Tumgik
#the sun is setting later which is a shock because i was too bruised up to celebrate the winter solstice this year
oatbugs · 7 months
Text
shaking of leaves by into it over it is genuinely one of the top songs of all time
#the sun is setting later which is a shock because i was too bruised up to celebrate the winter solstice this year#i got lasik surgery just to start a staring contest with the sun. two of my names mispronounced in a row by the butchers. i can still see#arithmetic as construction in space and geometry as construction in time. follow two parallel lines until they meet.#piazza stairs in the sun drinking aloe lychee juice watching young and beautiful people talk about money. notice the small fine lines#forming at the corners of their lips between their brows the sides of their eyes. what is representable for you is necessarily what there#is. subjective necessity transfer to objective necessity. why is this compelling? why are you compelling? would you like to kiss#by the river? would you like to walk 30 minutes to broadway so we can kiss by the river? ar 3³#ive learned a lot about turner's watercolours but i havent said enough about the ways neurons dance together. about the way all of it is a#process without emotion and how that makes it beautiful. chipped nailpolish on his nails and dark circles under his eyes and a smile that#says i have learned to study the nature of the mind and how intuitions form reality and i no longer want to die. instead of taking#that horrible fall he reads kant to himself and he reads her to sleep and he reads my horrible jokes.#dont think like a psychologist and dont write like a philosopher. dont do maths like a physicist.#ironically read the science of logic. ironically a caffeine adict. ironically drink steriliser for its 74% alcohol solution.#ironically a 1:1 student. there are birds hanging in the archives. orions belt over the red glow of a very normal house.#each time i walk home the stars are brighter. i hope you are brighter too. i hope i am brighter too. i am going to win#that staring contest with the sun.#[i drafted this post on jan30 and forgot abt it]
7 notes · View notes
Text
Hearts Not in Sync- Heartrender! Kaz Brekker x gn! reader
Okay, a day later, here’s the second part to this fic! I meant to post it last night but I fell asleep before I could edit, and that just means that there’ll be two fics up today instead of just one lol
Fic type- this one. this one is like, two parts violence and anger, one part angst and then one part a hurt/comfort-y kind of ending
Warnings- mentions and depictions of the following: stab wounds, poisons, heart attacks, exploding hearts, blood, blood filling the lungs, blood coming out of ears and eyes and dislocated shoulders.
Tumblr media
It happened almost too quickly for Kaz to register it. 
At first, there was a fog that surrounded him like nothing else, that made him unable to see even a step ahead. It was a fog that almost caused him to lose his footing entirely. 
In the seconds after, he registered that someone in the building had set off a series of smoke alarms. He’d known the layout of the building, and had known that they could only be set off on the first, second, and third floors. There was still three floors of leeway, all of which had been cased and the items taken so early on in the day of the heist that the sun hadn’t even risen.
Those items had been loaded onto a secondary boat that Nikolai had sent to the Wandering Isle, one that he was manning as Sturmhond, the one that the crows would get on with Nikolai and his crew whilst the crew on the boat they’d came in took it back to Ketterdam and waited at the Ravkan Embassy for word as to when Ravka would be safe to return to. 
Almost all of the items from the first three floors had been secured and brought back to the boat. Kaz had seven of the remaining forty-nine, and you held an additional seven. 
As Kaz heard the sound of several heavy gaited footsteps heading up, registered two heartbeats outside of his and yours, he almost panicked. You could fight them off. Kaz knew that. He’d known that. He’d watched you fight off more people in the years since you’d met and fallen in love. 
He heard the sound of a bag meeting the ground and the grunt of the guard as you fought. He heard grunts on your end, too, a few bullets firing from a gun that wasn’t yours and the always startling sound of a bone breaking, followed by an alarmed shout on your end and the sound of a shoulder dislocating itself. 
He heard your adrenaline keep you alive as you made your next moves. He heard the sound of the butt of a knife handle bringing hellish pain in the space at the center of the chest wherein the ribs were their most vulnerable, the shout of an additional guard joining the one you’d been fighting, and one more shout after that. It was three against one, and somehow, Kaz had already known you’d lost because adrenaline couldn’t keep you going forever. 
He heard the sound of footsteps rushing up to meet him at the third floor, registered Ninas heartbeat combined with yours. 
“Everything all right?” Nina shouted. Kaz listened to your heart as he heard you fall to the ground, an unceremonious thump followed by a gasp and grunt of pain. 
“Quite the opposite,” you called back. 
At that, both Nina and Kaz took off running in the direction of your voice, the fog beginning to clear through the open door as they did. 
Kaz found a group of three guards who you’d faced off against. They certainly did look worse for wear, but they were still standing, unlike you’d been. At most, they would develop bruises from your hits, and the cuts you’d delivered with the knife Inej had leant you might have left scars. 
“What’s the plan, Kaz?” 
Kaz listened to the heartbeats in the room. He registered his own, registered yours as it slowed and Ninas as it quickened anxiously. He registered the heartbeats of the guards who stood shocked, and slowed them all to a point of unconsciousness.
“Knock me out,” you whispered. “I can’t--I hurt so bad right now, and Kaz, if you want to help, you’ll make that end. Put me to sleep, get me to the boat. There’ll be a healer on board who can help me. Please.” 
“Theres the chance you won’t wake up again,” Kaz said. Some part of him had begun to care about your survival more than anything else, more than the money that the job would result in, more than the fact that there was a part of Kaz that needed, desperately, to seek out revenge. 
“Then avenge my death, and know it wasn’t your fault. It was theirs,” you gestured to the guards lamely. “Nina, convince him.” 
“Nina, get Matthias,” Kaz said. “Get Nikolai, Tolya. I am not letting the guards escape their fates.” 
“You and your revenge,” Nina grinned. “You’re lucky Y/N likes you so much.”
“Oh, he knows,” you said, laughing for a moment before you clutched your rib, where two bullet wounds rested.
Kaz looked you over for the first time, quickening your heart just enough to where it kept you alive but didn’t exhaust you even still, because he looked at you and he knew that sleep--while you’d asked him to put you under in the moments before--wasn’t quite something at the top of your list of priorities. It never was in situations like that. Sleep was one thing while injured, and death never seemed too far from it. 
He noticed it in the way that you kept trying to lift the arm that your dislocated shoulder was connected to, trying to see if you could manage it and using the pain you felt in doing so as a method of keeping yourself awake. He noticed that you clenched and unclenched a fist, the harsh blinking and the purposeful movements of arms and legs that screamed with pain because you didn’t want sleep. You wanted to stay awake because staying awake had meant staying alive. 
You had a few dangerous seeming cuts lashed into your skin, a few stab wounds present on your legs. A bullet had gone through your arm and two had landed themselves in your ribs, one in your collarbone. The bullet there was accompanied by a deep cut to the left. Your ribs were broken, your knuckles bruised and your shoulder dislocated. 
“Thank you,” you said. “Thank you, Kaz.”
“Can you stand?” 
“I can try,” you said. Kaz tossed his cane lightly in the air, caught it just beneath the crows head and held it out to you. 
“Absolutely not,” you whispered. “I can--I’m not taking your mobility aid, Kaz. You need that.”
“You need it more than I do.”
“That is entirely untrue,” you managed. 
Kaz sighed. “Take it, Y/N. If you can stand, then that means we have a chance of getting back to the boat, and I can manage without this thing for thirty bloody minutes.” 
At that, Matthias, Tolya, and Nikolai as Sturmhond came into the third floor. 
“Had a bit of fun, did you, Mr. Brekker?”
“Guards here have turned out to be quite the nuisance.”
Nikolai came to stand over you, examining you quickly as Tolya lifted one of the guards over his shoulder. 
“I can see that. The artifacts aren’t damaged, are they?”
“None of them,” you said weakly. “I made sure to direct them away from the bag of artifacts, Lantsov. I will risk my own life for a good enough payout, but if you skim us on this, I’ll make a hat out of the hair on your head.” 
Nikolai laughed as Nina helped you up, allowing you to lean against her as Kaz sighed, fighting off some exhaustion of his own. He’d been awake nearly a full day, and while it was something he was used to, using his small science combined with a near-exhausted state was no good for anyone.
You shot him a look as he grabbed the bag of artifacts you’d secured and added it to the bag that he carried. 
“You can stop regulating my heart for me, Kaz,” you said. “You’re tired. It’s fine.” 
“No,” Kaz said. 
“I can handle it,” Nina shot him a look, too. 
“I’m tired, I could use the rest,” you said, and Kaz looked you over again. You were genuinely exhausted, and Kaz could read your face as well as you could read his. You’d remembered that his and Ninas statuses as heartrenders meant that they could keep your heart going, restart it if it stopped. It was safe to rest, you must’ve known, because neither Kaz nor Nina would let you die.
“Fine,” Kaz said. 
Nikolai looked between Kaz, Tolya, Matthias, and the men who Tolya and Matthias carried on their shoulders as though it was nothing. 
“You’ll make their deaths swift, won’t you?”
“No,” Kaz said. “They’ll be slow. I’m going to make it hurt.” 
Nikolai gave Kaz a smile. “You’re better than me. I would’ve left them here for their coworkers. I would’ve made sure that their blood lined the walls and their entrails lined the entrance to this floor, if it had been Zoya in Y/Ns position.”
Kaz shrugged. “I quite like that idea. I’ll use it next time someone crosses me.”
“Well then, with our luck, no one will.” 
With that, the group left, heading for the boat thereafter.
-
“We meant no harm,” one of the guards said meekly as he woke, green eyes meeting Kaz’s brown ones. “We were just doing what we thought was right.”
“You were protecting items that your leaders had stolen from a myriad of other countries, cities, and towns. To do that, you stabbed someone who matters to me. You hurt them. You are the reason that a medik has been struggling to keep Y/N alive for nearly twelve hours. Do you know who they are? The person you hurt?” 
You’d been in worse shape than initially thought. Nina was two rooms over, keeping your heartrate low to allow you to sleep while a medik worked, as the healer had been killed in a larger fight against a local gang when they’d found out a heist was being pulled. Your dislocated shoulder had been popped back into place, but several of the knives you’d been attacked with had been poisoned, and the medik was trying to keep you alive until the crew got to Ravka and antidotes could be delivered while you slept in the medical wing. 
“We’ve heard of you lot,” said the green eyed one. 
All of the guards looked relatively similar. All of them were white, two had green eyes and one had hazel eyes. One had black hair, the other dark brown, the hazel eyed guard had bleach blonde that’d been toned, the muddy brown roots of his hair having grown out significantly. 
Kaz had learned their names from Inej. The black haired one was called Mark. The dark brown haired one had been called Joseph, and the one with bleach blonde hair had been called Matthieu. 
They were all relatively stocky in build, a few inches shorter than Kaz had been. Where Kaz was lean, they had a figure that was more like Matthias’, but as a heartrender, Kaz would always have the upper hand, just as he preferred it. 
“You’re the Dregs. Come to steal back what wasn’t yours.” 
“In fairness, it wasn’t yours, either,” Kaz said. “You’ve bult an entire museum around the artifacts that gang members, just like myself, have stolen for themselves. Things like keftas that were worn by people who haven’t been alive since the days of the saints, some very important pottery from Novyi Zem, the first samples of coins and cash from Ketterdam, and even a couple of things from Fjerda that the Fjerdans consider to be of great importance. I was doing my job, what was asked of me in exchange for quite a wonderful payout before you attacked someone on my crew and interrupted that process by both choosing to fight them, and to trigger the fog trapping.” 
“One could argue that we were doing our jobs too,” said Matthieu. Kaz could’ve laughed. When it came to you, nobody had any real standing, any real or reliable defense. When it came to you, someone to whom Kaz had given his heart with no intent of ever taking it back, when it came to you whom he loved more than anything, he was the one who decided the fates of those who dared to harm you, regardless of the reason they had for doing so. 
“Yes, well, you did them exceptionally,” Kaz said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “If, of course, your job was to hurt someone who matters to a person who has been known to make hearts explode much in the manner of a very bloody bomb.”
Matthieu, Mark, and Joseph stayed silent. 
“If such was the case, I’d tell you that it was a job well done! However, that is not the case this time.”
“What are you going to do to us?” Mark asked. 
“Well, this room is the last one you’ll ever be in,” Kaz responded. He extended a hand, listened to Marks heartbeat and elevated it, felt for the air in his lungs and took just enough of it away for Mark to find himself falling short. 
“What are you doing to me?” Mark asked, one hand reaching up to his throat as he tried to get his breathing back under control. “What are you doing?” 
“Heartrender is an oddly vague name for my small science type, I think,” Kaz said. “Heartrenders can manipulate more than just hearts. I could rip the air out of your lungs if I wanted. I can influence your emotions, make the fear kick in but keep the adrenaline off so that you don’t become influenced to attack me. I can trigger a heart attack, knock you unconscious, just by moving my hand slightly to the left or the right.”
“And what does that mean for me?” Mark asked. “What does that mean for us?”
“You hurt someone who I love,” Kaz said. “Your mistake, though. Not mine. I’ll kill you as slowly as I please. When I’m done, I’ll puncture a hole in your lungs so that your bodies don’t float back up when I dump you into the ocean off the side of the boat. You made a mistake and now you will pay for it at my hand.” 
Fear crossed Marks eyes, and Kaz smirked. He elevated Marks heart, took more of the air from his lungs, influenced his emotions and inclined them towards paralytic fear. 
“Which one of you was it, exactly?” He asked. “Who hurt Y/N? Who here is the reason that they may not make it another twelve hours without someone making sure their heart is still beating?” 
“We owe you nothing,” Joseph spoke. Kaz turned to him as he elevated Marks heart just a bit more, made him more fearful. If Kaz kept going as he had been, Marks body would’ve induced the heart attack on its own.
“Well, if you don’t tell me, Mark will die and I will force you to watch,” Kaz said. “I’ve been so kind as to not restrain you thus far, because I know I can handle an attack from you without blinking, but I will go up to top deck and I will grab rope. I will bind you to the chairs on which you sit, make Marks death as bloody and as painful as possible.” 
Silence lapsed over the room as Joseph and Matthieu thought it over. 
“It was me,” Matthieu finally said. “I did it. If you kill anyone, you kill me. You spare Mark and Joe.” 
“I’m not sparing anyone,” Kaz disagreed. “You all had parts in it, if your bruises and the cuts you’ve sustained are to mean anything. You will die today, I just wanted to know who hurt them the most so that I could save you for last. I am not a merciful man, Matthieu. Your confession means that you will have to watch your friends die and then die yourself.”
“But--”
“I never said or promised anything.” Kaz said, ripping more of the air from Marks lungs before he finally let them go. 
He watched Mark intake air in gulps before finding his blood flow, moving it in several different directions. He focused on Marks heartbeat, slowed it so that Mark was entirely still, and influenced fear that would’ve made him catatonic regardless. 
As Kaz watched blood pool pour out of Marks eyes, he stopped influencing Marks emotions. He forced Marks heart to a normal rate. He sent blood into Marks lungs, and when a piercing scream freed itself from Marks throat, Kaz only shot pointed looks at Joseph and Matthieu. 
Mark choked on his own blood, and as he did, Kaz listened to his heartbeat until it stopped. In the interest of making a point, he squeezed his left fist, watched as Matthieu and Joseph flinched with the sound of Marks heart exploding inside his body, leaving no hope to save him. 
Joseph was next, though, in the interest of time and not wanting to have to clean up a mess that was too substantial, Kaz only knocked Matthieu out before inducing a heart attack for Joseph, which he combined with blood flooding his lungs and coming out through his ears. 
Matthieus death was the most gruelling. Kaz spent several hours knocking him in and out of consciousness at will, inducing heart attacks only to bring them down and trick Matthieu into thinking he’d been spared. He flooded Matthieus lungs with blood, induced a heart attack and influenced the pain so that it was felt at a broader scale, and felt in combination with fear that would’ve killed Matthieu regardless of Kaz’s influence. Matthieu died of a heart attack and paralytic fear, and Kaz considered it a job well done. 
Kaz did as promised, though. He used the knife that Inej had leant you to puncture holes in their lungs, dumped them over the side of the boat and went to the room he’d been assigned. He changed his clothes, wiped the blood off of his face and set his gloves in the sink to soak before falling on top of the thin mattress and falling into a dreamless sleep. 
-
Four days later, you were in Ravka. A better medik than the one on the boat had seen to the worst of your injuries, antidotes had been given to treat the poisons that had entered your blood when you’d been stabbed, and you slept for three and half days, with breaks to eat, thanks to Nina and her knowledge that you would not stick to bed rest had the medik demanded it. 
You found yourself waking and, for the first time since you’d been woken up for that first meal, you were feeling okay. 
Healers weren’t around because a ton of them were on the front lines in the war that Ravka and Fjerda were constantly in, but you didn’t much care about that. A medik had done the job just fine, and who gave a shit about a few scars, anyway? You certainly did not. 
“Hey,” Kaz said. You grinned as you sat up, seeing him posted to the right of the door, one hand on his cane where the other was resting easily in the pocket of his slacks. 
“What’s the payout?”
“Three and a half million,” Kaz said. “One million was the starting point for the negotiations, a point set by Fjerda, oddly enough. We all cited a variety of different difficulties, and the leaders from Novyi Zem and a few of the Merchant Council reps upped it way more than any of us anticipated. I cited your injuries and emotional distress caused by them.” 
“My near death made you emotionally distressed?” 
“Quite so, it seems,” Kaz said. “I’m glad you’re alive, though. Thank you for staying that way.”
“Thank you for killing my attackers,” you said. “Nina told me everything.”
“They almost killed you,” Kaz said. “They didn’t get to continue on. Not after that.” 
You grinned. “I’m getting a bit hungry. What do you say we ring for some food? I have no doubt you’ve drank your fill of coffee, but I have not had a sip of tea in days.”
Kaz grinned. “I figured you’d wake up at some point. Food should be on its way now, actually. Same with tea.”
“I love you so much right now,” you said, laughing slightly. “Saints, Brekker. I fear I will never love you more.”
“You’ll be saying the same thing in a weeks time, when we’re back in Ketterdam and I’ve brought you tea and waffles.”
You laughed, and Kaz let himself grin. “I love you still, Brekker. That’s all that matters.”
Kaz shrugged, and that was enough, because you flicked your eyes across his face and, from the relief on his expression, from the slight relaxation of his shoulders, knew that he loved you, too. 
“May our hearts always be in sync,” Kaz said.
You repeated the same, shot him a grin and the conversation moved from there, the two of you settling into a familiar rhythm as you always did. 
Kaz found himself listening to his heart for a moment, listening to the rhythm in yours. They were in sync once more, and Kaz was entirely sure that, had he died in that moment, he would’ve died happily.
