak is cut off when the faeries dunk BDubs into the well. He doesn’t stay under for long, but when the faeries pull him out, his eyes are closed and mouth lolled open. Somehow, even in a rabbit’s body, BDubs manages to snore. Stress raises an eyebrow. “Is that all?”
The fae go silent, the entire forest echoing only the sound of BDubs fast asleep, apart from a snicker here and there. A squeaky, high pitched voice breaks the silence. “Nonono, big gummy bear, I’m not cherry flavored. I swear.”
Stress realizes the voice is coming from the rabbit, and a snort slips through her lips. The forest roars with laughter, as BDubs continues to dream aloud. His dreams jump from ridiculous statement to ridiculous statement. Stress was sure she heard the weirdest things come from BDubs before, but she can’t help but howl like a chupacabra when BDubs mumbles out his secret enjoyment of diamonds. “Guess someone ‘as rubbed off on ya. Better remember to wash my coins and jewels when they come from both of ye now.”
Feeling fuzzy both inside and out, BDubs coughs up a hairball from his throat. He opens his eyes, rubbing them from sleep, before realizing he is fuzzy. He’s still part rabbit, in the midst of transforming back from bunny to human. Paws turning to hands, ears shortening back to be beneath his bandana. The young faerie donned in pink settles their arm against BDubs’ bunny feet. “So, how was your nap?”
“That was the wor-” Stress cuts BDubs off, eyes blazing hot enough to melt all the ice in Lairyon. The last thing he should be doing is rebuking the fae. Again. BDubs groans, but voice pitches to a sickly sweet tone. “I had a wonderful nap.”
The fair folk all in the fields laugh and cheer, some zipping away to tell others of the fun they missed. It’s a rare delight to have such entertainment, such a witty human that can still fall for their pranks. The young faerie in pink disappears among the bushes, and returns with a bag full of small black seeds. “We fae keep our word.”
“Th-” BDubs remembers not to say those words, and simply bows his head in response. “Great kindness, i guess or whatever.”
“We will miss your company.” They snicker. “We would love to have a romping rabbit to bemuse us...and of course, the kindly Ice mage. Take good care of these rare seeds, they require the care of a beast, much like their namesake.”
BDubs takes the pouch, securing it right next to his heart. He’s going to sleep holding these seeds after what he’s been through. The two hermits rise, about to make their way from the fields when a green light collides into BDubs’s head. “Can I not get a godsdamned break here?”
The faerie that ran into him shakes off his stupor, voice running so fast it sounds less like talking and more like chirping. Stress turns to look at the fae. “What’s the problem, loves?”
Faeries rush around them, flitting around in every direction with no sense of purpose or precedent. The young pranking pixie starts to fly away, but stops dead in the air. “No, no that will not do. The dark presence is too close.”
“Dark presence? What do you mean?” Stress follows the faerie, but they turn on the hermits. A hand as small as Stress’s pinky nail passes between hermit and other kind. BDubs moves to follow, but discovers he can’t pick up his feet. It’s as if they are rooted into the ground.
“Be the light.” The faerie breathes, before disappearing in the brambles and bushes. Stress cries, watching as her robes turn to bark, bones to wood. Her feet have become roots, and it’s climbing higher.
BDubs reaches out to help his friend, shock dawning on his face as his fingers turn to branches, bright pink cherry blossoms blooming. The transformation engulfs Stress’s face, Features turning to knots and whorls of the grain. He can only close his eyes, and accept that they’ve been tricked by the fae again.
Except when he opens his eyes, he can still see. He cannot move, cannot even breathe, but he remains able to see the outside world. He feels a brush of leaves against his own branches, and that’s all he needs to know that Stress is alive as well.
Why have the fae trapped them? Why turn them to trees, but let them see the world beyond?
Screams fill the air where there was once birdsong and laughter, the peace of the Flowerfruit Fields shattered. BDubs surges forward, but is stopped by his own roots and rigidity. A howl sends shivers down his leaves, and in the moonlight, a shadow beast prawls through the grove. A varkolak husk, red foam dripping from it’s misty muzzle, sniffs the air before chasing after fleeing lights.
Stress can’t watch. She closes her eyes, hearing the husked creatures snarl and snap, and a distant chuckle begins to arise from the bloodbath. She keeps her eyes closed, until that charismatic voice warms across the massacre. “Such raw magic...so ethereal, why haven’t I thought of coming here before?”
Three spires of black crystal orbit around Dolios’s crown, mist swirling. With each breath Dolios takes, he consumes the dark magic. Red splatters across his cheek, droplets falling from the hairs of his perfectly kept beard. Eyes glimmer with curiosity as a faerie is dangled from between his fingers.