168 notes · View notes
kakubun · 3 years
Text
what if you were their personal helper?
a/n: im biased on all of these because basically you're special to them in a type of way
part 2
warnings: chapter 189-206 spoilers‼‼, suggestive, violence mentions
Tumblr media
sanzu
you would be his personal cook that mikey assigned
you really worked hard at making the best dishes for sanzu (1. 50/50 chance of getting killed because you might never know with his pill popping ass and 2. you don't want to purposely mess up good ingredients)
sanzu though, really loves your dishes
he would say horrendous compliments like how he was about to have an orgasm biting into the steak minutes ago (rindou looks up at him from his laptop in disgust while ran scoffs in amusement)
ran suggested to maybe gift you something or pay a visit to whoever is cooking his meals and damn well sanzu was thrilled to hear that idea and was ready to work on it
(the haitani brothers thought the same, that you were probably going to shit your pants if bonten's number 2 suddenly appeared right beside you out of nowhere)
the very next day, his preffered time of lunch was much more later than the others so it's pretty normal for the others to not see him at the table and knowing that he's doing his own business
but this is completely different than what he usually does, he's looking for you! and there you were, in the flesh and busy preparing his meal
you look rather panicked, oh how many guesses he had. it was near his lunch time, you cooked the wrong meal, you're panicking about the slighest things or you thought you were doing it wrong
turns out you just wanted to cut the right size of tomatoes because you cut one ridiculously large chunk so you huffed and picked another tomato and nearly laughed at your stupidity
well sanzu was correct in some ways but you were just minutes away in finishing so he watched
with every second he stepped closer and the closer he got which was just right over your shoulder, you squeled because 1) creepy and 2) his breath was tickling your neck that you just had to make noise
you grabbed your wrist and your finger bled, in the state of suprise you accidently cut your thumb, luckily it was only a little so you rushed to the sink to wash it off
sanzu had a smile on his face, oh woops accidently shocked a poor person by breathing on them so the best he could do was offering a bandaid that was in his pocket
you glanced at his arm and saw the bonten tattoo inked on it so your eyes lit up in fear in why a bonten member is up infront of you
you gulped and he couldn't help but giggle to how terrified you looked and he twirled the plate that his food on it
"you're almost finished with my food, huh? quickly, you have a few seconds" you looked at him again but with genuine curiousity and suprise that said "sanzu haruchiyo? what is he doing here?"
your thoughts swirled in your head in chaos, finishing up his food and the waiter that were to take his food entered the kitchen
he froze in the doorway, recognizing the feared bonten 2 and sanzu asked him to go away by simply motioning it with his hand as well as adding in a "if you don't go, i'll kill you" by doing a slashing motion across his neck, you did not know how fast the waiter walked out of there
sanzu carried his plate towards the table your partners and you ate at and sat there, tilting his head when you stayed at the same spot
"sit here, i wanna talk" shitting your pants is a understatement, dying should be the right term
but no worries when you sat down, he smiled again with his eyes closed (though you're not sure what kind of smile was this, his rare ones? because if it is then you can make it out of here without being out in a grave)
let's just say he was interested in you and he said quite some nice words to you, this won't be the first time he'll crash into your life and have moments of talking to you after all, you're his cook right?
you're just lucky enough when he decides that you're one of the few pieces he'll cherish in his life, one he wouldn't kill but respect deeply and stick around with
kokonoi
you were his respectable assistant that deals with errands, well a more better term is a spy
you listened to conversations about bonten in the dark and sneak off to inform the others, first of all koko of course
your relationship between him was proffesional and all, reporting about what bonten enemies have said, nod and leave
but there was a time where he finally got to know you a bit better
you were a bit later than the time he asked for you to come to his office after your work, about 10 minutes atleast and he raised his eyebrow at you when you slipped into his office out of breath but quickly regain it as to not piss him off any further
"sorry sir, i got attacked" attacked you say? he got up from his seat, slowly approacing you and you sweat
overall his demeanor was cocky and all but you've never seen a scary side so supposingly it's okay for you to not feel threatened but would he really be angry at you for getting attacked?
"i don't see any bruises on you, did you really get attacked?" that sly grin showcased itself, he felt the taste of a lie coming but it didn't when you spoke up again
"i fought back sir, with this." you pulled out the staff, pressing the button to open it and twirled it over for him to see
it was the staff he gave, well actually showed off when he opened the weapons room, telling you to atleast get a weapon to defend yourself, if you can even though (he halfly joked at the end with his tongue out)
you told him that it was the gang that was still gaining these "leaks and secrets" or so to speak, are the ones rindou falsely put out in the open and the gang planned to go to one of the secret bases that bonten usually went to
besides what you say is necessary information but he circled around you in silence and decided to try to hit your head but you smack his hand away with the staff
he went for your neck but you swiftly wack the staff into his waist and he groaned, impressed
he was about to say something but sanzu interrupted by opening the door without knocking and almost bumped koko with the door
"heheh sorry, can i borrow your assistant, come come~" sanzu sung out but koko shooed him away, wanting some time to talk to you but pink crazed bastard wanted to talk to you so he shut the door on him and yelled at him to go away for a moment
after that day, more people seem to recognize and fought with you
it would pretty ironic if koko were to be the one ordering them to attack you
" i wanna see you fight more" whatever he says, you just hope it actually isn't him sending mofos to attack you because that would be a d!ck move
but he didn't, one of the bonten members revealed that a little spy is watching them from above like the idiots they were that they bumbled out their secrets for the spy to hear (guess who)
so he rewards you, after the hell you went through, you better be gifted
extra!!:
"may i measure you?" you looked back at the person in shock as they smiled warmly at you and you suspiciously glared at them, reaching slowly for your staff.
"sir kokonoi has asked to measure you." they went to stretch out the measuring tape and held it around your waist, you hesitated on holding up your shirt because of how ticklish and feathery their fingers were. this was all too sudden but you go along with it.
while you twist your shirt up, they placed a note in your back pocket and you questioned on why did they do that, you reached it while they're measuring your legs.
"i'll send someone in to measure your size for your clothing, do you also want lingerie to be part of your gift too?~" the note said and you nearly stumbled into the tailor when you tried rereading it all over again.
"what colour do you want? do you want a matching set?" "no!!"
(koko's probably pissing himself right now, trying to imagine your panicky expression, laughing like a maniac in his office)
ran
you worked as his personal maid and he admired how careful you were
you were pretty noticeable since you took your time on one thing at a time like dusting off shelves and cupboards for a long moment or scrubbing away at the dirt in the plate that stuck too long there (i mean it's reasonable but you stressed over it for a few minutes)
he approached at some times to check on you and he would smile sadistically at times when you look at him like a deer in headlights, wondering what you did wrong to make him approach you himself
he just wanted to praise and point out some of your habits which you rubbed your neck to and nodded to do better next time
it also gave him a chance to see your stretched arm and your hands, especially your knuckles more better than afar (not in a creepy way)
your knuckles were deep red and would have cuts over it and he would leave at that but it got too much for him whenever he came to you and it kept getting worse
he popped the question when you moved his flowers into a pot to sit in the sun when your hands were all bandaged up
"why has the condition of your hands worsen everytime i come to you?" so he did notice, you sighed and told him the truth while you rubbed your bandaged knuckles
"people are picking on me so hitting their faces makes my knuckles hurt and become ugly each time i return back here" he was suprised that you even used your fists and he held your hands and spoke softly
"you didn't use the baton i gave you?" you feel yourself burn, you had to pull away from him and you wanted to jog off into the sun but you akwardly shrugged instead
"i'm a lot more used to using fists to fight plus i.. might have hit my face with the baton once" his laugh was sugary sweet, the rarest you've ever heard but he was laughing at your mistake so you bit your tongue and fumed, going back to arranging his flowers (that he's probably allergic to but keeps them around cause they're pretty💀)
he patted your shoulder, casually correcting himself that it was cute that atleast you did try to use the baton that he lended to you
"i'll teach you, every evening at around 4, i'll train you to use the baton so it's less work for your fists and more for your baton." you responded that mikey had his meal around that time and you had to clean the table cloth after he eats, shyly you admit that he tends to be a little messy when eating
ran smiled, stuffing his hands into his pockets and going off after insulting you one last time
"i'm impressed that you're more careful with the table cloth than your own hands" and that ends the evening with you screaming into your hands because of how frustating, ran haitani bonten executive was
extra!!:
"now i really need you to be honest with me, how do you even fight with your fists?" "your brother teaches me how to break their limbs but i accidently graze the floor sometimes because of how tough the enemy is"
well that was pretty shocking, he looks at you with suprise in his eyes, you also looked at him suprised, you just didn't know how expressive he was and you're finding out about them because of these 4pm sessions.
"doesn't he have a maid that helps him out?" "he says i make great coffee" ran grumbled that you shouldn't even serve a fucker who drinks coffee in the first place and you couldn't help laughing. in exchange for the love of coffee, rindou might as well train you. he's not blind, he sees the bruises on your hands when you return back to the headquarters.
(and to maybe trigger ran a little since he was the one mainly teaching reader his fighting style and not ran and his lame ass baton and he just stole his maid for a few seconds, might as well train them as a reward)
"show me a better compliment and i might stop serving him" "you're good with your hands" you smirked and got up and tapped his shoulders with the baton, teasing him into giving you more compliments
"shut it now before i use my hands to shut you up" "you may at anytime" and he did, now you can imagine what he did lol
595 notes · View notes
indianamoonshine · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
Girl Talk | Din Djarin x Reader | Oneshot
Summary: What does a gal do when she’s just been railed by the most notorious bounty hunter in The Galaxy? Call her best friend of course.
A/N: Just something to tide you over until the next installment of Strawberry! I have anxiety and I need to busy my hands without thinking too much! This takes place after season 2!
There’s a crackling on the other end of the receiver. The telegraph service majorly bites out here on Besiana, which has been dubbed “the trench of The Galaxy”. Getting connected to Gabriele at all is a miracle in itself, though not without exploiting a few (somewhat) illegal hacks by yours truly.
Hells, not even this shitty phoning service can put you in a sour mood.
When Gabriele’s voice sounds at the other end, it gives the air that he’s just awoken from a heavy sleep or he’s suffering a hangover. Probably both. “Now what the hell are you doing all the way out in butt-fucking-nowh…” he starts.
You’re quick to cut him off. “Take a guess.”
Gabriele groans and there’s a rummaging in the background. Something sounds as though it falls off a surface - his alarm clock, probably. He must be in the inner rim somewhere.
“Miss girl, I don’t have time to play these games with you. My head is pounding. Now tell me why you’re in the catacombs of The Galaxy’s ass and…”
Behind you, a body shuffles from outside the refresher door. Your heart thuds rambunctiously in your chest as you carefully peer through a crack of the opening. Din Djarin - The Galaxy’s most notorious Mandalorian- is taking a seat with his rifle in hand. You watch as he begins to disassemble it with great technical precision. Something about watching him take apart his weapon causes your stomach to flutter.
And your knees to weaken.
“I just had sex,” you tell him in a whisper.
Gabriele is silent on the other end for a moment and then lets out a sigh of great disappointment. “Congratulations. I’m going back to bed. Goodnight.”
“The best sex of my life.”
There’s another pause. “Oh?” His interest has piqued, voice more alert at the prospect of juicy gossip. After all, what were best friends for?
You let this linger in the air for a minute, just to marinate his curiosity, and then peek at Din again. He’s taking a rag and wiping the barrel of the rifle; if it weren’t for the helmet upon his head, you’d swear he was concentrating with furrowed and ascetic brow.
“Do you remember that Mandalorian who made a giant fuss a couple of years ago?” you inquire lowly, eyes unable to leave the steadiness of Din’s deft hands.
Those hands. You have to stop yourself from moaning at the recent memories. You swear you can still feel the ghostly sear they left in their wake. The naked skin upon your hips tingles at the sheer recollection, the slick still upon your thighs all-too prevalent.
“You’re lying,” is what Gabriele gasps, absolutely scandalized. You imagine him shooting up in bed and covering his mouth in awe. He was always so dramatic but you couldn’t blame him if he did. This was the exact reaction you were hoping for.
Din grabs another piece of his rifle and starts up again. You have to tear yourself away from looking at him and instead surmise yourself in the mirror. It isn’t very big in any sense of the word but it’ll do. You take a look at your face (blushed and bright) and then your eyes (dazed and dick-drunk). Hells, this man has ruined you.
“I know you have questions,” you reply, tapping at your cheeks. They feel softer somehow.
Gabriele squeaks a bit under his breath. “Did he take off his helmet?”
You shake your head, though he can’t see it. “No. And I think it awoken something in me.”
He tsks. “Damn. I wanna know what he looks like. Okay…”
“I know he’s a brunette,” you say slyly.
Gabriele shrieks at the other end and you have to angle the receiver away with a laugh. “Is it big?”
You recall the tactical consideration- albeit brief - it took to get his dick in your mouth. You did it though, ‘ole girl. You tap yourself on the shoulder with a proud grin.
“Oh, it is. It’s…it’s very nice.”
You find yourself looking out the door again. Din’s moved onto another gun - he’s already put together the last. You grow weary at the sight of his gloved hands alone, but when your eyes trail downwards you find yourself swallowing something thick in your throat. Which in turn, of course, reminds you of the tanginess still lingering upon your tongue.
“Gabriele,” you say seriously, voice so low you can barely hear yourself. “I came eight times.”
“Shut up. You did not.” Gabriele sounds more than just excited - now he sounds jealous. You can’t help but giggle.
You raise a hand to your chest in a show of honesty. “I mean it. Eight times. He went down on me for an hour.”
“I thought you said he didn’t take off his helmet?” Gabriele asks suspiciously.
You chuckle lowly. “Oh, that’s where it gets really good.”
Gabriele - one of the biggest sluts in The goddamned Galaxy - was no stranger to sex. So when you tell him that you were blindfolded during this portion of an absolute wild ride, you’re shocked to find him screeching once more.
You’re about to continue - to confide in him about the brutal rhythm of the ordeal - until a knock startles you. You press the receiver against your chest, still flushed and naked from the previous romp.
Din calls your name from the other side of the door. “Are you alright?”
You freeze, contemplating on everything you could say to this most bland of questions. “I’ll be out in a moment!” you decide, scolding yourself for being so timid. You were at the end of his dick a half-hour ago.
Din mumbles something and then departs. After he’s within a safe distance, you quickly raise the receiver and say, “I have to go. But I’ll tell you everything later.”
Gabriele gawks, “Was that him?”
You roll your eyes. “Yes. Now I really have to go.”
“Oh my gods, okay. Fine.”
You smile, clutching at the durasteel of the phone. “Promise. Love you.”
Your best friend sighs theatrically. “Love you too. Be safe, okay? I don’t even know who I’d call to go after him if something happened to you. No one would be stupid enough.”
The idea of Din doing anything to put you in harm’s way is inconceivable. You’ve only known him for a short amount of time - a couple of weeks at most - but you already trust him with your life.
“I’d die a happy woman,” you joke.
A short while later, you exit the refresher with sopping, clean hair and any traces of sex scrubbed away from between your legs. Din’s allowed you to wear one of his night shirts (an honor in itself) because your clothes had been soiled.
Din is placing his rifle upon its rack when you sneak by for the kitchen. You pour yourself a cup of Java - black, unfortunately, because of Din’s lack of sweet tooth. The liquid is steaming hot so you blow on it before bringing it to your lips.
“Do you want one?” you ask him, taking a sip. It burns. “Oof.”
Din turns, armor somehow so dexterous in its bulk. “No, thank you. But…”
In a surprising move, Din reaches for your hips and pulls you flush against him, ignoring the mug altogether. You shriek, worried it might spill, and set it upon the countertop, but he pays little to no mind.
“You took awhile,” he mumbles, hands grasping at the flesh of your hips. They’ve already been treated so roughly today, and now you were sure there’d be bruising. Good.
You chew at your bottom lip, desperate to know what his eyes might look like. You imagine he has dark eyes - like the color of the sky at nightfall. Maybe they became brighter in the light of the suns. Maybe they crinkled when he laughed - if he were capable of that, anyway. You’ve yet to hear such music.
“I didn’t realize you were waiting for me,” you confess, avoiding the steel gaze of his faceplate.
Din hums under his breath and taps your chin, lifting it just barely so that you can meet his stare. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
You shrug, fluttering your lashes in a vain attempt to remain mysterious.
Din reaches for something behind you and reveals a scrap of fabric. “How about we try for nine?” The modulator of his helmet crackles a bit, causing his voice to sound more severe than what he may have liked.
But it does something to you.
You nod sweetly, a tiny grin threatening to sneak its way upon your face, before he takes you within his arms and lifts you upon the counter.
A shrieking, but playful, giggle bursts from your lips. “Din!” you chide, but tie the fabric around your eyes all the same.
The hiss of his helmet sounds, notifying you that he’s revealing himself to the elements now. You can hear his natural breath and feel the way it fans against your collarbones before he kisses you fiercely.
“Let me give you something to really talk about.”
210 notes · View notes
levisgirll · 3 years
Note
i had this idea in mind and i was wondering if i could request a little story hc for it pls! so basically, levi's s/o is a bit of a klutz and can break things sometimes so when levis out in a meeting and his s/o is cleaning his office, she accidentally breaks one of his tea cups and starts panicking if he sees what she's done. so she frantically tries to fix it in the time that she has but levi catches her and she just breaks down and feels really bad but levi comforts her in the way that he can? sorry if this is too specific but you can add in your own ideas as well! <3
𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 (𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)
→ text: hello there anon! this is such a great idea and I made it loads of fluff so I hope you enjoy it <3 ty for sharing your ideas and making it specific!🥺
synopsis: just as Y/N thought today would be a normal day and wanting to spend the rest of the day with her boyfriend, Levi, she accidently breaks one of his favorite things, which is his teacup! Y/N feels extremely bad about it and tries her best to fix it, although something goes wrong and Levi notices it. How does her boyfriend Levi react? And what does he do and say to her? get ready cause y/n gets to see a side of Levi she never seen before!
real cute fluff, a lil mention of injury (?), aot world, headcanon fanfic ♡ —
“I’ll see you later Y/N, okay? I just have a quick meeting to attend.” Levi said as he ruffled his girlfriends hair, giving her a small smile. “If you need anything-” Just as Levi was about to reassure his girlfriend that he is always willing to help her out, she cut him off by hugging his chest suddenly. “Don’t worry! I will be fine! And I just only want you back as soon as possible, so I will wait for you here!” His girlfriend said with a cheerful tone and gave him the most purest smile.
Levi loved his girlfriend a lot, and he would always be ready and willing to offer his help, time and effort for Y/N, because to him, she meant the world. His girlfriend was a bit clumsy, and that did not matter to Levi a lot but when it comes to Y/N accidentally slipping, or dropping things. He would never get mad at her but instead worried if she ever got herself hurt. He would always be a step ahead, ready to treat her injuries quickly if the thing she broke caused her harm and he would always then check up on his girl and ask her if she was alright.
He would usually take on many tasks and do them just to help his s/o out. Levi then started to find her pure clumsiness lowkey cute sometimes, for instance when she spills the tea while giving it to Levi and half of it would be gone, he would slightly chuckle and then say, “You made this for me?” And she would get so happy and nodding her head with a bright smile, getting happy how Levi said that. He admired and appreciated her effort for him, but what he finds also cute is when they are cleaning together alone at the stable and she would randomly drop her broom and say “Oops!” and when she tries to pick it up, Levi would just give her his broom and then chuckle “Stop being cute already.” and after he said that he lightly flicked her forehead, making his girlfriend a blushing mess right now and being embarrassed.