A crystal lowers from the angled orbit around the Magistrate’s head, and a shadow falls over the cherry blossom tree. Transparent mist swirls like midday clouds, a low rumble of a magic spell escaping under Dolios’s breath, followed by a cut off scream, scraping like a bell.
When the shadow disappears, there is no faerie left. Only the magic, the power writhing through Dolios’s veins. The magistrate looks around, and for a moment Stress fears he knows they’re not real trees. But he steps over the corpses on the ground, faeries sapped of their power fading away into nothing. Not even a husk.
The stolen magic disappears under Dolios’s golden hemmed sleeve, and his hands clasp behind his back. The husk monsters continue at the simple nod of his head. Leaving behind in his wake a bloodbath, and the ashes of what once were the fae of the Flowerfruit fields.
#light of lairyon#lol#hermitcraft#hermitcraft fanfic#hermitcraft au#wizard au#wizard hermits#wizard stress#wizard bdubs#stressmonster101#bdoubleo100#bdubs#faeries#fae
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Magic and Miracles - Chapter 9
Sanders Sides Big Bang fic, Chapter 9!
< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter > | Masterlist
Summary: “What in Hades happened to you guys?” Remy exclaimed when he saw them appear.
“We fought that giant mole thing guarding the fruit,” Roman answered.
“You what?”
Warning/s: food mention, minor violence.
Characters: Logan, Virgil, OCs, Roman, Remy, Remus, Patton, Janus.
Tag List: @theimprobabledreamersworld @remy-please-come-back
Read on AO3
9 | The After Party
“I think we’re cursed,” Virgil stated as he eyed the giant mole.
The group had not been expecting anything to be inside of the cave, apart from of course the unique underground tree that grew the fruit Remy sent them for. So when they came face to face with a giant mole monster, Roman appropriately began freaking out and would have screamed at the top of his lungs if Janus hadn’t covered his mouth to silence him, because they did not need to be seen or heard by that thing.
And when I say giant mole, I mean giant mole, like whale-sized giant mole. Have I mentioned this is a giant mole enough? I should probably get back to the story...
“Merciful Gods, that thing is huge. What the hel do we do?” Willow asked in a panicked whisper. “There’s no other way through to the fruit.”
“Remy expects us to face that thing? Is he mad?” Remus asked.
Logan felt he half agreed with the question because honestly, this creature looked like a lot for seven teens to handle by themselves.
“Maybe it’s friendly?” Patton suggested.
“Well, average-sized moles are carnivorous, so I doubt a giant one would have a much different appetite…” Logan stated.
“There goes that hope,” Virgil muttered. “There must be another way through.”
“There really isn’t. This is the cave that Remy marked for us, and there’s no back doorway to that tree, and we even can’t go back the way we came to check if there is” Janus said.
Virgil sighed. “We’ll have to fight it then.”
“I’m sorry, but can you see the size of that thing? It’ll squash us like pests.” Willow whisper shouted.
“There are seven of us and one of them. Besides, Remy wouldn’t have us fight something he wasn’t sure we could takedown.” Virgil declared. “Come on guys, we have literal magic on our sides.”
“How do we know it isn’t magical itself?” Remus asked.
“Stat Check,” Logan said. “It could probably give us a good reading on this creature.”
Willow shrugged. “Better than running in blind, I guess.”
Logan pointed his wrist at the animal and whispered the spell, which created a small screen of light that it thankfully didn’t seem to notice.
Unknown
Titles: Killer Mole, Mountain Mole
HP: 100 - Full
Skills: Echolocation, Poison.
“Killer Mole, what a friendly name,” Roman snarked, finally free from Janus’s silencing hand.
“It doesn’t have any magical skills, so that means it probably has no magical defence, and since it uses echolocation, I think it’s safe to assume that it has poor sight,” Logan said.
“We’ll need to keep an eye out for whatever poison it has though,” Janus pointed out.
“Alright. The best approach would probably be a spell to immobilize it. Something that could maybe cause confusion.” Virgil suggested.
Remus lit up. “Ooh, I know just the spell!”
“Remus wait-”
Before anyone could do anything to stop him, Remus lept out from their hiding place and cast his spell. It was a wind spell that made an annoying ping sound echo around the cave. Everyone winced at the sound, including the mole, who had been very much caught off guard. It began to run around and stomp and grunt like it was seeking out the sound’s source to destroy it.
This however caused rocks to fall from the cave ceiling and nearly crush the group. Which of course led to the teens screaming and running around, doing their best to avoid falling rocks and the giant mole. Willow tried to cast an animal communication spell, but their attempts to calm the creature were useless.
"Make the pinging stop Remus!" Patton yelled.
"Right, uh, I'm not very great with reversing spells…"
"Well someone needs to do something or we're doomed!" Willow screamed.
Logan quickly cast a reversal spell to silence the pinging, but that did nothing to stop the mole's rampage.
"Guys it knows we're here and is not happy!" Willow stated.
"What if we explained we mean no harm?" Patton asked.
"I don't think it will believe us after Remus's little stunt," Roman said.
"Run!" Willow yelled as the mole charged them.
Janus shouted some colourful words as he barely dodged another fallen boulder. "We need to stop it!"
Patton tried using an ice spell, but couldn't manage to properly aim while he and the creature were running. "We can't use magic on it directly while it's moving like this."
"Remus, do something about the roof!" Virgil yelled.
"What?"
"You're the one with proficiency in rock type magic, do something!"
"Oh, right!" Remus cast a spell to strengthen the cave ceiling. "This should stop anything more from falling but I'm low on MP!"
"Don't use any more magic then. Patton, get the stupid fruit, Willow how do we take this thing down?" Virgil questioned.
"While I hate to admit it, nothing but brute force is going to stop it. It's out for blood." Willow answered.
“Will our weapons even make a dent?" Roman asked.
"Only one way to find out!" Janus said as he charged at one of the beast's ankles with his staff magically set ablaze.
Roman ran at another ankle with his katana drawn and Remus went for a third leg with his morning star while Willow shifted into their wolf form to attack the fourth leg. Meanwhile, Logan and Virgil charged at its middle from either side. The mole let out a nightmare-inducing scream as it was attacked from all angles.
“HP?” Virgil asked.
“Sixty-two left!” Logan answered.
The mole tried to stomp on Remus but Janus managed to push her out of the way just in time. Roman took another swing at the creature’s back leg, causing it to let out another scream and run forwards.
“I have the fruit!” Patton yelled.
“Look out!” Roman screamed, seeing that the mole was headed for him.
Patton squeaked and ran back up into the tree.
“Everyone, do another rush attack!” Virgil commanded.
The group once again ran at the mole from different angles. The creature screamed as each weapon made contact. Patton chose this moment to take aim at the animal and managed to hit it with a sleeping spell that instantly caused it to fall unconscious.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Patton jumped down from the tree and ran over to Remus to give him a big hug.
“Never, ever, do that again, please?”
“Pat, I swear to you if I ever see a giant mole again, I will simply run the other way.”
“What do we do with it?” Roman asked.
“Leave it? It’s asleep, not dead,” Janus pointed out.
“It’s only at twenty-three HP,” Logan declared. “And we honestly have no idea if it would have attacked us if it weren’t for the panic Remus’s sound spell caused.”
Remus awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that, everyone.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Virgil replied. “I think we should at least heal it though. As a sort of sorry for ruining its day and nearly killing it.”
Willow nodded agreeingly. “That’s probably the least we could do…”
“I’ll heal it. Could one of you open a portal back to the manor, so we can get out quickly once the spell is complete though? I don’t know if it’ll wake up and try to kill us again,” Virgil said.
Janus nodded and cast the portal spell for seven entities while Virgil did his healing spell. Once the group crossed through the portal into the familiar manor garden, they all collapsed with exhaustion.
“What in Hades happened to you guys?” Remy exclaimed when he saw them appear.
“We fought that giant mole thing guarding the fruit,” Roman answered.
“You what?”
“Fought the-”
“I heard you the first time, kid, but there is no giant mole in that cave. I checked it out last week to be sure that she’d migrated already.”
“Well, she must have been out for lunch or something when you dropped by. Because we all just barely escaped her,” Janus stated.
The colour suddenly drained from Remy’s face. “Oh f- are you all okay? Did she injure you? You didn’t get hurt badly, right?”
“No, we actually almost killed her after Remus sent her into a panic and we had to fight her because she was out to kill us,” Willow answered.
“Oh my- wait, you all nearly killed her?”
“Yep.”
“How in Hades did you manage that?”
“Teamwork and the collective will to live,” Virgil answered.
“...You kids are going to be the death of me.”
---
That evening, just as they had been promised, the class had themselves a party to celebrate their success. The dining room was decorated with brightly coloured floating orbs that gave the room a festive appearance, and the table held a banquet fit for royalty, including some fabulous pastries from the bakery.
Emile and Everleigh had come up from town and listened eagerly as the group retold everything that had happened. When they got to the part about the giant mole, Emile turned to Remy and gave him a stern lecture.
"You said they'd be safe."