Waking up to random bruises would usually happen to his girlfriend when they sleep together. Y/N never had no idea where, when and how that happened! And when Levi wakes up and notices that as the sun shines on her skin, and he sees a small bruise on her upper arm, he would say “How did you get that?”. Y/N would turn her head that was laying on Levi’s chest to look at her arm, and then she would say “I wanna know that too!”. Levi would slightly chuckle and then he would caress it gently, to see if it hurts you, and if he sees no reaction coming from you he feels relieved but still puts a bandage on it later on as you change to your uniform <3
Levi would never let you walk after it has rained, on a wet floor, he would turn around and suddenly pick his girlfriend up from her waist, carrying her in his arms (in a bridal style way) and he would say “I’m carrying you. I don't want you slipping.” This man is ready and prepared to take care of his girl, the woman he loves dearly.
When Levi hears Y/N saying ‘ouch’, he quickly comes to you, as if he was summoned, and just randomly check on you then asks “Where are you hurt love?” Levi is ready, and your boyfriend does think of you 24/7 and cherishes you!
Although, one day her klutziness got the best of her today and it left Levi being really concerned and upset.
After Levi has gone to his meeting, Y/N decided to surprise him by cleaning his office as he always seems to smile whenever he sees something clean, and his girlfriend wants to see her boyfriend Levi smile as much as he can!
While she was cleaning his office in her free time, wiping the table surface with a cloth, she picked his teacup up and with her other hand was rubbing the table. But, she accidently slipped the teacup that was from her hand and it fell on the ground, causing it to break, shattering to pieces.
“Oh shit, shit, shit! I really fucked up this time!” Y/N said panicking and started to pace around, wondering what to do next. Her tears started to form in her eyes and she started to regret what she has done. Levi would so be upset and mad at her now.
Y/N then frantically tries her best to pick up the teacup pieces from the ground and was seeing if she would fix it or put them the pieces back together. She wanted to do this quick before Levi would come in and see what she has done.
But, that was too late as soon as Levi opened his office door, “Hey Y/N, I’m ba- What the hell.” Levi was caught off guard as he saw Y/N bent down, and when he came closer to her to see what she was doing, he then realized there were pieces of glass on the floor and that made him worry. “L-Levi, Don’t worry I’ll fix-” As soon as his girlfriend was about to finish what she was saying to him, she winced in pain as she accidentally cut herself with the small glass pieces since she got startled by Levi’s sudden presence. “Ow!” She uttered a yelp as she jolted from the pain and blood was now staring to form on her index finger.
Levi dropped everything he was carrying on the ground and immediately went to his girlfriend to help her. “Love are you okay?! Let me see.” He quickly took her hand, examining the cut on her index finger and went to his desk to get the first aid to patch Y/N up. Levi was calm and still as he was treating her injury, and he stayed silent while helping her out, focusing on putting the bandage on her accurately, and also to make sure she wouldn’t get even more pain while he was doing it.
Although, his girlfriend mistook that has Levi being mad and angry at her and she felt extremely bad, she looked down to her shoes, avoiding his eye contact and started to tear up. “I-I’m sorry Levi....I-I know you are mad right now, I feel really bad what I have done. I know how much you liked that teacup, I’m sorry I brok-”
Levi cut her off and brought his hand under her chin, to pull it up and made her now looking directly to his grey eyes. He had a calm expression but in his eyes he felt worried for her and his love for her was also shown. “I don’t care about that damn cup. What I care about is you idiot. Are you okay? Is it painful?” He questioned her in a concern tone, waiting for her response and she stood there sitting, her eyes would be wide open and surprised how Levi actually did not care a single bit about the teacup and was not even mad at her clumsiness. His love for her was stronger than that, and nothing mattered to him other than his girlfriend.
“No...” Y/N said in a soft tone and looked away, still feeling bad about what she did and Levi did notice that. He brought her closer and what he did really shocked Y/N. He gave her a tight and warm hug, and he was softly stroking her back gently and lovingly. She then realized that this was Levi’s own way of comfort, his way to let her know that it was all right and he only cared about was her.
This made Y/N a blushing mess and she grabbed on to Levi, and hugged him around his shoulders and softly sobbed on his neck. He was really gentle and soft towards her, and she loved him even more.
After that, Levi would take his girlfriends hand and pull her up, “Let’s go out.” Y/N just nodded and wondered where they would head to around this hour?
They then ended up in town, and Levi was holding her hand carefully and would time to time caress the back of her hand softly with his thumb to ease the pain away and that would give Y/N butterflies every single time he did that.
It turned out that, to make his girlfriend not feel bad about what she did. He ended up buying new teacups, and he would ask her to pick two teacups that she liked. She listened to him and picked the ones she found cute, and wondered why. It was then she realized that Levi finally said with a slight blush on his cheeks, “We can have, matching teacups. Hm, What do you think?”
Now, they have matching teacups <3 He was honestly the best boyfriend to Y/N and he tells her in his own way to comfort her that he is glad she broke that, cause if she didn't they wouldn't have matching teacups “That teacup was shit anyways. I wanted to buy a new set of teacups with you.” Levi would say he wouldn't even know how to even mention it and bring it up cause he was in fact thinking of having matching teacups! He is awkward and shy and would be a stuttering mess if he ever brought it up randomly one day to Y/N so he never mentioned it, but today was the day he would slip it in!
His girlfriend felt pleased and happy, happy about the fact that Levi was really understanding and he would do anything to make her feel happy again, he would never let Y/N go a day not feeling happy and making sure his girl was alright. She would then chuckle after and say, “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
Levi would then smile at her, feeling relieved to see her smiling and happy again, cause in the end of the day, that was important to him other than a stupid teacup.
Now, Levi would roast ANYONE who touches his and Y/N's teacups. Levi would say to the other scouts that she is only allowed to touch them, use them, clean and even break it.
Then, starting from the next day Levi would sneak in kisses on her hand that got the cut every now and then when no one is looking. This left both of them blushing a lot.
Y/N would sometimes say with a sad sigh “Ugh, I’m so clumsily.” to Levi, but he would then go near her face and hold her side cheek which got her off guard and say “Yea, You are ‘my’ clumsily girl.” He won’t let you say anything negative about yourself slip by and you always feel loved whenever he did that.
Overall, Levi found her absolutely wonderful and her qualities far outshine some of the challenges she faces. Even while she is clumsy and stumbling, she is very skilled when it gets to use her 3D gear, she can just move around very good, flexible and easily avoids titans and Levi is kind of impressed by her skills then says “That's my girl” with a soft smile. Y/N had talent in her blood.
Okay I found this hc fanfic so cute! Levi would definitely never get mad at his girl when it comes to this since this man is very mature and understanding, and he is always willing to make sure she is doing alright and taking care of his girl <3 Levi now uses the new matching teacups every now and then and he would always gets your tea ready using them! (he would be such an excited kid whenever you both used it) so expect to have more tea time sessions with him. Anyways, I hope you and anyone else enjoyed it, and please leave a like, reblog or a message to let me know! Have a great rest of the day and ty for the support <3 
191 notes · View notes
yostresswritinggirl · 3 years
Text
Researching...
ZETA
You need to see this first then this
The alchemist had been trying all remedies to shake off the stress and fatigue in his system and they all seemed to fail, no amount of sketching or discoveries can pull him away from it. So when you offered a solution he hasn’t heard, he’d jump at it immediately. “You know, some people say having intercourse with someone is a good stress-reliever.” “Intercourse? If it’s true, then please, I wish to have intercourse with you.” “Wha- wait Albedo, do you not know what that is? It’s only done between lovers!” “Convenient, I love you, anything else?”
Pairing -> Albedo x Female Reader
Word Count -> 2944
Themes -> Smut, PwP, PwF, Woohoo, the "thing", the "do"
Series -> #Bonafide Specials (100 followers event)
Warnings -> NSFW CONTENT, DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE UNDERAGED! (this is awkward because you two have no experience, jsyk)
Tumblr media
(Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (TDA, also known as ZETA) are usually emitted by females to attract males for mating. Sex pheromones are defined as odors, produced by either males or females that stimulate one or more behavioral reactions in the opposite sex, bringing the males and females together for the purpose of mating.
The foldered papers at the mahogany desk met with a soft plop at its weight, and you noticed the Alchemist suddenly straighten his back from his spaced out daze on the noise, whipping his head towards where you stand. Albedo's teal eyes were wide from the sudden intrusion, but his eyelids drooped over them once again upon the realization that it was just you who entered as it loses its light once more. This worried you.
The Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius has been in a dilemma recently. And all of Mond knows of this.
Albedo naturally holds himself in a regal and composed aura that draws people to him in admiration and trance. But this Albedo lacks such gait, with shoulders tense and eyebrows furrowed, steps heavy and head hanging low.
He has hit a wall in his never-ending research. And the effect was obvious on him.
Days he'd be cooped up in his laboratory staring at nothing, glaring at his setup. Days he'd be gone beyond the walls with his easel and sketchbook, only to return with unfinished artworks meant to be forgotten. Sucrose had tried placing experiments that are easy to handle and give him at least a sense of self-confidence for solving, but even that cannot pull his mind away from his obstacle.
"You know," leaning on the table with arms crossed, you watched the Kreideprinz drag his foot to where you were, aiming to check on the folder that you just submitted, "Some people say having intercourse with someone is a good stress-reliever." Such words smoothly flowed out of your mouth despite the masked embarrassment you expertly hid through a haughty smirk.
That someone was Kaeya, and that Kaeya threw out that same comment next to you when you two saw Albedo walk through the headquarter's halls like a zombie a few days ago.
The sudden pound of fists on the table at either side of you startled you, expertly caging you in as you looked up. Albedo loomed over you with eyes brightly catching the sun, giving it the luminosity that carried the same curious look he had when faced with the unknown. "Intercourse? If it's true, then please," oh no, "I wish to have intercourse with you."
Excuse me? "Wha-" suddenly, you were hyper-aware of just how close you are to one another. You slightly hiked yourself up against the table, as to preserve what little distance you have. "Wait Albedo, do you not know what that is? It’s only done between lovers!”
And without skipping a beat, he mused, "Convenient, I love you, anything else?" That familiar smirk displayed on his face.
Contrary to his face tho, you greatly contest to Diluc's hair. Really a normal reaction- to this guy suddenly confessing! Your head is already whirling around in confusion and your eyes couldn't set itself straight at him, still mindful of the distance of which reminded you why you were in this predicament in the first place.
Albedo attentively watched your eyes stray to the side as he stands there in silence, seeing it land at the entrance to his laboratory. Ah of course, he thought he'd made a discovery, as he leans away from you to make his way towards the door.
And shut it with a click.
"Wait, wait, why did you lock the door?!" You finally mustered up the courage to speak (breaking away from the shock of his confession) as he finds himself where he stood over you, eyes filled with confusion.
"You were quiet after my confession. I know such moments of romance are intimate and with your eyes, I only wanted to give us privacy," his brows furrowed with confusion before his shoulders dropped, a sharp sigh escaping. "Normally people would express their reciprocation by now," he breathed as he starts pulling back and away, "but voicing your rejection would have been appre-"
Quickly with a yelp, you reached out for his departing form, pulling him back by the grip on his shirt. Albedo's eyes only widened a little as he was quick to grip the table's edge to stabilize himself, one arm wrapped around your waist to ground you. "No! I do- do love you too!" You finally squeezed out the embarrassing confession, "You were just so sudden, it surprised me so much!"
And suddenly he was laughing openly, full of relief and humor, as his shoulders slackened at the validation. The heavy weight on his shoulders eased as if a physical matter left it, the bout of removed tension making him slump on you.
You cradled the tired Albedo in your arms as you let him place his chin on your shoulder. This man is your lover now, you thought as the fact finally dawned on you. The brilliant and most loved in Mond now tied down to you.
Basking in the presence of a person now his, Albedo found himself breathing in. There was a scent to you that always soothes him which now feels emphasized at the closeness. His pupils dilated as his face buries itself closer to the junction where your neck and shoulder meets.
Ah, what was this? Was this the pheromones you once talked about in your research on zoology that attracts those to them? He mused in his mind as those teal eyed fluttered shut, nose brushing at your neck for another whiff.
While Albedo indulged himself with the natural scent of you, you stood there with weak legs, trembling and red from the notions. Oh gods, you whimpered at the feeling of his lips brushing at your skin, you're whipped for this man.
"I'm waiting," you had to hold the shiver when his words vibrated against your neck, "for your answer on my offer, I think it would be good to try." Ah the 'intercourse'. You placed your hands flat on his back as he leans away to stare in attention, and then you finally explained to him what you meant, what you'd do, and what it entails to.
Albedo nods in understanding at your every clause and explanation. And his bright mind understood far too easily how it would help. "We are lovers now," his eyes twinkled at the cute scrunch of your nose upon the embarrassment of the fact, "sooner or later we'd end up doing it anyways. When shouldn't be a matter."
Albedo always make a good point.
With your consent, Albedo slowly lays you on the surface of the table as his other hand makes quick work to swipe away the items that would be in the way, thankfully the carpeted floor prevented anything from breaking. His lips found yours almost naturally as you urged him to take off his coat and you worked on your own, the thoughts spiraling in your head for every clothing that is shed:
Albedo has little to none idea on how sex works between humans, and you had your base knowledge from the things you learned from academics; in short, you're both inexperienced and you are his anchor.
How funny how the master role quickly switched, you thought with an inward laugh before it died in your throat at the sight— he stands there with his undershirt unbuttoned, belt and shorts caught by his knee, and his apparent bulge outlined by his boxers. Your thighs instinctively closed, you don't know what's considered average in size for such things, but you know for a fact there's gonna be some difficulty.
"Is something wrong?" His raw and calloused hands (gloves long gone) softly landed at your squirming thighs, the contact sending a shiver all over. "Am I doing something wrong?"
No, you breathed as you urged him to step closer and settle between your legs at the edge of the table, his form forcing you to spread your limbs apart.
The intoxicating scent that Albedo indulged in earlier was stronger now, drowning him and clouding his thoughts. The waft plunged through his senses so forcefully that he stumbled a bit on you, hips hitting as he grips your sides to keep him steady.
Next came the warmth that touched his sensitive length as it laid between you, the contact had forced out a cute squeak from you and an airy groan from him. His hips buckled to catch the sensation as he finds himself rutting between your folds with ragged breathing.
So good, it felt so good. Albedo finds himself struggling to keep his eyes open from what he now identified to be pleasure, and as he looks up to check on you, you were struggling just the same. Your chest rises and falls in quick successions as you covered your eyes with an arm, whimpers coming out of your slightly parted lips.
Fuck. If only he wasn't so engrossed, he wanted to capture this image through painting. "Am I-," he cleared his throat of the hoarse voice, "Am I hurting you?"
You gasped at the cold and wet feeling swipe from your chin to the corner of your lips, licking the trail of drool you didn't even notice when you opened your eyes to see Albedo's up close. With a shake of your head, you gripped the ponytail of his braid to pull his head for a sudden kiss.
Staggering over your form as your legs hiked up to hook around his waist, you guided the tip of his length to your entrance as he ravaged your mouth without restraint. Lips bruising each other, tongue tracing the underside of yours gingerly before it licks at the roof of your mouth— all the sensations had fogged up your consciousness so badly that you didn't feel an ounce of pain when he finally entered into you, guided by a shy gentleness to his ministrations.
It is only when his tip finally touched the opening of your cervix did you whimper; the way you're being stretched and the fullness of his length in you making you writhe under and around him, the friction only making rousing him more.
Albedo produced a low growl against your lips as he bit down on the bottom one, his trimmed nails digging to your soft-skinned hips as he pins it down. "Stop- nghh- stop moving around so much," a sudden warmth pooled into your stomach as you tightened around him.
Mistake number one: You didn't expect for his gentleness to be gone.
Spurred on by your tightening grip and the pleasure shooting up him everytime his tip came in contact with your edge, Albedo went into a relentless pace, pounding straight into you to hit that spot. Your pants turned into breathless chokes everytime he comes in contact, forcing your raw moans out of you. There's a dull pain by your entrance everytime he grinds against your walls, and he whimpers your name in pure ecstacy every stroke.
Your back arcs as he smacks into you, pulling back halfway through before burying deep into your hole once again. His brutal pace gets sloppy at times, before his strength comes back again to pull you closer. Halfway through Albedo produces a feral growl as he grips one of your legs behind the knee, pushing it closer to your body and slightly angled to the side.
And the moment he thrusts in with the new position, you cried out his name. The tip of his length reached far deeper with this new angle, and had plunged the top right into your cervix— your hips trembled as Albedo's whole body shivers at the new sensation, fingernails digging into your thigh as his other hand intertwines with yours, pinning it down on the table as leverage.
"Ahn," he whispered your name tiredly with tears pricking at the edge of his eyes, for the first time staring at your eyes after he had started, "How are you? Is it okay? Is it..."
Good, you mumbled with a tired smile at his consideration, bumping your hips to emphasize on it- which drew a sharp gasp from the both of you, he was already in so deep, your hips bruised and touching.
He rolled his hips to test out, his thickness rubbing at the walls as he stirs your insides. The sweet moan you produced spurred him on, and he was once again staggering into you, his hips slightly elevated in an angle meant to pierce through you.
The sound of flesh smacking against each other overpowers even your loudest moan as Albedo pleasured himself inside you desperately, the smell of sex filling your sense of smell. He chases the way your hole drips and wafts with the scent, drawing in a huge breathe whenever your mixed cum spills past his tightly locked dick in you.
And soon his pace became more desperate and short, as he makes quick work at hitting you in your most sensitive part to barely give you time to gasp for air. Your walls clenched down on him so tightly as you came, a cry of his name passing your lips as your back arched—
the pressure made him buckle and he thrusts in deep one last time, tip breaking past your cervix, as his climax enters you in thick strings of warmth.
That was mistake number two: you didn't bring protection with you.
But at that moment you couldn't care less (your cycle just ended anyways, you should be fine), watching him whimper your name in full pleasure as his teeth grinds against each other, his forehead and eyebrows knit and furrow as he releases before it relaxes after he is done.
And then he falls face first to your chest, the renowned Alchemist running out of the minimal stamina he had with him. Buried between the valley of your breast, Albedo had the most serene (almost drunk) expression on his face, lips pressed against the skin over your heart where it beats with fervor from your activity.
He tested another experimental thrust, lighter this time, as he felt your mixed fluids moved around the tiny space. You gave a wailing moan at his action, and he breathlessly laughed at your reaction.
Albedo stayed in you and on you for a few more minutes after that. Still trying to regain strength as your tired pants became the white noise that night.
"Albedo..." he hums against your chest as his arms tightened around your waist, enjoying the peace your hands brought to him as you stroke his cheek. "Albedo, I need to clean up." He jests that you should just keep it in you and you responded with rapid pats, whining at the notion. He chuckles.
It took him a lot of willpower to get up and he made it obvious as hell, taking his time to remove himself off your chest, grumbling that his bed was complaining too much. You let out a cute snort before smacking his arm. Albedo grips your hips as he gently pulls out when he stops suddenly, realizing that the liquids would pour out and make an obvious mess if he were to do so.
His head passes around the immediate area as he pinpoints a peculiar object, plucking it from its plastic package, still new from the bubble wrap. A sharp gasp suddenly comes by you at the cold and hard sensation that replaced Albedo inside you, only a few inches deep as the Alchemist walks off to get tissues. Wary, you looked down to see the object, choking out when you saw its end sticking out past your crotch:
A test tube, pristine and clean, was preventing the fluids from dripping out of your hole.