"I thought the guardian had migrated! Besides, it's not my fault they were reckless enough to take it on instead of calling for adult assistance."
"You did tell us only to summon you if we had an emergency," Roman pointed out.
Everleigh raised an eyebrow. "You guys don't think being almost killed by a giant mole, counts as an emergency?"
"Well, we all were trying to just stay alive, so the idea we could call for help didn't really come to mind," Willow answered sheepishly.
Apart from that, the night was full of fun and laughter. Once the group had finished their meal, they went to one of the sitting rooms and continued their light-hearted conversation there. At some point, Emile and Remy went off to get some drinks for everyone, so the kids were left alone.
“Let’s play truth or dare,” Everleigh suggested.
Remus nodded vigorously. “Ooh, yes! Roman, Truth or Dare?”
“I didn’t even agree to play yet.”
“Yeah, but you love this game.”
“...Truth.”
“When was the last time you wet the bed?”
Roman blushed. “I have never wet the bed.”
“Really, I could have sworn you did this morning.”
“You dumped water on me, that isn’t the same thing!” Roman rolled his eyes. “Anyway, Patton, truth or dare.”
“Hmm, truth?”
“Who was your first kiss?”
“Me,” Remus said at the same time Patton replied, “Ummm…”
“Wait, I wasn’t your first kiss?”
“Well… you know the story where a princess kisses a frog and he turns into a prince.”
“Yeah.”
“So, my mom told me and Morgan that story, and then Morgan dared me to kiss a frog.”
“Oh… was it a good kiss?”
Janus raised an eyebrow. “It was a frog.”
Remus rolled her eyes. “I know that, but it’s not the answer to my question.”
“I was like eight, so I don’t remember. It didn’t turn into a prince though. Willow, truth or dare?”
“Um, dare.”
“I dare you to give me a hug.”
“Aw, sure Pat!” Willow got up and gave Patton a quick hug. “Janus, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
Willow smirked. “I dare you to kiss Roman’s cheek.”
Janus and Roman both blushed while Remus went “Oooooh!”
Janus turned to Roman. “Do you mind?”
“Uh, nope. Not at all.” Roman said as calmly as he could, but failing to keep his voice from cracking at the end.
Janus kissed his cheek and Remus cheered. “They did it!”
Janus rolled his eyes. “Virgil, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
Janus smirked. “Okay. What really happened between you and Logan when you got ‘lost in the woods’?”
“Um, nothing. We just got lost.”
“I can tell you’re lying~”
Logan huffed. “For the last time, Janus, nothing happened.”
“You’re both lying. Come on guys, we’re your friends!”
“Then why don’t you believe us?”
“Because something happened and we can all tell you’re trying to hide it,” Remus answered.
Virgil turned to Logan with a confused expression. “Do you have any idea what they believe happened?”
“Well, the short version is, they think we went off to make out.”
Virgil turned bright red. “What? I- You- We- no, no, nooo.”
“He’s getting flustered! It’s true!” Remus declared.
Roman objected. “That doesn’t prove anything.”
Logan nodded. “Thank you, Roman.”
“Obviously making out would have been going too fast. They just shared their first kiss.”
“Un-thank you, Roman.”
“Uh, shouldn’t we carry on with the game?” Patton suggested.
“Hmm, I think this is a bit more entertaining.” Everleigh giggled.
Logan gave her a look of betrayal. “Et tu Everleigh?”
“Logan, I grew up with you, I definitely know when you’re lying.”
Willow sighed. “Please just tell them before they all drive me crazy with their betting?”
“Betting?” Virgil squeaked.
“Janus has bet that you’re both together already and in a… close relationship. Roman thinks you’re taking things slow. Everleigh thinks at least one of you believes you’re together while the other is oblivious and pining. Patton thinks you at the very least confessed and Remus thinks you’re at least intimate.”
Logan gaped. “What the heck! How much do you guys think about this?”
Remus shrugged. “Often enough to form a Fanclub.”
“Oh my gods.”
“You formed a Fanclub?” Virgil asked.
“Yeah. Remy’s the chairman and Mr Picani is even a member.” Remus declared.
“You recruited Remy?!”
Willow shrugged. “If anything, he recruited us.”
Everleigh nodded. “I don’t even see you guys that often, but it’s super obvious with how you gravitate towards each other.”
“We don’t.”
“You’re literally sitting beside each other right now.” Janus pointed out with a smirk.
“Okay, you know what. You want the truth?” Virgil asked. “We were kidnapped by pixies.”
...silence…
Roman scoffed. “That is the worst lie I’ve heard yet.”