When Albedo came back with the tissues and spare cloth in hand, he muses at how your deep red face was smacked tightly against your palms. He offers to clean up, a gentle hand carefully pulling out the tube, but you refused and got quick work on yourself. That was enough embarrassment for tonight.
Unbeknownst to you with your busied self, Albedo held the glass vial in close inspection and curiosity. The translucent white liquid barely blocks the night light and produced the same strong scent he'd been chasing the whole night— he sticks his tongue out to taste, ah, slightly salty and sticky.
Albedo wonders what kind of experiment he can do with this.
The obvious lift on the shoulders of the Chief Alchemist was greatly acknowledged by everyone in town who were aware of the impasse the young man had troubled himself with for the past few days. The bags under his eyes were gone, and the tealness he has shined with newfound vigor. Besides the mood shift, many of the knights had also noticed the time spent between the two of you. Missions and expeditions were always coinciding with each other and people barely saw you separated, giggling and smiling to yourselves in your pink world.
One day they finally found out about your relationship when a knight barged in to his laboratory for an urgent matter. Blurting out the Chief Alchemist's name before he realized that you were there, lips locked against each other.
The news spreads fast with that little detail and everyone congratulated you on your relationship.
Behind your bashful smiles, you and Albedo sighed in great relief, thankful to the archons that the knight didn't took notice of your hand under his big white coat that time.
Tumblr media
This turned out like this cuz alchemy boy very new to things u_u and little stamina, he needs to exercise more ehe-
@creation-magician @dandelion-dreams @zelos-simp @struggljng @youroffical-weirdo @your-local-venti-simp @indigodreamtime47
810 notes · View notes
urimaginespimp · 3 years
Text
Untouchable (This Love pt 8)
Bucky x reader (elemental witch)
Set during TFATWS mainly episodes 4-5
Note: Little references on You All Over Me
Previous Part: Happiness
--------
“I’m letting you go, Bucky.”
It felt like he watched a part of himself die as soon as those words left your lips. How could he have been so late to realize that he’s in love with you? And in the worst possible time ever; When you finally look like you’re in peace and ready to open yourself once more to the world.
“I’d really like to be friends with you again someday. Maybe as you’ve said before, I will thank you.” You genuinely smiled at him and he almost wanted to yell at you to take it back. To say that you still want to be together.
But that would be so cruel of him. So he merely returned a smile, hoping that it came off genuine.
“You go alert Sam. I’m gonna try my best to stall Ayo and the other women. Though I doubt I could buy you more than a few seconds once the eighth hour rolls around.” you grinned and turned to go find where the Dora Milaje were waiting.
--------
Eight hours have passed and you were now taking the Dora Milaje to where Sam, Bucky, and Zemo would be.
Only when you were outside the door, you could hear an unfamiliar man’s voice almost threatening Sam into a fight.
“He’d die before he thinks he can hurt a friend to the throne.” Ayo commented, and before you knew it, one of them have thrown their spear before the man who you now can assume as discount Captain America could even raise a fist to Sam.
You walked in beside Ayo and based on Bucky’s expression, their business with Zemo wasn’t even close to done yet.
“Even if he is a means to your end, time’s up.” Ayo declared out loud in the room. “Release him to us now.”
“Hi. John Walker. Captain America.” The man interrupted. You bit your lip to stop yourself from laughing. This didn’t go unnoticed by Bucky however, who was mentally kicking himself because now was not the time to be reminded that he knows how those felt against his. The little taste of heaven he got.
“You were like a little sister to Steve Rogers, right?” He turned his attention to you with a cheery voice. “Happy to finally meet your new big brother?” He jested.
“Sorry. That positions been long taken over ever since the potty mouth racoon started exchanging memes with me.” you retort with a shrug, which made Sam cough to hide his chuckles, and Zemo to look at you as if that was the craziest thing he’s ever heard.
“Well, let’s uh, put down the pointy sticks and we can walk this through, huh?” Walker tried to gain control over the room’s atmosphere.
“Hey, John. Take it easy.” Sam butted in. “You might wanna fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje. Or even worse, Y/N.”
“Yeah, I think I can take some water or rocks being thrown at me.” He smirked at you, making the side of your lip twitch.
“Careful, Walker, I’m almost twitching to blend that bloodstream of yours. I can control you like a puppet and I wouldn’t even have to move an inch from where I’m standing.” You smiled at him almost eerily, and Bucky was sporting a proud look on his face.
But of course, you weren’t gonna do it. You’ve long vowed to put puppeting the living off the table unless it was a life and death situation.
Walker gulped before turning once again to Ayo. “The Dora Milaje don’t have jurisdiction here.”
“The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be.” You could almost see steam coming out of Ayo’s ears as she spoke. She could also feel that something didn’t feel right with this man.
Looking at his companion, you could see that unlike Walker, he was getting nervous.
“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Walker played it off, before he layed his hand on Ayo.
Then all hell broke loose.
--------
Ayo literally disarmed Bucky. Both of you shared the same shocked expression.
Walker was catching his breath after they handed his ass to him, and was failing miserably to remove the spear that held the shield up on the table.
Ayo opened the doors to where Zemo had last gone into, only to find it empty.
One of the women took the spear off effortlessly and picked up the shield as Walker was now on the ground looking defeated.
“He is gone. Leave it.” Ayo told her.
Picking his Vibranium arm off the ground, Bucky was still trying to wrap his head around what just happened.
“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked, just getting up from the floor.
“Guessing from his reaction, no.” You commented as he attached it back and tested it. “Are you alright?” you approached him. His arm worked just fine. Relief flooded him.
“Yeah. How about you? You still got cuts and bruises from Madripoor.” He reaches out and holds a side of your jaw to turn your head as if to assess the minor damages on your face, causing your breath to hitch.
This was the first time he got to touch you again after all the distancing and avoiding you’ve been doing before. He smiled at you sweetly, making you confused. Sam was also giving Bucky a questioning look.
“I think I’m gonna help them look for Zemo. You guys gonna be alright?” you stepped back away from him and turned to Sam, and he nodded before giving you a hug and told you to be safe.
You gave Bucky a smile before leaving to catch up with the Dora Milaje. As soon as you were out of earshot, Sam turned to him with a smug expression.
“Have something to share, Bucky?” He asked playfully, already having a hunch why Bucky was acting all weird.
“Sam, I’m in love with her.” He replied, still staring at the direction where you just exited.
“Yeah, I figured.” he snorted in reply. It was about damn time.
“But just when it hit me, she then says she’s letting me go. Now I’m the one caught up in her.”
“Well that’s some angsty shit right there, man. Let’s grab something to eat first and talk about how your cyborg brain finally named the feelings you’ve had all this time.” Sam pats his shoulder before muttering that he was gonna need food for this discussion.
--------
You had an inkling that Zemo was heading to Sokovia. And it seemed that Bucky had the same though as he caught up on you and the Dora Milaje on your way there.
The moment you saw him, the dried blood on his face raised your concerns, and he was trying to hide the fact that he was enjoying your attention when you insisted on patching him up, and you were oblivious to the Dora Milaje’s teasing glances thrown his way, and even when one of them mouthed the word simps to him.
He made a mental note to look up what that means later.
I thought you’d be here sooner.” Zemo spoke as he got nearer. “Don’t worry, I’ve decided I’m not going to kill you.”
“Imagine my relief.” Bucky replied, clicking the gun on his side.
“The girl has been radicalized beyond salvation. I warned Sam, but he didn’t listen to me. He’s as stubborn as Steve Rogers before him. But you... they literally programmed you to kill. James, do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere, and there’s only one way to make sure she cannot continue her mission.” Zemo rationalized.
“I appreciate the advice. But we’re gonna do it our own way.”
Zemo chuckled softly. “Yeah. I was afraid you would say that.”
Raising the gun to his head, there was no once of fear in Zemo’s eyes, rather it looked like he was ready to be reunited with his family. This was further shown when he actually nodded at Bucky.
Only that nothing happened as he pulled the trigger. Instead, he raised his left fist, and as he opened it, the bullets fell off, clanking on the ground.
Just then, three of the Dora Milajes marched up behind him, ready to take him away this time.
“Ladies...” he acknowledged them before turning back to him. “I took the liberty of crossing my name in your book. I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do.” Bucky nodded, appreciating the gesture.
“Parting words of advice...” Zemo spoke again, this time lower as he knew you might be somewhere nearer and might hear what he’s about to say next.
“Like every other dollar in our pockets, you can’t change where it’s been, James. Much the same goes for you. But Y/N... She loves you nonetheless. And if my eyes don’t deceive me, I’d say you feel the same but she’s doesn’t know that.” he smiles at him
“I’d only realized it myself recently.” He confesses, only then realizing that the three women were listening and now had their brows raised in surprise.
“Don’t be too late.” Zemo grinned in satisfaction of his confession.
“I’m gonna work on that, thank you.” He returned the smile.
“Goodbye, James.”
As you saw them lead Zemo to the ship, you took that as your cue to finally approach them. You’d witness the entire thing, except that it was all inaudible from where you’ve been standing.
“It would be prudent to make yourself scare in Wakanda for the time being, White Wolf.” You heard Ayo advise him as you were finally in earshot’s way.
“Fair enough.” he replies in understanding.
Ayo nodded at you as you came closer to where they were, and she shot you a teasing wink, confusing you while Bucky cleared his throat in embarrassment.
“We’ll wait for you in the ship.” she told you.
“I didn’t know you could be so theatrical, Bucky.” You grinned teasingly at him.
“Had to give you a little inkling to what was happening since you were so far away.” He gave you a boyish smile.
“You’re gonna pick those up later, right?” you gestured at the bullets still on the ground.
“Yeah, just after all of you are gone. Don’t wanna ruin the magic of that scene.” He replied scratching the back of his head, making you laugh.
"You’re going back to Wakanda with them?” Because if you are, then the universe was definitely punishing him since he can’t really go there right now as he pleases.
“Yeah, I’m long overdue for a visit.” You answered. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to them. You’d be in their good graces again in no time.” you assured.
As you spoke, the sun was just starting to set behind you, creating a golden outline of you. The sight was making his heart pound. To him you were burning brighter than the sun.
Yep, the universe is definitely fucking me. He thought to himself.
And as you stepped closer, he felt like he was coming undone when you hesitantly pulled him in for a small hug.
“Take care of yourself, James.” you whispered.
James. She called me James. Heat was rising up in him.
Breaking off from the hug, you were blushing. “It’s alright if I call you that too, right? I mean I know I said that’s what I called 1940s you when we were testing the time portal, but it’s still you, you know, and-”
“You can call me whatever you want, sweetheart.” He cut off your rambling, smiling at you. “Just not Barnes again.” He added.
“Why?”
“Well, you were mad at me the whole time you did so.”
“Okay, dipshit.”
“Y/N.” he feigned offense.
You laughed at his expense. “I’ll let either one of you know if I’m back in New Asgard.”
“We’ll have a lot of catching up to do by then.” He smiled, and you turned to head to the ship where unbeknownst to you, the women and Zemo have been watching the two of you interacting.
“Hey Y/N?” Bucky called out to you at the last second.
“Yeah?”
He was contemplating whether he’d just tell you right then and there about his feelings. It was starting to eat him up, but then he shook it off, knowing that he and Sam still had a mission to finish first.
“I... I may have another favor to ask Wakanda.”
--------
When he got to Sam’s hometown, he saw that there was a community of people helping repair a boat. It reminded him of his time working with in the docs.
He’s now offered his services to help Sam repair their family boat. He’s also met his sister Sara, nad he was surprised that when he made an attempt to be charming, it actually kind of worked.
They were now enjoying a drink together after a day’s worth of fixing.
“Talked to Y/N, yet?” Sam asked him, taking a swing of the bottle.
“She’s a lot more friendly to me now which is both a good and bad sign for me. But I haven’t told her yet. Not really a good time.” he answered in dep thought.
“You know before we got ourselves tangled into this mess, like way before Walker happened and you decided to show up, we were in constant communication.” Sam shared.
“Yeah?” he failed to hide the jealousy in his voice, causing Sam to crack up.
“Don’t get your metal panties in a twist, man. We were mostly talking about you." he clarified. “She knew you didn’t want to see her - which I beg to differ by the way – but she was somehow hoping you would at least be talking to me.”
“I’m sorry for ignoring your calls and text.” He says to Sam, which the man assured him was fine. “There were instances at night where I couldn’t sleep and my thoughts would be plagued with her. That I wish I hadn’t been so rash with making the decision to be alone and leave her the way I did.” this was the first time he talked about it to someone. His own therapist didn’t know a thing about it.
“Let me ask you something. Where do you want to stand in her life after all of this is over?” Sam knew this wasn’t what co-workers would be talking about but he knew that this was for the good of you both.
“I want to spend the rest of my years making it up to her. To let her know that while it took me long to realize it, we were actually always in the same page.” He found himself replying with no hesitation. Sam was satisfied with this answer.
“And how are you gonna convince her to give you a chance?”
He shrugged. He didn’t know just yet.
“Tell you what. The younger people around here know their stuff when it comes to matters of the heart. I’ll have them make a manuscript you could read, or a video tutorial.” He chuckles. He had no idea Sam was being serious.
“Well...” Bucky got up and clinked their bottles together. “Gotta catch my flight tomorrow. Get a hotel for the night. Crash, you know?”
“You’re just gonna set me up like that, huh?” Sam grinned, shaking his head.
“Well I don’t wanna make it weird for your family.” He shrugged.
“Just stay here. The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don’t care if you wear small T-shirts, or if you have six toes, or if your mom’s your aunt, or that I work with a reformed cyborg that’s in love with a witch that’s practically an avatar, who apparently single-handedly secured her adoptive father’s kingdom’s economy-” Bucky chuckled at Sam’s ramblings.
“Okay, I get it. I mean, you know, the people are nice.” he concedes.
“But don’t displace your feelings for Y/n by flirting with my sister.” Sam pointed at him. “Cause if you do, I’ll have Carlos cut you up, feed half of you to the fish, and send the other half to New Asgard so they could to feed you to their fish.”
“Okay.”
--------
He was gazing up at the stars, feeling the soft grass underneath his lying figure. The comfort and peace it gave him was almost nostalgic.
“How is it possible that this place also has the best set of stars for us to look at?”  A voice spoke next to him. Turning his head to where it came from, his heart fluttered as he welcomed the sight of you lying next to him, looking up the sky with such wander in your eyes.
He recognizes this scenario. He had just woken up once again from a nightmare, and couldn’t fall back asleep despite your presence. So, you proposed you’d both get some fresh air and just lay out on the field while the rest of Wakanda was fast asleep.
At first he was hesitant, not wanting to keep you up any longer, but you insisted that you haven’t been able to sleep a wink before he woke up from his nightmare. That’s how he groggily got up and took the hand you offered up to him as you lead him out of your shared hut, and into the wide field before you.
“Ayo said you’re having progress.” you turned your head to look at him. This time, he was the one stuck looking up the sky. He merely let out a small grunt as a response.
“I’m proud of you, Buck.” He could almost hear the smile from your tone. The genuineness of it all made the side of his lip twitch.
Getting up halfway to face him, you were supporting yourself up with your elbow. “We could celebrate if you want.” you suggested.
“I’m not even fully recovered yet.” he replied.
“So? Every milestone to recovery should be celebrated.” you shrugged. “C’mon old man, it doesn’t have to be grand. Any piece of treat you have in mind?”
“I’ve been meaning to try sushi.” He muttered shyly.
“Consider it done.” you beamed at him, laying back down.
There it was again. The tingly feeling he had in his stomach, which only ever occurred every time you were near. Maybe this was the feeling of gratitude. You’ve never been less than nice to him.
Yeah, that explains it. He thinks to himself.
“Why are you so fine with spending your days here anyway? Don’t you have someone waiting on you out of Wakanda? Steve said you’re more social than him.” He found himself asking.
Still looking up, you were sporting a gentle smile on your face. “I spent a great deal reading up classic romance novels when I was just learning the Midgardian ways. And I’m still in love with the whole chivalry, slow-burn romance thing. Imagine my disappointment when the first civilian man I found inherently cute outright asked me if he could have some in the bathroom.” you pursed your lips, making Bucky crack a soft laugh.
“My ma would’ve had my head if I ever said that to a lady.” he replied smiling, his eye crinkling at the thought. “...is that why you said you find me incredibly attractive?” he found himself asking, surprising both of you.
Even underneath the stars, he could see the heat rising up your cheeks. “Oh, you remember that?” you chuckled awkwardly.
“It’s not every day a girl would say that to the world’s deadliest assassin whose just been accused of a bombing incident.”  he was mentally kicking himself for even opening up the topic.
“It’s Steve’s fault. He wouldn’t shut up about how charming and a gentleman you are. And it didn’t help that you’re annoyingly handsome.”
He shifted in his position. “Bet you’re disappointed now.” he said in a low voice.
“Not really.” you argued. “If anything, you’ve added the words hot and strong to the list.” you teased, poking him on the arm. He shook his head at how casual you were being.
“Sooner or later Buck, it won’t be just me crushing on you. Maybe you’d even find yourself falling for a civilian.” There was a hint of sadness behind your smiling eyes. Everybody in the kingdom knew of her allegedly having a crush on you, curtesy of Steve’s blabbering mouth, but this was the first time she actually admitted it.
He didn’t say it, but the thought of what you just said didn’t appeal to him. It felt almost wrong to imagine himself casually being open and carefree with someone else.
Carefree. This was what your conversation now felt like. You managed to somehow make him talk, far from his usual quiet and grunting self during daytime.
He opened his mouth trying to think if a reply when you cut him off.
“Don’t respond to that. You’ve already managed to make my drowsy self, confess having a crush on you.” he turned his head to look your way again, only to find that you now had your eyes closed, a small smile playing on your lips.
Letting you finally get some sleep; he turned his attention back to the sky.
And it's like the million little stars above him were spelling out your name.
Just then he wakes up from the dream, as the little whispers by the doorway caught his attention. Sam’s nephews were playing with the shield.
“Hey!” he raised his hand to greet them while still lying down on the couch.
“Put it back.” one of them said to the other. “Hurry, hurry.” and they both took off.
Alone once more, his thought went back to the dream of a memory he had with you.
He found himself smiling.
--------
Y/N: Thanks for all the love! We're one chapter away. I'm just waiting for the last episode (brb crying) to decided where we go from here.
@eternalharry @iheartsebandchris @lizzarooni @the-ayo-lit @tanyaherondale @eliwinchester-barnes @knowyourworth-sellyoursoul @ebxny27 @just-a-littlebit-of-everything @fadingdreamersportsmaker
201 notes · View notes
samstree · 3 years
Text
Hug a Witcher Day (3/4)
In which Jaskier goes missing in the spring. Can Geralt finally realize his feelings for the bard in the middle of a crisis?
(hurt/comfort, soft geraskier, 3k, rated T, cw: mentions of a canon-era plague, sick children, and a citywide lockdown.)
part 1, part 2, read on AO3
The third year since Jaskier invented Hug a Witcher Day, Geralt all but forgets about it completely.
He steps into the Two Weatherfish, where they agreed to meet, and realizes that the bard isn’t here. Or in the entire city of Ard Carraigh. No one has seen any trace of the famous bard who won’t quit singing praises for witchers.
Geralt pushes down the slight panic in his chest as he steps out of the last tavern in the city, and decides to just head for Oxenfurt.
It’s not like Jaskier has been the most reliable companion in the past, often distracted by dalliances or even anything shiny and new. One time he wandered off to watch a local celebration and Geralt found him hours later next to a lake, with thousands of lanterns floating above the water, illuminating the night sky like burning stars peppered on a dark canvas.
The soft, orange light spilled over Jaskier’s features, his eyes gleaming like the stars too.
Geralt snorts despite himself. There’s no doubt the bard is just delayed by someone who caught his eye and decided that a promise to a witcher isn’t all that important—the same witcher who he keeps claiming to be his best friend.
Geralt isn’t sure how to feel about that, or how to react when he finally sees Jaskier. Perhaps he will cease to talk about hunts for a while, leave the bard hanging, just so he can get a taste of the same frustration.
The pettiness remains in Geralt’s mind up until he steps into the academy and rampant fear licks up his chest.
Essi is the one who meets him at the gates, worry deep between her brows and rambling about how Jaskier never made it to the yule ball like he should. In her hands are two letters, clearly Jaskier’s handiwork judging from the neat curves and flourish, talking about his excitement to see his ‘Little Eye’ perform again, and how unfortunately his travel would be delayed due to an unexpected ailment.
Don’t you fret, poppet, for I am sure to beat this sickness within days. The promise of listening to your new ballad is already doing wonders for my health! It is a shame that my stay in Vizima is soured thus. The city, so beautifully rich in culture…
“Vizima,” Essi says frantically. “A plague broke out in the city last winter. Smallpox.”
A buzz begins to ring by Geralt’s ear, muffling out Essi’s voice and leaving only the thundering of his own heartbeat.
“They told me King Foltest sealed the gate to stop the spread, and…and no one has heard from anyone inside since then. Geralt, please, you are a witcher. Aren’t you immune to human sickness? That’s what Jaskier told me, isn’t that right?”
“I…yes.” The lump in Geralt’s throat stops any other words from getting out. His blood runs cold in the warm breeze of Oxenfurt’s spring.
“Please, Geralt, you must find him. I need to know. The university won’t allow me to go, but I…I must know. No matter what happened to him.”
The implication hangs in the air.
Tears well up in blues eyes too similar to Jaskier’s. Essi would be my sister in another life, Jaskier once commented adoringly and it’s only standing right here that Geralt can truly see the identical fierceness in her eyes.
As if Geralt needs her to ask. As if he isn’t willing to charge into the land of the dead if it means Jaskier gets out of it unscathed.
“Of course, Essi,” he promises solemnly. Her clutch on his forearm is so tight that any other man would be bruised by the force. “I promise.”
“Keep him safe, if it’s not too late.”
In his near-century long life, Geralt has rarely felt cold, unrelenting fear as he does when Essi breaks into sobs.
 *
The sickness in Vizima casts a gloomy cloud over the sky, choking Geralt’s breaths. The streets are eerily empty. Only a few people will pass through in a frenzy every now and then.
Geralt’s legs take him right through the main streets, to the far corner of the city, where countless makeshift tents are set up and stretching towards the edge of the woods. If anyone has indeed fallen to the disease, that’s the most likely place they will be sent to. If anyone passes, that’s also where they keep the records so friends and families can look for their names.
Bile rises in his throat at the idea of looking through stacks of books for Jaskier’s name.
Geralt walks between hundreds of beds of one tent after another. Some healers throw him an odd look but carry on with their work, the flash of their white scrubs weaving through the busy establishment.
Against all odds, a pang of relief hits Geralt when he notices how the patients are well-treated by healers who seem to know what they are doing. The fever is brought down with a soaked cloth and a minty salve is applied for the irritation on the skin.
He searches and searches, until the sun is almost down, when—
A soft tune is carried over by the gentle breeze of spring.
And there Jaskier is, kneeling next to a little boy on a bed and humming a lullaby that Geralt only remembers vaguely. The bard is wearing the same white scrub like every carer at this camp, his brown hair slightly ruffled, and dark circles are hanging under his eyes. Geralt can see how tired he is by the hunch of his shoulders and the barely-there quiver in his singing, by his unkept stubble and the smile that’s dangerously close to falling.
And yet, he makes the most beautiful sight in the world.
Geralt stands there, drinking in the presence of his bard. The languid heartbeat of a witcher picks up, fluttering and almost bursting out of his chest.
Jaskier runs his fingers through the boy’s hair when the lullaby comes to an end. He tucks in the blanket and slowly pulls himself up, his knees creaking from the strain.
Blue eyes meet Geralt and Jaskier’s shock morphs into unbridled, blazing joy. Within the blink of an eye, the bard is standing right in front of Geralt.
“Geralt,” Jaskier breathes oh so carefully like he’s scared of waking from a dream. “What are you doing here? Wait, you don’t have any protec—oh right! Witcher biology. Can’t catch anything from us.” The bard lets out a sigh and his shoulders drop in relief. “How did you get through the gate? Punched another guard, didn’t—”
“You are okay,” Geralt says, dumbly.
“I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Jaskier frowns. “Geralt, why did you come to Vizima in the middle of a plague? Not that I’m complaining about seeing you, but how exactly did you find me?”
Geralt doesn’t want to look away from Jaskier’s face—ideally for a long time to come, but he needs to rummage through his pack for the crumpled letters.
“You sent these to Essi last winter.”
Jaskier takes the letters, flattens the frayed edges before reading his own words.
“Yes, I did tell her…” Cold horror takes Jaskier aback. “Shit. She must think—Oh, Geralt, that wasn’t it! I only caught a stomach bug. It was never the pox! But then…they locked the city gate so fast and everything was in chaos for weeks. I couldn’t get more letters out. Oh, I wish I could take it back! I didn’t think—”
“You damn well didn’t.”
The words come out a lot harsher than Geralt intended, and Jaskier flinches back. Geralt pinches at the bridge of his nose, feeling contrite at his untimely outburst.
“No, Jask—I’m not…” he heaves out a sigh. “She didn’t even know if you were alive for months.”
Neither did I.
“I’m so sorry.” Jaskier is close to tears. “She must be worried sick.”
“She is.”
I was.
“And you too, Geralt. Please forgive me.” Jaskier’s chin wobbles, his arms hovering between the two of them as if he wants to put them around Geralt. “I want to ask you not to be cross with me again, but that seems to be all I do.”
“Jaskier…”
Geralt calls out when he finds not even an ounce of anger in his heart, not when he just spent weeks fearing the worst, not when Jaskier is standing right in front of him, safe and hale, his eyes flowing with guilt.
Jaskier might just be the death of him.
“Fuck. Just don’t pull this again.” Geralt softens his tone, knowing how unfair the request is when such things are out of Jaskier’s control, but the bard replies in earnest.
“I won’t. I swear.”
Exhaustion washes over the bard once again, making him look a lot older than he is. From the looks of it, Jaskier has been working in these camps for months and the last thing he needs is an unsupportive friend.
And Geralt doesn’t intend to become one.
“And you are dressed like this because?” Geralt nudges Jaskier in the shoulder to ease the apprehension on his face.
“Funny you should ask.” The bard presses his lips into a thin line before continuing. “I may have lied—nay, implied—that the seven degrees I acquired at Oxenfurt included…medicine. Hold on! Before you judge, I do know how to care for pox patients. I caught it as a child too and that’s why I’ve been fine this whole time.”
“Hmm. But you don’t have the—”
“The scars. No thanks to my grandmother’s secret healing salve that she insisted on keeping secret. It worked like a charm back then, almost like magic. We’ve been trying to replicate from whatever I remember. The mint is helping a little but something is still missing. Oh, well.” The bard rubs his fingers at the hem of his scrub. “Perhaps that explains all these crazy rumors about her heritage, with all her herbs and teas that always miraculously cured everybody. Honestly, I don’t even blame them.”
Geralt muses the possibility of Jaskier’s grandmother not being completely human and makes a silent decision to unpack it later.
“Then I guess your personal experience should come in handy if we are going to stay here for a while.”
“We? You are staying?”
“The exits are still closed.” Geralt tilts his head in nonchalance. “Might as well lend them a hand.”
And never take his eyes off of Jaskier again.
“That’s…wonderful, in a terrible, terrible way. Being trapped in the same place during a plague. Gods, that sounds like something out of the cheesiest romance novel.” Jaskier gasps as soon as the words are out. The smile on his face blossoms into a heated blush.
“Just promise me one thing, Jask.”
“What?” The cornflower blue eyes uncharacteristically avoid Geralt in a vain attempt to hide how flustered he is.
Don’t scare me like this again.
Don’t get taken from me.
Don’t leave me.
“Read less romance novels. Once this blows over,” Geralt answers, finally.
The fluttering in his chest returns, although this time for a completely different reason. The reason not being how adorable Jaskier looks embarrassed and rosy-cheeked.
No. Definitely not.
 *
“Little Simon asleep?”
Geralt asks as he stokes the fire, watching Jaskier struggle out of the sweat-soaked scrub and throw it into the laundry pile. The bard sits down next to him on the log with a groan and leans into his arm.
“As flattered as I am that he can’t fall asleep without my songs, it does get a bit taxing to sing every night while kneeling on the floor.”
“The kid is sick. Can’t blame him for having bad taste in music.”
The jab would have landed better if he isn’t wrapping his arm around Jaskier so that he can rest his head on Geralt’s shoulder. The days are too long even with most of the patients released home, and it’s been taking a toll on Jaskier.
“Cruel to me when I’m down, huh?”
Under Geralt’s palm, it’s unmistakable that Jaskier’s arm isn’t as thick as it once was, and he really doesn’t want to think about how the sharp of Jaskier’s jaw is becoming more prominent by the day.
Geralt rubs gently up and down Jaskier’s bicep to draw a contented purr out of him.
“Hmm. Now you’re forgiven.” Jaskier nuzzles into the crook of Geralt’s neck so his muscles loosen under the ministration. “It’s so unfair that a shift never wears you out like the rest of us, my dear. So unfair that you don’t need as much food too. I’d kill for some witcher superpowers these days.”
“Trust me, you won’t like what they cost.”
The late summer heat, mixed with the smell of sweat in Jaskier’s hair, should make it extremely uncomfortable to be sitting so close, but Geralt only finds it calming to have Jaskier sagging against him.
Jaskier’s thinning shoulder is too worrisome. Geralt will have to leave him most of the dinner rations again. Excuses are so easy to find, once Geralt realized that Jaskier never questions what he’s told about witcher biology, trusting every word from Geralt’s mouth. It’s just a little lie, a little exaggeration.
The bard is rubbing off on him.
“Simon is among the last ones here,” Jaskier says tiredly into Geralt’s neck. “It will soon be over. They are saying everyone can go in a month or so.”
“We can go even now.”
The prospect of traveling again stirs up something hopeful under Geralt’s skin, prickling with excitement, but he knows more patience is required for now.
“Nah, I should at least see little Simon home. You were right that the boy has suffered enough. The fever is terrible. Even I still have nightmares about it after so many years. It’s excruciating, almost like death is trying to mock you. One moment a fire burns through your whole body, the next it swallows you whole into this…nothingness, cold and alone.”
Geralt tightens his hold and breathes in the melancholic scent emanating from Jaskier’s skin.
“It was my grandmother, again. She sang the same lullaby to me every night, kept me sane. It’s helping little Simon too.”
“It’s in elvish,” Geralt murmurs absently when Jaskier is close to drifting off. The bard’s leveled breathing fans over the collar of Geralt’s neck.
“…hmm?”
“Nothing. Maybe for later.”
Geralt’s fingers reach the side of Jaskier’s head and thread between the soft brown locks, keeping his drooping head in place for the nap. When he looks down to where Jaskier casually drapes over half of his body, the two of them almost melding into one, Geralt is suddenly hit with how much their relationship has changed over the past few years, and at the same time, how it feels completely natural like puzzles fitting into place.
This newfound intimacy should scare Geralt, but strangely, it doesn’t. Maybe it’s because the witcher has learned long ago to treasure his bard as a companion and friend, to protect him and care for him, even without ever admitting it out loud.
Maybe he should.
And what would he even say? Geralt is equally elated and stumped at the thought of the two of them growing into something more. If the fluttering in his chest is a result of loving Jaskier, the bard deserves to know, and he deserves the best words.
Geralt scoffs softly when he realizes that he’d kill for something completely opposite. Not the strength of a witcher, but the silver tongue of a bard, the ability to weave the most beautiful prose to describe what Jaskier means to him.
The summer cicadas are singing with renewed vigor, the sizzling sound disrupting his train of thought. For now, Geralt will need to content himself in simply being with Jaskier.
And, perhaps, in pressing a tiny kiss into his soft brown hair as well. Under the night sky, only the stars will know.
--
I didn't know plague doctor Jaskier could be a thing until I started writing this chapter, and the ending just had to make way for it. Sorry that the chapter count has gone up. I promise hugs are cuddles are on the way!  <3
Tagging: @wanderlust-t @rockysstupidity @flowercrown-bard @alllthequeenshorses @mothmanismyuncle @percy-jackson-is-sexy- @constantlytiredpigeon @behonesthowsmysinging @birdsflyhome @dapandapod @artisanbaguette
Please feel free to tell me if you want to be removed or added to the list <3
88 notes · View notes
joyfulhopelox · 3 years
Text
Rosy Carnation
Tumblr media
Pairing: painter!Min Yoongi x skater!reader (non-idol! au)
Genre: fluff, tiny bit of angst
Warnings: some talk about social anxiety, Yoongi is a bit harsh in the beginning but rest is just pure fluff
Word count: 6k
rating: pg
Summary: There was nothing in this world that Yoongi hated more than busybodies. Unfortunately for him one particular ditzy skater decides to break the peace by crashing into his life and offering him a rosy carnation
Copyrights @joyfulhopelox for both the work and the banner (thank you @mochi-molala for giving me the artistic approval for this think you didn’t realise how much it helped)
This is part 3 of my Love Blossom series and quite unedited, i tried but some mistakes may have escaped my notice
As always please leave feedback and/or talk to me as i love to hear from you! Enjoy <3
There was nothing more peaceful than being able to sit by the river in the early hours of the morning. Every day without fail, Yoongi would take advantage of the sleeping city and set camp by the riverside situated just on the outskirts.
The place was far from being secluded, its location sign-posted by the popular park that housed it. But he knew that during those hours no one bothered to visit, everyone was busy with their office jobs. It wasn���t that he was unemployed, it just so happened that his job allowed him to work from wherever and at whatever time. In fact, the more scenic the location the better for him. As a painter he had the freedom to choose his office, and his most prefered location happened to be by the riverside. The stillness of the morning, the sun just about to peek out from under the city skyline and the sound of the birds conversing amongst each other relaxed him. And if there was one thing that permitted Yoongi to paint without restrictions, was the tranquility of everything around him.
His normal spot, under a beech tree, was rarely used, the pathway that passed by it not being used by the general population. Sometimes he would spot the occasional cyclist passing by on their way to work, sometimes he would hear the scraping of the skateboards doing tricks in the skate park located behind the wall of trees that surrounded him. But no one ever bothered him, or was bothered by him. And it suited him and his needs just fine.
Yoongi disliked it when his flow was interrupted. Luckily for him, it rarely happened. No one threw him more than a glance as no one found the scene to be out of place. Sometimes he would be pulled out of his thoughts by the yap of a dog that got too excited at the prospect of a new human. Other times he would be questioned by the curious child that has never seen a painter at work. Those did not inconvenience him, the innocence and sincerity of the interference was enough to not disturb him.
However, what he miscalculated that day was the early start of the fishing season. One bad trait of being a painter working under your own schedule was losing track of time. And so when that one morning he trudged along with his canvas and his tools to his sacred spot only to find it occupied by fishermen he almost had a panic attack. He forgot all about that, and so unprepared, he did not know what to do or where to relocate. Pausing for a couple of minutes, his eyes scrutinising the men sitting on the riverbank in complete stillness, he contemplated on setting up his stool next to them. But when one of them yelled in glee at having caught a fish, he decided he’d rather not. Fishermen needed to be still because of the nature of their activity, that did not mean they were quiet people overall.
Disappointed and a bit frazzled, Yoongi picked up his canvas from where he set it next to his foot and left the area to scout for a substitute.
After what felt like a good few minutes of walking in circles, he found himself passing by a small public garden right in the middle of the greenery encompassing the riverside. He inspected it quietly, his eyes taking in the flower arrangements and the neatly cut grass. Has that always been there? Probably, it is not like he ventured out of his safe spot. But now, when forced to he realised that maybe there were other places where he could sit and paint in peace. Determinately, he walked into the small gated garden familiarising himself with the layout. There were some benches strewn across the space, all of them framed by vibrant rose bushes, some young oak trees judging by their height but what caught his eye most importantly was the small gazebo tucked away at the back of the garden gated by rows of variously coloured carnations. He decided that it would be the perfect spot, it would have to do for now. Not like he had any other choice. The morning was almost gone, the heat of the midday sun bleeding its way into the breeze. Soon the park will get busier and busier.
Dumping his belongings on the ground he sets off to unpack everything so he could get started. He felt strangely excited about this new spot he had found. Somehow, the novelty of the environment has given him the inspiration that he needed for today’s session. He normally shied away from new experiences, new people and most importantly unexpected circumstances, but this circumstance was more than welcome.
As he sat on his stool, paint brush in hand, the blank canvas staring at him, daring him to fill it with his vision he bit his lip. Suddenly so many ideas zoomed through his mind that he had a hard time deciphering which one sounded the best.
However, none of them made it on the actual canvas.
A skateboard zoomed straight past his feet,out of control, knocking into his carefully placed tools; acrylics and brushes scattered all over the ground in various corners of the gazebo. An exasperated yell and some harsh pants followed said abomination. Yoongi, who was too stunned to even form a sentence or comprehend what was happening around him, stared as you ran towards him at full speed.
“I’m so sorry, sorry sorry sorry” you repeated zooming towards him at breakneck speed. Still in shock Yoongi still couldn’t process what was happening around him. You were going to barrel straight into him but all he could do was blink, his brain still trying to catch up with the situation. One moment you were running towards the skateboard and the next moment found you laying sprawled at his feet.
“Ouch” Yoongi blinked once, twice, three times, and reality finally caught up with him.
He stared at the mess around him. His canvas was lying on the ground a few good feet away from him, its white clean surface now completely smudged with dirt and his acrylics and brushes were all scattered at his feet. The sight of his paints not only disorganised in such a fashion but also crushed and spilled all over the ground caused his stomach to drop. They were not the cheapest and they were also the only ones he had left. It was clear there was nothing to salvage, he had to go once more to the art store and buy more.
“Ohmygod i am so sorry!” The frantic voice was loud enough to make Yoongi wince.
You were not having a good day, and it showed. You started the morning by burning your toast. Then you forgot to grab your keys, which resulted in you having to beg your landlord for the spare in the early hours of the morning. To say they were not pleased was an understatement. You spilled coffee on your white top on your way to the park. And to top it all off you ended up hurtling towards an extremely handsome man.
You decided in the morning that you would try to learn that late kickflip your friends have been trying to teach you, but as a new skater you decided to practice in the garden just off the side of the skate park. One foot placement went wrong and your skate ran from under your feet flying towards the unsuspecting victim.