“Actually, he’s telling the truth,” Janus declared.
...silence; the sequel…
“How the f-”
I will save you the boring details of the explanation that followed, but to put it in a nutshell: Virgil explained what actually happened + how his parents met and all that, and now everyone is just sitting in silence again.
“...so, you didn’t kiss?” Remus asked.
“I told you so!” Logan huffed.
“Not even after that? You guys are together like all the time,” Janus stated.
“No, we aren’t.”
“Just last night, while everyone was sitting around the campfire, you two sat off to the side on a log of your own.”
“Actually, Virgil was comforting me because... well, I was worried about what will happen to our friend group after the test.”
“Oh…”
“Well, I would hope we keep in touch.” Roman declared. “You guys are the best friends I’ve ever had.”
“Yeah. I can’t even imagine having to go back to my hometown. I mean, sure, I miss my family, but you guys… you’ve sort of become like my second family.”
Willow smiled. “Aw, Pat, that’s so sweet. I know I’ve got a whole pack to get back to, but I can’t imagine not spending every day with you guys, learning spells and trying to get out of trouble.”
Janus laughed. “I like how you said getting out of trouble instead of trying to avoid it.”
“Well, duh, we’re stupid reckless. Especially me!” Remus declared, causing everyone to laugh. “Seriously though, it won’t be that hard to keep in touch, I think. We can teleport to each other whenever we want.”
“True. plus we still have our book club meetings if you guys want to continue those.” Everleigh said.
“Of course! We have to keep those up.” Patton stated. “And we can even go on our own real-life adventures all together!”
“Yeah, we can form an adventurers party. We’ll call ourselves the Great Eight.”
“No offence Roman, but I don’t think that name works,” Janus said.
Roman shrugged. “We can choose a different one then. Hmm, the Magnificent Eight.”
“Does eight have to be in the name?” Everleigh asked.
“We could just go be, the Magnificent,” Patton suggested.
Virgil shook his head. “That sounds like it’s just one person. If we’re going with a team name, it needs to be something that defines us all.”
“The sides?” Remus proposed.
Janus tilted their head to the side. “How does that work?”
“I don’t know. It just felt familiar…”
“Maybe it’s something weird from a past life,” Roman suggested.
“What was I? Half of a coin?”
“Part of a person maybe? Like, a facet of someone’s personality,” Willow thought aloud. “Nah, that sounds totally crazy.”
“We are great, but it’s spelt G-R-8.” Patton proposed.
Willow frowned. “Why would we say we are G-R-ate? Like we’ve eaten already? Or we’ve... been... eaten?”
“No, like the number eight.”
“Eight days a week.” Everleigh put forth.
“There are only seven days of a week.” logan pointed out.
“The 8th wonder of the world!” Remus suggested.
Roman frowned. “What are the other seven wonders?”
“The octave…? Like a sequence of eight notes.”
“Did you just make a pun?” Patton grinned at Logan.
“...No.”
“Party of Eight?” Janus offered.
Virgil shrugged. “That seems a bit on the nose.”
“Family of Eight?” Patton recommended.
“Again, too direct.”
“The eight musketeers~!” Roman sang.
Logan frowned. “What’s a musketeer?”
“How about we don’t choose a name yet. The greatest heroes didn’t have any titles until they earned them.” Everleigh pointed out.
Everyone nodded in agreement. They didn’t need to give themselves a name. They would earn that later on. For now, they were eight friends, just having fun together. They didn’t have to think about their future plans just yet; they had to all get through the magic license test first anyway. In the end, they were just happy that they’d settled on one thing.
Staying together.
The very next moment, however, everything would change. They didn’t know it yet but their group would earn their name sooner than later. And it started when Remy and Emile walked into the room.
“Remy? What’s wrong?” Virgil asked, noting the man’s forlorn expression.
“Virgil…”
“Remy, you’re freaking me out. What happened?”
"...Thomas and Nico have been kidnapped."
---
A/N: thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this. I'll be posting two chapters a day until the full fic is up, so if you want to be tagged, you can just ask.
I'd love to hear what you thought about the chapter if you wouldn't mind commenting. Thanks again for reading! Here's hoping you have a magical day 💜
#sanderssides#sander sides#sanders sides fic#logan sanders#ts logan sanders#ts logan#virgil sanders#ts virgil sanders#ts virgil#roman sanders#ts roman sanders#ts roman#remus sanders#ts remus sanders#ts remus#patton sanders#ts patton sanders#ts patton#janus sanders#ts janus sanders#ts janus#remy sanders#emile picani#fantasy au#Thomas Sanders Sides Big Bang 2021#food mention tw#minor violence
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