Luckily it did not hit him, however it scattered all of his belongings all over the dirty ground. It felt as if you were watching all of that happen in slow motion, when in reality it probably only took you a second to react. Trying to help and get a hold of your skate, you rushed to catch it in time before it disappeared into the row of carnations. But you miscalculated entirely the distance between you and the stranger, his foot halting your run.
And that is how you ended up there, on the floor, at his feet, covered in his paints.
You sprung up as fast as you could ignoring the tingling in your leg and started apologising profusely. However, the harshness at which you crashed on the floor combined with the speed at which you got up were a fatal combination. The blood rushed to your feet quicker than you could process and your knees gave out from under you. In an attempt to not crash onto the floor again you grabbed onto the closest stable object you could. Only, it happened to not be an object but a person. So with a clammy hand you latched onto the man in front of you.
Yoongi did not know what to do. You had grabbed onto him with such conviction that his brain malfunctioned. He hated to be touched, especially by strangers. And so when the fight or flight instinct kicked in he shrugged you off violently causing you to crumple on the floor once again.
“Ouch.” Your butt hurt and you wanted to be annoyed at him, but when you looked up to let your feelings known and your eyes locked onto his panicked ones, you paused. He looked ready to run off on you. “I- uh, am sorry” You tried once more to get up, this time as slowly as you could. You knew there would be a bruise later but it was not something you were unfamiliar with.
Yoongi did not respond to you. He couldn’t, his brain was still ready to shut down. He normally ran away from any human interaction, the nature of his job enough to facilitate such behaviour. Being faced with it and in such an unexpected way caused his anxiety to be at an all time high. And so he did what he normally does best; he retreated within himself completely ignoring your apology.
Silently he stepped away from you and crouched down to start picking up his belongings. With an anguished sigh he took in the mess that his acrylics had become. It was going to cost him a lot to be able to replace them but what other choice did he have?
Taking his silence as a sign of anger, you panicked. If there was one thing you could not stand was to see someone angry. Especially when it was directed at you. In an attempt to amend yourself to him you crouched down next to him and started picking up his stuff. “I am really sorry. I didn't mean to. It was just a new trick that i wanted to learn, and i am a newbie at all this and so i was scared to go to the skate park and try them. And I am a clutz and I knew this was going to happen at some point! The day has already started on such a bad note-”
You knew you were rambling, you were nervous. But Yoongi did not care about that. He just wanted you gone. He wanted his peace back, he wanted to get his work done and retreat back to his home and most importantly, he wanted you to get your hands off of his possessions.
Without looking at you, he harshly grabbed for the brushes that you had gathered in your hand. “Leave” he surprised himself at how resolute he managed to sound despite the slight waver in his voice.
“Are you angry? Oh my god you are! I am so sorry again, let me make it up to you! I really did not mean to destroy your work!” you get up once more rushing towards the canvas that lay a few feet away from the two of you. Picking it up you stare at the blank piece of material.
“Oh, are you an artist?” you turn to him, your eyes sparkling with excitement. Completely forgetting the incident from earlier you giddily walk over, the canvas extended towards him.
Yoongi could not believe his eyes, your brash behaviour in front of a complete stranger that has made it clear he wanted nothing to do with you was baffling to him. He contemplated for a second the thought of you being deaf, but then no because you had clearly heard him the first time. His anxiety quickly morphed into annoyance, if you weren’t going to leave he decided he would.
Taking a hold of the canvas you were handing over to him he pulled it out of your hands and stuffed it under his arm. Crouching down again he hurriedly stuffs his brushes and acrylics in his bag. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could before you had the chance to touch any of his belongings again.
“Hey, i-uh. Please don’t be angry. I really am sorry. Look you don’t have to leave, i will go” Yoongi paused, his hand hovering above his palette. Chancing a glance at you, his eyes widened a fraction. You looked completely frazzled. Not even looking at him, your eyes focused on your fretting hands. He could just about see a snippet of your face and the way your bottom lip was trembling slightly made his anger melt a little. Maybe he has been a bit too harsh on you.
“Yes” he offers offhandedly whilst placing his canvas back to where it was before.
At his change in tone your head snaps up and you gape at him. “What?” you breathe out in surprise. His soft but deep voice took you by surprise. It was extremely smooth and you had not expected it to come out of his mouth.
He did not offer you anything else, leaving you gawking at him, watching as he set up his canvas onto the easel. You were silent for a couple of minutes trying to understand what he had meant when it finally hit you.
“Ah! You are an artist! That is amazing, what type of paintings do you do? Is it nature?” you clapped your hands excitedly. “Of course it is nature Y/N, he is in the middle of the gazebo how dumb can you be” you muttered to yourself whilst shaking your head.
Yoongi glanced at you from his periphery. He wasn’t feeling as threatened by your presence as he had before, but that did not mean he was comfortable with you being there. He observed you for a couple of seconds watching as you muttered to yourself for the time being. He took it as a chance to set his palette down and tried to squeeze whatever was left of his acrylics onto it.
You realised a bit too late that you had started daydreaming whilst muttering to yourself and so with rosy cheeks you mutter another apology.
“You apologise too much.” Yoongi did not know where his courage had come from but he couldn’t stop the words spilling from his mouth. “I asked you to leave.” His harsh words caused you to flinch, but your eagerness to see him paint rooted you on the spot.
“Is-uh,” you took a deep breath in trying to calm your beating heart, “is it ok if i stay here and watch you?” You cringed at how voyeuristic that sounded. But you had to admit to yourself, the honey haired guy, with soft plump cheeks and pouty lips has caught your interest and you were not ready to part with him just yet.
Yoongi didn’t respond, he’s made it clear he wanted you gone, but he finally understood that the clumsy human that managed to wreck his set up was a stubborn one. He chose instead to ignore your presence and settle on his painting, giving you unspoken permission to do as you pleased.
Catching onto the meaning of his silence you beamed and sat yourself down.
Trying your hardest to be silent you bit your lip. You knew he wouldn’t appreciate you disturbing him any longer. Soon enough, you slipped into a daydream your eyes focused on the flowers behind the hunched form of the intriguing artist.
Yoongi sighed in satisfaction, his painting was finally finished. He had opted to use greens this time, the nature around him inspiring the concept behind this. However, he could not help but add the dots of red here and there, its fiery tumultuous colour breaking the tranquility of the greens. Just like you had thundered into his life just earlier.
“Woah” broken out of the daydream by the sound of his sigh, your eyes focused on the painting before you. You knew you were easily impressed but this painting was stunning. “That is so cool” you whispered in awe.
Yoongi blushed, he had been complimented a lot on his work, but there was something about the sincerity shining through your statement that frazzled him. He nodded in acknowledgment. He had enough knowledge to be aware that he needed to thank you for the compliment.
“Oh!” you sprung up suddenly the transition making him jump. “I am late!” You quickly picked up your skateboard. “Ah,” stopping mid run you turn back. Rushing to the bushes of carnations you pick one up. With confident stride you head back.
Yoongi watched you, once again his mind completely discombobulated by your abruptness. When you halt in front of him and push the flower into his hands he doesn’t know how to react. Instead he just sits there waiting for your next move, his mind once again preparing him to flee.
“It was nice meeting you….uh?” You realised you did not ask for his name, so as you urge the flower into his grasp you wait patiently for him to offer it to you. When after a minute of silence he doesn’t you try again. “What is your name?”
Tumblr media
“So can you like...teach me how to paint?” you eyes brightened at the thought.
“What?” Yoongi sputtered. A week has passed since the first time you decided to literally crash into his life. A week of your mindless chatter. Even so, he had tried his best to ignore you and your childish view of the world. He was ignoring you, but it was not like he couldn’t hear you.
He was not expecting that request, and yet, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him. Your randomness and innocence has been taking his breath away from the moment he saw you. You were all over the place, clumsy and random. He did not want to sit and ponder at that thought, feeling the shiver of anxiety creep back in. Schooling his expression to a neutral one he shook his head and went back to his canvas.
“No” the harsh tone of his voice made you flinch.
Not noticing the effect his words had on you he carried on, “You’d do a very poor job of it, and it hurts to think you’d waste all this material for some doodles.” Not giving you a chance to respond he sighed and put his brush down. “Finally finished.” He sat and observed his work for a couple of moments. He was satisfied, it was not his best work but he liked the outcome. The blue colour scheme gave him a sense of peace.
Realising the silence had gone on too long he turned around to face you. You were unnaturally quiet, your face scrunched up as if in deep thought. He would have thought you’d gone into one of your daydreams if not for the shiny gloss in your eyes. He could not understand why his heart did that flip, or why his mouth formed into a frown mirroring your own. Had he said something wrong? Mulling over his words he decided that maybe his tone was too harsh but you spoke up before he could try to remedy it.
“Ah, i see, you are right” you sniffed trying to mask the tears in your voice. “I am quite clumsy, there is no way i can make something as beautiful as this.” You gesture to his work, the canvas a swirl of blues, it reminded you of the ocean. You did not know why his words stung, it’s not like he didn’t have a point. You were probably incapable of creating something like that. Stick figures were all you could draw, and even those tended to be lopsided.
Yoongi’s heart clenched. “Uhh-” he did not know what to say, it wasn’t as if he could take it back. He did not want to take it back, he wasn’t a liar. But maybe he could have turned you down a bit softer than he has. He may have been awkward in social situations and missed a lot of cues, but the tears gathered in your eyes were hard to miss. Even he could sense the sadness that overpowered the atmosphere.
“It’s ok, i need to, uh go. I’ll see you next time. Here” you quickly drop something next to his brushes and without a second thought you turn away from him and leave as quickly as you’d arrived.
With your back turned towards him, your feet taking you further and further away you could finally release the sob that has been threatening to surface.His words hurt. But you were well aware it was not the words that caused the tear in your heart. It was the unfeeling and harsh way he threw them at you. You contemplated whether or not you should chance a glance behind you, but decided against it. You did not think you could stand the sight of him stepping on the last bit of dignity you had. A rosy carnation.
Tumblr media
Yoongi knew he usually missed a lot of social cues. For example when the curator asked him out for a coffee and he told them he stopped drinking caffeine because it caused insomnia. Or when the gallery director had wanted to shake his hand in greeting and he simply just stared at it. It wasn’t as if he was unfamiliar with them, it was just that it took him a lot longer to process these cues than the average human being.
When you’d left him the carnation he simply threw a glance at it but did not give it a second thought as he carried on painting. He almost left it there when he packed up his tools- almost stepping on it. He saw it just in time, the rosy colour attracting his attention. He bent down and picked it up gently; the flower was almost wilted from the heat. Prepared to throw it away he thought of you and stopped. The sight of your flushed cheeks, your distressed eyes and the gleam of your tears weighing heavily on his mind. With a sigh he cradled the flower in his palm, he would put it in between the pages of a book and press it dry.
Tumblr media
Yoongi had no clue why he kept visiting the gazebo to work on his paintings. His previous spot so rarely visited that he’s almost forgotten where it was. He tried to convince himself it was because fishing season has not ended and so he would have been bothered by the men setting up around him. He tried not to think of the fact that the thought of not having your voice there, or the noises of the skateboard you practiced with caused him distress. He told himself it was because after a month of having you there with him, you became part of his routine. Like the background noise of a radio in the morning.
He could not pinpoint when your mindless chatter and pleas to ask him to teach you how to paint had become comforting to him. Even at home when he would try to read, he would pick up a book and open it only to come across a rosy carnation drying in between its pages.
You had made it a habit to leave him a flower every time you came to see him. He did not ponder too long as to why, but he’s kept them all. He did not want to ponder too long on that thought either. So he ignored it, but deep down he knew why.
Your eagerness, your clumsiness, your childish view of the world were enough to melt the wall he has built around himself. Somehow, you chipped at that wall with determination just like you did on the first day you met. Ungraceful and uncoordinated.
He knew you’d wormed your way into his soul and just like the flowers he kept pressing for safekeeping, he’s ingrained the memory of you into his brain.
When you’d started to ask more personal questions he found himself answering without a second thought.
“So, uh, have you always wanted to be a painter?” You were sat next to him tinkering with the wheels of your skateboard, from time to time getting distracted at the way his long fingers were clutching the brush. You blushed, thankful he was distracted by his work.
“No,” Yoongi paused to bend down and pick his palette and you thought that was the extent of the information he was willing to provide. “My parents wanted me to be a lawyer.” With a new colour on his brush he squinted focusing on getting the lines just right, the tip of his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.
The silence that ensued settled heavily around the two of you. “Oh,” your voice did not sound too surprised. Yoongi glanced at you, you were gazing at him with such understanding that he found it hard to tear his gaze away. “Are they happy you chose to do what you love instead?” You carried on, trying out your luck.
Yoongi looked away from you, he couldn’t say what he wanted to say whilst your eyes were digging deep into his soul. “I wouldn’t know.” He shrugged as if to make a point. “I left home to move here and haven’t spoken to them since.”
The words, heavy as lead, echoed in your brain. But they were not unfamiliar. “I am sure they would want to talk to you. My parents died when i was young and i was raised by my grandparents.” Your voice sounded casual, but the slight change of tone made Yoongi raise his eyes to look at you. You were smiling at him, your face not giving away any of the pain you were feeling inside.
Yoongi may have been socially anxious, but he was observant, he couldn’t help it, it was the nature of his job. His eyes picked up on the way your chin trembled and his ears caught the slight waver in your voice. He didn’t know how it happened until he felt the corners of his mouth raising up. And with an uncertain smile in your direction, he managed to erase the sadness that clouded over your face.
“Pick up that brush” his tone softer than you have ever heard it.
“Huh?” You didn’t know where the change in tone had come from, but it managed to take you by surprise.
“Pick up the brush,” he repeated his head nodding in the direction of said tools. “And come here.” He stood up from his stool gently grabbing your wrist and pulling you up. The contact of his cold hands on your warm ones made you shiver, but in the heat of the summer it felt comforting. You savoured the way his gentle hands pulled you into the chair and handed you the brush he had been holding. Softly he guided your hand onto the canvas and your breath stopped.
His hands, the hands you had been observing ever since you met him, were smooth. His long slender fingers imprinting themselves onto the back of your hand. You couldn’t tear your gaze away from the way the pale skin of his slender wrist peeked from under the long sleeve he was wearing. The skin on the inside of his wrist almost translucent enough to allow his veins to show.
“Like this” he steered the brush onto the canvas, his voice so close to your ear it made you your heart skip a beat. When the bristles made contact with the material of the canvas leaving the mark of the acrylic on it, you knew. Just like the doodle he’s made, his mark on your heart would be permanent.
Tumblr media
Yoongi didn’t know when he started craving your touch. It just happened. He carried on giving you lessons, finding it ironic how adamant he was at the beginning to refuse you. Little by little he started looking forward to his morning ritual of setting up in the garden, your clumsy self stumbling in the gazebo just as he was about to set his easel down. He would not even sit himself first, he would grab your hand allowing himself to revel in the way your smaller rough hand would fit into his larger one and sit you on the stool. Handing you the brushes he would sit next to your skateboard and watch as you tried to create something on the canvas, your brows furrowed in concentration.
How ironic that you would switch places. He would sit for a couple of hours watching your uncertain movements and listen to the small sounds of glee when you’d manage to get the brush to do what you wanted it to. His heart would pound in his chest when your tongue would flit across your lips subconsciously and the small smile gracing his lips would be a permanent fixture on his face. He did not care that he hasn’t painted in a few weeks. He was more than satisfied watching you.
When your painting session would end you’d end up talking for hours under the shade of the gazebo, the smell of flowers wafting all around you.
And you would always leave with lighter hears and the crinkle of a smile indented in the corner of your eyes and him with a rosy carnation cradled to his chest waiting to join the rest of the others.
Tumblr media
When one morning you didn’t arrive at your usual time under the gazebo Yoongi noticed. He decided to wait for you for hours, but when the sun bled under the city skyline and the night settled in he decided it was time to go home. With a heavy heart and an empty hand he returned home hoping that the next day you would arrive and tell him about your day.
But one day turned into two, which turned into a week, which then turned into two- and before he knew it a whole month had passed.
In the beginning Yoongi would wait for you patiently, hoping that he would hear your yelps or even your greeting from afar. When that did not happen, he decided he would use that time to continue painting, maybe you’d arrive halfway through and ask him about it. When that didn’t happen either he noticed that instead of a smile on his face he now wore a frown.
After a whole month of not seeing you he became numb to the feeling. He decided that he would not let his mind ponder too much on your absence. But he could not completely block the way his thoughts would return back to you, and he could not help the wistful gaze he would throw the carnations around the gazebo.
As the months of summer wilted into the chill of autumn, the day he decided to stop waiting for you was the day you once again stumbled into him.
Running as fast as your leg permitted you halted a meter away from him, your breath coming out in harsh pants. Yoongi faltered, the grasp he had on his brush slackening, the tool clattering to the ground. He didn’t say anything, he couldn’t. Instead his eyes took in the way your form trembled with exhaustion, stopping at the wrapped up parcel you had under your arm.
“I am so so so sorry” you rasped, the effort causing you to cough. Looking up at him, your gaze met his dark one. He did not look upset, or even disinterested. He looked concerned, then you realised the state you came to see him in.
Yoongi took notice immediately at the lack of skateboard, this time replaced by a crutch. The way you were favouring one leg over the other concerned him. Had you been in an accident?
“I am so sorry,” you repeated, taking him back to the first moment he’s met you. Your clumsy self apologising incessantly and rambling in nervousness. “I fell one day whilst on the way here, and i broke my leg. I did not mean to stop showing up i promise! I had wanted to come see you as soon as i left the doctor’s office but the injury was worse than i could have suspected and- and” your voice wavered, trembling in exhaustion, still not having caught your breath.
Yoongi got up without a word, his silent form approaching yours. When only a few inches were left between the two of you he places both of his hands on your shoulders halting your apology. Looking up at him your gaze softens, his eyes were glossy but his mouth curled up in a smile.
“You’re ok” he repeated over and over as if to reassure himself. Your eyes now mirroring his own watery ones you nod.
In a flash he hugs you tightly, your crutch clattering to the ground and the parcel under the other arm making a dull thud as it hit the dirty floor. You gasped in surprise, your arms not knowing where to settle themselves. After a couple of seconds your brain catches up and relaxes and you melt into his hug. Despite his hands being always cold, his hug is warm and inviting.
You think back to the first time you met, how his cold words told you to leave him be. The drastic change in his attitude and demeanour make you smile softly. You burrowed your head in his shoulder inhaling his scent. He smelt of oils and acetone with an undertone of something floral, and you gasp. Carnations.
As if remembering something important you pulled yourself away from his touch, the cold autumn air making you shiver at the loss of contact.
Yoongi is confused for a moment, his eyes widening in panic. Has he made the wrong move? Has he read your intentions wrong? His heart clenches at the thought of you not returning the feelings that bloomed in his chest. But when you offer him a reassuring smile and bend down, grabbing onto his arm for support his emotions settle.
“This is for you” your hands were shaking. Handing over the mysterious parcel, you waited patiently for him to take it.
He glances at it uncertainly, but when you push it towards him his hand wraps around it. With as much skill as he could he opened it with one hand. Tearing the paper away he gasped. The corner of a canvas is sticking through the whole.
Looking at you in surprise your nervous eyes urge him to carry on. So he does.
The paper now completely teared open, his eyes settle onto a familiar flower painted onto the canvas. A carnation.
You watched him open your gift. You had tried your hardest during the time you were stuck at home with a cast on to practice and after weeks of painful frustrated tears, you’d finally managed to get it right. You had wanted to convey your feelings in a way that he would understand without feeling the pressure to conform to societal norms. To show him how much his effort to accommodate you and include you in his secluded life meant to you.
“Did you know,” you were whispering, “that rosy carnations mean admiration?”
Yoongi finally got it, realisation dawning over his features. He looked up at you, overwhelmed by the emotions flooding his chest. You were still smiling at him a tear now running down your cheek. “I wanted to convey my admiration for you in a way that would be permanent.” The hand on his arm tightened as if you make a point. “So i tried my best to do that.”
Yoongi smiled, not the uncertain smile you were used to, a full smile, the gums of his teeth showing, his features softening.
“A painting is not eternal, but with the artist the painting it over and over again it can be.” His free hand cups your cheek gently. “So stay with me.”
Main Masterlist
118 notes · View notes
thetriggeredhappy · 3 years
Note
can I request sniper and scout planning a little secret symbolic wedding for themselves? its just self indulgent, since they wanna have this connection so they do a tiny intimate thing for the two of them but then all the two teams show up, ms pauling, sniper's parents and scout's family to celebrate too, and they all have a happy day
i dunno if this one will be coherent or and i dont have a joke for ya so thats where we’re at today
(no warnings)
-
He notices Scout looking at things just a little longer. Scout was a man of motion, of emotion, of elation, so seeing him pause, ever, for any length of time, was enough to pique Sniper’s interest. It had to be a big deal, of Scout was looking at it, and he prided himself on being observant.
So seeing the things he paused in front of—jewelry stores, boutiques, flower shops, at first it confused him, but then he saw what Scout was looking at in them. The flower shops had pretty arrangements right in front, labeled vaguely in some with phrases like ‘arrangements for your special day!’ and less vaguely in others as ‘wedding arrangements available’. The boutiques often with white dresses towards the front, and pictures of smiling couples nearby.
Little cards in the display of the jewelry store window proclaiming ‘engagement rings’.
It didn’t take long to piece together.
A number of issues were present. The concept of legal marriage alone was a big one. First because they were two men, one of whom was shaky in terms of immigration and two of whom were shaky in terms of being legally defined as criminals of the highest degree, potentially legally dead in some ways, and certainly smart enough to not walk into a courthouse. Besides that, the paperwork involved, the idea of getting either of their families around when Scout’s family was constantly on the wind in at least one corner and his own hardly on speaking terms with him, the heartbreak—
But Scout paused when he looked at the engagement rings.
Sniper was increasingly exasperated and helpless against the little voice in his head that seemed to watch out for Scout’s well-being, that said, well, couldn’t he at least try and figure something else out?
So it took some thinking. Some rehearsing his words in his own head. Some justifications being made, torn down, analyzed and readdressed with a clearer mind. And he came to a decision.
And when he next got the chance, he called his mum and had a talk with her about a lot of things, so many of them at least a decade and a half in the making. And she didn’t understand, not at all, not on that first phone call, not on the second. But on the third she took care to assure him that she would try, she really would, she really would, and finally gave him permission to use the old family heirloom engagement ring.
And it was subtle and sudden when Sniper proposed. Scout was sat on the steps of the camper, using Sniper’s pocket knife to pick mud out of the soles of his shoes, and Sniper took a seat next to him, plonked a pair of bottles between them. Scout leaned over to bump their shoulders together, grinning at him, and Sniper smiled too, started drinking his own.
Out clear on the horizon line, most of the clouds hadn’t quite blown far enough to obscure the sun. It would be setting soon, and then Scout would be off to eat with the rest of the team and Sniper would get to his own routine. It was a nice night, though.
Finally Scout flicked the knife closed, tucked it into his pocket best he could, reached for the bottle still sitting next to him, popped it and started drinking before it could foam over (he didn’t know how it always did that, he just had awful luck, apparently).
Sniper finished his own drink before Scout could get very far into his own. Stared out across the desert.
“You good?” Scout finally asked, picking idly at the label. “You seem, uh... I dunno. Sad, maybe. One’a those?”
“No, er... just...” Sniper tried, cleared his throat. Now Scout’s eyebrows were raised. “Nervous, is all.”
“Oh, one’a those,” Scout said, and frowned when Sniper shook his head again, drawing a hand down his face, taking a deep breath. “Is... is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Sniper nodded, took another deep breath. “Yeah. Just...”
He paused for a long few moments. Reached to fish through the pocket of his vest, held his closed fist out to Scout. Scout freed up a hand to hold a hand out, palm-up, still frowning, and pulled it back to look at the item Sniper had dropped in his palm.
Blinked. Blinked. Sniper gulped, wishing he had a drink still, something to help with how dry his mouth had gone all of a sudden, watching Scout’s expression carefully.
“Oh,” Scout whispered. Barked a laugh, like shock more than humor, the volume abrupt. “Oh.”
Sniper gulped hard again, looked away, looked back. Scout’s expression didn’t change in the time he wasn’t watching it. “You seem, er... surprised,” Sniper said carefully.
“Well, yeah, duh, yeah, I didn’t—“ Scout said all in a stumbling rush, and took a breath, and seemed to hold it. His eyes hadn’t moved from the ring since he first saw it. He blinked a few times, barked that laugh again. “I didn’t think you’d want...”
“I do,” Sniper said, voice tight, and Scout looked up at him for the first time in a while, and his eyes widened in even more surprise.
“Oh, shit,” he said quickly, seeming to finally register the nervousness, the fear, the worry, and he surged forward, hands on Sniper’s shoulders, one wrapped in half a fist around the ring. “I, yeah, yes, I, yes to the—yes! I’m—“
And then he kissed Sniper, hard, almost bruising, and it didn’t get particularly far before it was broken by another huff of air against Sniper’s lips, and when he pulled back Scout’s grin was a little weak.
“Just never thought you’d ask me, not in a million years,” he admitted.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to cry,” Sniper teased, entire body awash with a sense of relief.
“Oh, fuck off, you’re the one with the watery eyes here,” Scout scoffed, and kissed him again.
And they both made sure to note that they knew there were more conversations to be had, but those could wait until both of them had a clearer head again, which took damn near a week and a half, both so much more giddy than they’d expected to be, then another week when Sniper next saw the ring, hung on a little chain usually tucked beneath Scout’s shirt, worn around his neck apparently since the day he got it.
He liked the word fiancée more than he’d expected to, and he’d expected to like it a lot, and even then, Scout seemed to like it even more.
And Scout admitted half his surprise up front had been because he himself had no real idea how this was going to work, it was just that the idea of being married made him really really happy. He liked weddings, loved weddings, loved the idea of... of settling into something. That really, marriage was the only kind of settling down that he’d ever liked the idea of. And even if it was just... just something quiet, just the two of them, that was fine by him.
And Sniper had nodded, and there had been a pause, but then suddenly Scout spoke up again with a ‘but, I mean, my Ma is always going on about wanting to see me get married, so I kinda have to invite her to whatever we do’.
That was a good start for the plans they had. No particular pressure on it, really, considering they decided not to tell anyone at first. Sniper started trying to figure out where might be a good place to hold... something, maybe not a whole ceremony, but something. Scout started trying to figure out where to get a suit, and where Sniper could get his own tailored, but they weren’t in a rush, and a few months passed without making much progress at all, nothing even feeling like it had changed except that now Sniper would catch Scout fidgeting with the chain he kept the ring on and grinning.
The first real change came when someone else noticed too.
Pyro, stood in-between matches and pointing at the chain around Scout’s neck as he switched into a less charred shirt and mumbling a question, made Scout stammer. Scout stammering made most of the team turn to look. Then more of them saw the chain there, saw the ring there, and some of the more perceptive ones pieced together a few things rather quickly. It was Demo who first said something, outright asking ‘is that an engagement ring?’.
A beat of silence where all were frozen, then the voice over the intercom rang out telling them they had ten seconds until battle, and Scout was off like a shot towards the gate.
In his absence, eyes turned to Sniper instead, who proved to be even less helpful in that he stuttered his way through all ten of those seconds and the team had no choice but to follow Scout’s lead and leave it for later.
Sniper was hoping that he’d be able to escape the team’s questions after battle if he could make it through the Resupply room before everyone else did. But he realized very quickly that would also mean throwing Scout to the proverbial wolves, and besides that, he couldn’t run from this forever. So instead he kicked around the Resupply for a few minutes waiting for the team to come back from chasing down the other team in the humiliation round, and wasn’t entirely surprised when Scout was one of the first back, expression tight with nerves up until the exact moment that Demo and Soldier came wandering in, elbowing at each other and chatting at well above speaking volume.
Neither of them, apparently, had much to say, besides Demo clapping Sniper hard on the shoulder and proclaiming that it took them long enough, and Soldier brushing off their ‘fraternizing nonsense’ in favor of continuing his argument with Demo. Pyro was in the room next, talking and gesturing enthusiastically, and while Scout was trying to translate to Sniper the Engineer came in and shoo’d Pyro along, telling them to mind their business, albiet with what Sniper would almost refer to as a proud smile aimed in Scout’s direction. Medic and Heavy were in the room next, and all that Heavy seemed to be confused about was the legality surrounding marriage between anyone besides a man and a woman in the United States, with Medic attempting to explain but also largely clueless to the actual logistics of the thing. Spy only stuck around long enough to quip that it was a little ridiculous for any of them to worry about legality of all things, which Sniper wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret.
Demo, across the room, in the middle of trying to unstick his jacket from himself with all the mud coating one side of it, quipped that he’d better be invited, and asked what he had to do to get the best man position. From there, a series of what Sniper interpreted as mostly jokes followed, the team chiming in about their attendance, including a number of them laughing that they weren’t exactly allowed in any churches and Pyro insisting that they wanted to be the one throwing the flowers (and no they would not in fact set any on fire) and Heavy saying that if they couldn’t find a good glass to stomp on then Medic had plenty of spare beakers that he wasn’t using for anything, much to the doctor’s protest.
This became the team running joke for a while, was everyone constantly bringing up the wedding. When Spy stomped into the room fuming because of another perfectly good shirt ruined by the base’s washing machine, the Engineer quipped that oh no, what would he wear to the wedding now? When Soldier got into an argument with Pyro, Demo referred to it as a spat between groomsmen. When Sniper was acting particularly cranky one day (not his fault, the base’s coffee machine was awful and they really needed to replace it one of these days), Spy muttered into his tea that it was a shame Scout had to put up with such a bridezilla, a joke Medic chortled about well into the afternoon.
It might have gotten out of hand around the time that poor Pauling had to hear about it, just trying her best to oversee delivering a set of brand new weapons and explaining their assorted bells and whistles, accosted through her entire explanation by jokes that this was a bit extravagant for a wedding gift, that hopefully she’d at least get time off to attend the reception, that competition for maid of honor wasn’t exactly steep but she’d probably be winning anyways, until finally she snapped that if Sniper and Scout were actually going to get married then they needed to note that on their upcoming contract renewals but to otherwise stop talking to her about it so damn much.
This, Scout said, is when he started feeling bad for not talking to his Ma about it yet. Miss Pauling knowing he was getting married before his own mother felt wrong, he said, and so he spent the afternoon steeling himself to make the phone call.
From the combination of relief and vague dismay on Scout’s face when he came back, Sniper could tell something was up, and it was with a number of pauses in the middle of speaking that Scout explained that he’d barely gotten through the news before Ma had started calling over various brothers to tell them the news too, each taking a turn on the phone to get halfway through some kind of third degree that they needed to pass along to Sniper before actually congratulating him, each asking when they’d need to get down there for the wedding in turn. Apparently he’d accidentally called when some of his brothers were over for dinner, and so he explained to Sniper that word was as good as out, because as much as he loved his brothers, not a single one of them could keep their mouths shut to each other.
And so they both sat down with a calendar and had to pick an actual date for a wedding.
Altogether, the date they picked was a little over a year since Sniper proposed, which felt appropriate, and only a few months from then, just long enough for Scout’s brothers to get time off of work. They decided against a whole entire proper ceremony with a priest and vows and all, mostly because legality being an issue, they didn’t have much a reason to stick to tradition. A few things would end up sticking, though. They’d have seating, because Sniper’s mum wasn’t up for standing around for long periods of time anymore and one of Scout’s brothers had that bad leg and cane from his time in the army. They’d dress up for it, because Scout was truly looking forward to that part, to looking nice on the actual day. Vows weren’t necessarily going to be on-script, but they’d both take a moment to say something to each other, and there would be a kiss, and then they’d have a bit of time set aside for if either of their families brought up any traditions they truly wanted to do. And, of course, there’d be some kind of party afterwards, because they both knew that the team would make there be a party afterwards either way.
What they didn’t expect was how quickly the team jumped to help as soon as they mentioned they’d set an actual date in stone to some degree. The Engineer was quick to offer to help with setting up chairs and tables, carting things around if they needed it, having a truck and all. Soldier was happy to offer suggestions for if they wanted catering, having eaten at and subsequently been banned from every eatery in the county, and Pyro started baking at an until then unprecedented clip as they tried to find the exact right recipe for a good wedding cake because they had to have a wedding cake and it had to be perfect. Heavy, to his credit, pointed out a few logistical issues with having the wedding, namely that it couldn’t be anywhere on the base and that they weren’t allowed in the town of Teufort, and Demo was so kind as to offer up his own house and property, given that it had so much space and he knew his mother wouldn’t mind it and besides that, it was a very pretty place.
And then Spy found in the mail the magazines Sniper was looking through when trying to pick out something suit-adjacent, and he could tell Spy was gearing up to really lay into him about it before Sniper pointed out that Spy should really just stop snooping through other people’s mail, and by the next day he found a pair of order forms in his camper on the table, almost entirely filled out except for a few of the fields regarding things like the color of the suits and payment information.
And then he and Scout were trying on suits, and figuring out which hotels were close enough for Scout and Sniper’s families to stay in, and looking at flowers, and figuring out how many days they should schedule off of work and whether the team would be doing the same—
—and then it was the week before, and one night Sniper found himself standing in the camper with Scout, late at night, half-exhausted and stressed out and more terrified than he’d expected to be, arms tight around Scout’s waist. And Scout held on just as tight, and inhaled, and exhaled, shifting with that breath in Sniper’s grip. And Sniper found himself breathing out apologies, so quiet they didn’t quite catch against the grit in his voice, for causing such a fuss about all this, for things getting so out of hand. And Scout had laughed, had squeezed him tight in arms usually used for hurting people to instead give him so much comfort in that moment, and said that he wouldn’t want it any other way. Anything else and it wouldn’t exactly feel like them.
And the two days before the wedding stretched out infinitely, a mix of terror and impatience lacing his every move, and then the day of the wedding itself felt like it took no time at all.
The sun didn’t quite beat down upon them, a blessing even with them wearing simple vests as opposed to full suits, a scattering of cloud cover making the heat bearable and throwing the sunshine out away from them. And the grass around the DeGroot residence was slippery in the morning, slick under their shoes, and Sniper watched nervously across towards his mum and dad as his dad squinted suspiciously around at things and his mum patted him consolingly about only god knew what. And one of Scout’s brothers had brought a camera and was dashing around taking pictures, and most of the team had managed to dig up assorted formal wear, and the Engineer bustled trying to make sure everything was set up just right as Soldier helped Pyro with carrying the frankly ludicrous cake towards the table somewhere. And on one side was Scout’s family, all rowdy, and on the other was the team, even rowdier, his parents squashed between and being vaguely protected from the team by the more generally responsible ones (namely Heavy, who Sniper’s father clearly approved of in some way for being so imposing, and Spy, who Sniper’s mother approved of on the basis of him being entirely polite). And Miss Pauling was there much to Sniper’s surprise, claiming that she was meant to oversee off-base activities (although he suspected she just wanted the time off and was glad to watch the final nail go into the coffin of Scout’s long-gone infatuation with her). And Medic was so kind as to let Sniper know the other team had left a present at the base for them that morning—assuring him, at his alarmed look, that it was merely a prank dummy bomb set to tick as loudly as possible within the packaging, and a note thanking them for the free time off. That was as much a relief as the cloud cover.
And then the ceremony itself happened, so long before Sniper was ready, as if he could ever truly be ready. And he’d seen Scout’s vest already, but not worn, not standing across from him with a glitter in his eyes and a watery smile and hands fidgeting nervously with grip tape that wasn’t there, face red. And Sniper’s hands were sweaty and clammy, and his voice cracked from the very first word of what he had been rehearsing in his head over and over since he proposed, but the way Scout’s expression shone with pride and love had made so much of that nervousness disappear, and he couldn’t find it in him to be nervous, to worry about the team.
He didn’t have it written down, felt that note cards would make this feel stiff, and he wasn’t all that good at writing down his thoughts regardless. But Scout was sniffling by the end of it, and his own voice had gone rough as he just barely kept it together, so he at least knew he was doing something right. 
And Scout didn’t have anything written down either, and when his turn to speak came, there were a few long moments where Sniper worried he’d blanked, forgotten what he wanted to say. But Scout got there, voice surprisingly steady, surprisingly level. And he didn’t remember all of it, but he remembered some in the middle.
“I still can’t believe you love me, that you wanna stay with me for as long as we can, that you trust me and care about me,” Scout said, “but I’m gonna try, I’m gonna try so hard, and I’m gonna do whatever I gotta do to make sure you know I love you too, every single day, and to earn it. I promise. That’s what this is, is me promising. I promise.” 
And that’s when Sniper broke, the first tears falling, needing to wipe at his face gingerly with his sleeve and accompanied by a general ‘aww’ and chuckles from the crowd of loved ones gathered there, and Scout smiled all the wider.
And Sniper did end up stomping on a glass (not one of Medic’s beakers), and both of them were all but showered in assorted confetti by the family they’d somehow gathered over the years, and there was eating, and dancing, and drinking, and dancing, and by the time the sun started to set down beyond the horizon line he found himself stood there with Scout in the middle of it all, kissing him over, and over, and over again, each and every one a promise that he very much intended to keep, come what may.
“I love you,” he said, again, again, and Scout never once stopped smiling.
109 notes · View notes
whatifxwereyou · 3 years
Text
The Oncoming Storm Part 24: Raging Tide
Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)
You did it and Liu Kang couldn't be prouder. Your brain is finally done buzzing and you find clarity in the Seas of Cloud. Then you return to the hotel- and then... drama!
A/N: Listen, I cannot wait for you guys to get to the next chapter. Like, so excited about it you have no idea LOL. I grinned like a crazy person writing it. I loved this one too, but trust me. As always, I love your feedback and that you took the time to read this nonsense. And as always, open to suggestions. Smooches. I will add links later, things are SUCH chaos right now.
Part 23 Part 25 Chapter Index
You sat in stunned silence and full of heavy breaths. You patted Liu Kang’s shoulder to see if he was okay and he offered you a thumbs up. Finally, you sat up and pushed your drenched hair from your face. You’d done it. You hadn’t drowned. Yay. You half-expected the creature to come back for vengeance but the water was still. There was something in the water though, glittering near the shallow shore that you’d crawled onto.
“Liu,” you coughed. You reached to grab it, but Liu grasped your shoulder to stop you.
“If it’s cursed, then we should try not to touch it directly.” He scooted closer to the edge of the pool. You were both completely soaked, clothing stuck to you. He peeled his shirt free of the sash around his waist and used it to scoop up the glittering something from the water. You groped around in hopes that your flashlight had made it with you but it was hopelessly lost. The water had probably ruined it anyway.
He set down his shirt, so you pulled it closer and carefully adjusted the cloth to take a look at what was within. It was a series of funny shaped stones. The sight of them made you shiver from head to toe. The monster’s defeat had done nothing for the foreboding feeling in the cavern. “What is it? It looks like… jade?” You rubbed your eyes and coughed up water. Liu patted you on the back and examined the stones before tying them up in his shirt securely.
“The ancient emperors were filled with jade after death. They believed it would provide their souls with immortality.” Liu set the bundle of stones behind you and then leaned back against the stone to catch his breath. You were impressed and grateful for the studious and insightful Liu Kang. “That’s why you saw them in your vision. This jade must have been used in those rituals and then hidden here.”
“Which means that it was stolen from a corpse, right?”
“At least one.”
You leaned your elbows on your knees and focused on your slow breathing. Your limbs were heavy and you pushed your hair back. You caught your breath and sat in silence other than the roar of water falling from above.
“You were great.”
You could feel him watching you and so you turned to him.
“Hmm?” What did he mean? You’d zoned out, focusing on the wheezing in your lungs.
“You were great,” he repeated, leaning up on his hands. You were careful not to admire the rest of his physique- something definitely worth admiring because god he was gorgeous. Even all bruised up he was impressive to look at. The bruises looked better than they had a couple of days ago. Even though you’d seen him shirtless a hundred times it still left you a little flustered. “You’re so much stronger than I give you credit for. I never meant to belittle your capability by worrying about you.” He sat upright and scooted a little closer to you. There was such sincerity in his eyes that it made you nervous. “I’m afraid to lose you, Y/N, not that you aren’t strong enough.”
“Liu…” You weren’t sure what to say. You felt bad for having gotten on his case about the worry at all. It was sweet that he thought of you so fondly. You owed him an apology at the very least. “I don’t mind you worrying about me, really. I was in my head and I’m…”
“You don’t have to say it, Y/N. I just wanted to tell you that you were great.” He urged his hand over yours and gave it a squeeze. You smiled, grateful that he understood that your nerves had gotten the best of you. You’d convinced yourself of things that just weren’t true. He was absolutely wonderful.
“Me? I’m great? Liu, you’re insanely skilled. I’m shocked at what you’re capable of.”
“I’m beat if it means anything.”
“You’re amazing.”
“Well, thank you.”
“We make kind of a great team.”
“We do.” He smiled fondly at you. “Your arcana is really coming along. The implications of what you could create are… astounding.”
“I’m a little proud, honestly.”
“You should be.” He stood and then reached for the shirt full of jade. You stopped him and then took it yourself.
“I’ll carry it. Just in case.” You didn’t want him to get sick if you could help it. If this curse was tied to you, then it was safer for you to hold it. Besides, you’d already been exposed to the bell so you figured what the hell. Liu didn’t fight you on it which surprised you. He really did trust you.
“We can climb up if you’re up for it. It’ll be easier than going through the cavern again especially without flashlights.”
“Are you up for that? You said you were beat.”
“I exaggerated.” He offered you a hand to help you up and you took it.
“Aren’t you freezing?”
“I’m fine. Are you? You’re drenched.”
“I’ll survive. But I’m just saying, you could have used your sash.”
“My sash is keeping my pants up, Y/N.”
“Oh.”
“Is that what you would have preferred?” He took a running jump and climbed onto the ledge above him. Then he offered his hand over the edge to help you up. You tossed the shirt onto the ledge and then jumped and grabbed his hand before climbing to join him. He was still waiting for an answer from you.
“I’m thinking.”
He laughed and then gave you a boost to the next ledge with the shirt in your arms. Then he bounced off the wall of the cavern and caught the lip of the ledge and climbed up next to you. The river that flowed in from the mouth of the cave flowed over the edges below you. The fresh air was a breath of relief. Pink radiance shone from the light of the setting sun. You left the cavern and walked around the edge of the river, stopping at the top of the slope that led back down to the path.
The mountains peeked above the clouds, whisps fluttering around the ridges and through the trees. From there they really did look like waves in the sea. The sun was setting beneath the clouds, pink and purple light illuminating throughout the gaps in them, the darkness of the night sky behind them. As the wind made you shiver, the clouds fluttered like ripples of ocean waves. You held the bundle of jade close to your chest and stared at the clouds in awe.
You’d never once believed that something could take your breath away so completely but there you were, breathless. You laughed in surprise and Liu joined you. You watched the clouds flutter past as the sun sunk lower, brilliant oranges kissing the pinks and purples. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Pictures don’t do it justice.” He folded his arms over his chest. You stood there watching the sun go down. It felt as though you were making up for the sunrise that you hadn’t gotten to watch together the other morning. You shivered. “Y/N?”
You turned to him, tearing your eyes away from the bewitching clouds. “Yeah, Liu?” You set down the shirt full of jade next to you. He’d already been watching you and you felt your cheeks flush. Usually you noticed when he was staring. His stare was always so intense. He took a step closer and pushed your messy, drying hair away from your face.
“You’re beautiful.”
You clenched your jaw and averted your eyes. A gut reaction. You hadn’t expected that. Obviously, you shared some deep attraction but you had never figured your appearance being part of the equation. You hadn’t thought about it other than being desperate for pants. It was a very direct and exceedingly sweet thing for him to say. You weren’t quite sure how to process it. It turned out that you were kind of bad at compliments. Liu Kang was full of admiration and compliments today. You had never considered yourself beautiful but you wouldn’t fight him on it either. “Look at me, Y/N.”
You did but it had fought your every instinct. His eyes were dark but still filled with fire. They were bewitching, passionate, and full of things that you weren’t sure either of you had the guts to say. Stepping closer, he urged his hand to your cheek and you placed your hand over his, not to stop him, but to bask in the warmth of his fingertips.
“Liu,” you began with every intention of starting a conversation. You had to talk about this. You’d kissed Kung Lao and you wanted to tell him that. He needed to know. You didn’t want to be a passive part of this decision anymore. But it didn’t feel right to bring it up just now. You weren’t sure it would ever feel right, but you would work up to it. His lips were so close to yours, his hand at your side, touching you as if you were something rare, something that he might not get the chance to hold again. In his arms you felt precious. “We shouldn’t.” That was close enough, right?
Apparently not.
“You’re probably right.” His breath was warm on your lips and you were hypnotized by them. They twitched just enough into a smile. “Or…” His lips were addictive, smile dripping with warmth, his eyes seeing all your secrets without you having to say a single word. It was like a drug. He picked up your hand and placed it to his chest, over his heart so you could feel how hard it was beating and all because of you. Was that really possible? “You can stop me, Y/N. If you want.”
His lips were dangerously close. Saying yes or no would make your lips brush against his and his lips had done more than enough brushing against yours. You didn’t think you could take it if they did it again without it becoming a kiss. His thumb brushed against your cheek and when you said nothing, his lips gently caressed yours before engulfing them. Liu Kang’s kisses before this had all been soft, enticing, a deep slow burn.
But this kiss was just like him.
Fire.
Burning passion and you didn’t hesitate to return his affection, not for a second. You had fought what you’d desired for so long and while you didn’t know what you’d do in the long run and were uncertain what your heart would choose, you knew that in that moment you wanted to kiss him. That was all that mattered. You could control this moment.
As your lips savored his, his arm slipped around your waist and your body pressed firmly against his. You urged your hand over his shoulder and into his messy hair. His tongue was wet and warm, his hand going from your cheek and into your hair as you tilted your head to the side to embrace his teasing tongue.
Every bit of his body was warm, pulled against yours, your curves pressing against his muscular form. You grasped his hair a bit tighter. Breathing seemed an impossible task, but who needed breath? You shivered from head to toe beneath the chill of the wind and pulled back from his lips only as the wind nearly knocked you off your feet. Liu steadied you and laughed in surprise. You had to talk but for now it felt nice to have kissed him without having to run away or come up with an excuse as to what had happened and why. You rested your head against his chest and he held you, arms strong around you, chin resting on top of your head. He turned just to give you a soft kiss on the top of your head.
Your heart hurt.
But he held you, hand brushing down your back slowly as if he understood the hurt in your heart. His arms were so comforting and strong that you couldn’t help but bury yourself against him and savor the moment. His muscular body so close to yours was an overstimulation in itself, but in the best way.
“We should go.” His voice was husky and soft, lips close enough to your ear to brush against it. You would have usually hid the shiver it incited, but you didn’t. He gave you chills and you wanted him to know it. “It’s getting late. We’ll return to the temple in the morning. We’ve earned a night in that room.” He kissed the top of your head again and then let go of you reluctantly. You nodded to agree since your mouth was currently still thinking about his rather than words.
If you managed to talk, it would be too much, and now was not the time. That kiss had been perfect. The time for talk was coming but for now you had a mountain to hike down. You retrieved the bundle of jade and made your way back to the path below. You continued along the path, making casual conversation but both clearly drained. It wasn’t awkward. Your kiss hadn’t made it weird. If anything, you both seemed in higher spirits than you would have been otherwise. You still felt that guilt in the pit of your stomach but you also weren’t sorry that you’d kissed him.
By the time that you reached the hotel you were exhausted. Your room was on the second floor and you took the stairs despite your weariness. There were too many people waiting by the elevator and you were a frightful mess after your ordeal in the cave. You’d already gotten plenty of looks just because Liu Kang was half-naked. You couldn’t blame them for looking. He was delectable.
The hotel room was nice, spacious, and there were two beds with plush white comforters. The television against the wall was more modern than the one you’d had at home before all of this. The bathroom was the nicest that you’d seen in so long that you immediately decided you would be taking a shower before bed.
You were grateful that he’d insisted on a night’s sleep in the hotel room before you returned to Raiden’s Temple. It was a nice reminder of what the rest of the world was like.
“I didn’t expect the room to be so nice.”
“It was the only place in town not booked. I guess this is a popular spot this time of year.”
The place you’d gone to in Japan had been overbooked. This place looked like it had plenty of hotels and space. You had the distinct feeling that he had found a nice place for you to relax in on purpose and you were appreciative of it. Who were you to point out that he sounded dishonest?
“I’m very excited about a hot shower.” You dug in your bag for one of the button-up nightshirt and short sets you’d purchased and set it at the foot of your bed.
“Before you do, you weren’t wounded, were you? I didn’t think to ask earlier. Blaming adrenaline.” He was digging through his own little bag that he’d brought with him. You set the bundle of jade in his shirt on the table next to your bed. He could have also blamed that he’d been thinking more about kissing you than if you were wounded, but you wouldn’t bring that up.
“I think I’m okay. Thanks, though.” You smiled. “You okay?”
“As far as I can tell. Enjoy your shower, Y/N.” He nodded toward the bathroom. You took your things and went into the bathroom and locked the door. You hated that you were picturing how lovely he’d look under that showerhead. Your face red, you shook it off and set your things down on the counter.
God, you missed modern showers. This was one of the best comforts. You had never been happier for the heat and pressure of the water against your sore body. It wasn’t until you were in the shower that you realized just how sore and exhausted your body was. It had been through the wringer the last few weeks. Your arms had scarred something fierce and your side was still healing. Your neck was just as bruised and you had various scrapes all over you from the fights of the last few days.
You stayed beneath the water longer than you should have but it was a luxury you knew you wouldn’t have much anymore. Eventually you got out, got dressed, and left the bathroom after cleaning up after yourself. Liu was seated at the foot of his bed, meditating. He hadn’t changed or cleaned up or anything like that. Apparently, he’d spent the whole time meditating. His arms were perfect, even without flexing and it was through this admiration that you noticed a scrape over the bruise that you’d given him on his shoulder. This one looked fresh. You returned to the bathroom, got a clean washcloth, wet it, and then sat next to him on the edge of his bed.
You brushed the cloth over the scrape to make sure it wasn’t worse than it appeared at first glance. You were sure he would take care of himself now that the bathroom was free but you wanted to check on him. The scrape was big and deep enough that you had to. If it got infected or went unnoticed because of the bruise, you wouldn’t forgive yourself. He opened his eyes and watched as you cleaned the wound.
Then you pulled the cloth back to take a proper look. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, thankfully. You waved your hand next to it to help it dry. He hooked his index finger under your chin and tilted you up to him. You smiled and he pushed your hair back, his hand lingering in it. You needed to talk. You kept thinking it but your mouth wasn’t listening to you. You wanted to lay there with him, talk, and try to understand what you were both feeling and what any of it meant. Instead, Liu Kang pulled his hand back.
Maybe he was thinking the same thing. Either that or if he made that jump to kiss you again then maybe you wouldn’t stop kissing and things would be even more complicated. God, you needed to get laid. Chen was right. There were so many hormones that it was killing you.
You had to push that out of your head, the mental image of him crawling over you, strong arms on either side of you... Stop it, stop it immediately, Y/N. You were too hot now, you wanted to fan your face but you fought the compulsion.
You had to talk.
Whatever came next involved action, confrontation, and conversation.
Then, much to your surprise, Liu Kang looked suddenly guilty as shit.
Kung Lao had looked guilty too. What the hell did that mean?
Boy, you really had to talk.
“That was it, right?”
“Hmm?” He seemed nervous.
“That was the only wound, right?” You’d been vague, you supposed, since you were both clearly thinking about unrelated things.
“I think so. I need to clean up but I had to… clear my head.” He stood.
“You okay, Liu?”
“I’m great, Y/N.” He bowed. “I’ll be back.” He went into the bathroom and you ran your fingers through your wet hair. Then you got up and opened the door leading onto the small balcony outside. You leaned against the railing, watching the city below. From there you could see people going about their night. Some people were heading home from work, couples were strolling along the streets, families were making their way back to their hotels. The mountains were haunting at night but in the best way. The clouds hung so low that they misted over the rooftops of some of the bigger hotels.
You heard Liu approaching behind you but didn’t turn to look at him. He stood behind you and you could feel his eyes as they lingered over your body, the way that he often did.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“The view is something.” You leaned your head against your arms and smiled. It had been nice to have your brain shut up for those few minutes. “It feels almost surreal.”
He came to stand next to you, prayer beads wrapped around his palm. He seemed more himself than he had been before he’d disappeared into the bathroom. He’d changed again, this time into loose comfortable pants and a tank top which surprised you. You’d never expected to see him in anything other than his gi. He set his hand on your shoulder.
“We should rest.”
“Yeah, probably.” You stood and he ushered you inside. He locked the door, and you pulled the curtain closed. Then you crawled into your bed and pulled the blankets to surround you. Liu did the same in the bed across from you. He turned off the light. You rolled onto your side to face him.
“Goodnight, Y/N.” He held his hand out across the gap between beds. You reached to give his hand a squeeze and then hid again beneath the blankets.
“Goodnight, Liu Kang.”
***
You sat up in bed with a start, panic gripping at your chest. Everything was dark with the exception of the red light on the bottom of the television hanging on the far well. It took you a solid minute to realize where you were and that you hadn’t been taken somewhere against your will. Pulling your knees up to your chest, you wrapped your arms around them and closed your eyes tight.
Your chest ached.
That man’s hand had been so deep in your chest, squeezing your heart. You’d nearly forgotten after the chaos of everything. Then you’d slept and had seen hell. Your body had been consumed by ink, hands tied up as if attached to marionette strings. Then you’d seen flashes of them. Liu, Chen, Lao, Raiden, your sister, your niece. Dead. Their eyes wide open, milky, flies crawling across their flesh that was decaying right before your eyes and all because of you.
Tears streamed down your cheeks and you wiped them quickly to get them to stop but they were quickly replaced with new ones. You buried your face in the blankets and waited for the tears to stop, shuddering into them.
You couldn’t sleep with those images in your head but you had to at least stop crying. Liu Kang was in the next bed over, sound asleep. In your dream, he’d been trying to get to you, to protect you from yourself even though he was dying right before your eyes. It had been an especially cruel dream, leaving you trembling and sobbing over your very worst fears.
That was right.
Liu was right there. You could see his face. He would reassure you that he was okay, that he was alive, that it had been your subconscious preying on your worst fears.
You crawled out of your bed, fixed your shirt, and without a second thought pulled up his blankets just enough so that you could crawl into bed next to him. He shifted and leaned up on one arm, opening one eye sleepily. He looked you over, lingering a little longer on your legs than you expected. Then he blinked his eyes closed again. “Everything okay?” He cleared his throat after speaking and then blinked again as if struggling to resist the pull of sleep.
“I had a nightmare.” Your voice broke and you realized that this might be inappropriate but you’d needed to see him- to touch him. “Can I just… hold you for a second?”
“Come here.” He adjusted himself to make room for you and you climbed in and scooted closer, hand atop the comforter. He was still in the process of moving and suddenly scooted back as your hand rested on him through the blankets and he laughed nervously. “Hey whoa, careful where you’re…” He gestured to your hand that sunk into the bed after he’d moved. Your face burned and you laughed even if you were still on the brink of tears.
“Sorry.” Your laughter faded quickly when you saw his tired face. You never wanted to see him suffer the way that he’d suffered in your dream.
“It’s fine… just…” He cleared his throat and adjusted a bit further on the bed. “You had a nightmare?”
You sat with your knees curled up beneath you and were careful not to touch him after that. You didn’t know what the situation was with that. He pushed his hair back, waking himself up a bit more.
“A nightmare and not a vision, right?”
“There was no ink so I’m thinking it was a nightmare.”
“Tell me about it.” He leaned back against the pillows and rubbed his sleepy eyes. You didn’t think about this part. You hadn’t expected him to want to hear about the nightmare but there he was watching and waiting for you to spill your guts.
“You… you died. You all died.” You furrowed your brow, and you hated the way the words sounded. “You died and I couldn’t save you. You kept… trying to save me and…”
“Yeah, definitely a nightmare. Have them all the time.” He urged his arm around you and with surprising control, he urged you to lie next to him and rest in his arms. “Come here.” Like you’d had a choice. He held you close and adjusted himself to be more comfortable. Then he pulled the blankets around you both. “You can stay here for the rest of the night. I hated you being all the way over there anyway even if I was having a nice dream.”
“I’m sorry that I woke you. I just needed to see you.”
“You’re better than the dream anyway.” He closed his eyes and gave you a comforting squeeze. Better than the dream? Did that mean that the nice dream had been about you? You couldn’t wrap your mind around that right now. You kept picturing them lying dead before you. He rolled onto his back and urged you to rest against his shoulder. You placed your hand against his chest and considered that this was definitely the way that lovers slept. You had no word for what you were, but you were grateful for his arm around you.
You tried to rest, closing your eyes, but then you saw their faces again, desperate, pained, and dying. You gripped Liu a bit tighter, securing your arm around him and curling up against his side.
“It’s okay, Y/N. I’m here. I’m safe. We’re all safe.” He was drifting in and out of sleep already.
“Thank you,” you breathed, not wanting to keep him up any longer than you already had. You watched him drift to sleep before trying again yourself. You were grateful not to find any of the residual nightmare waiting for you. The lullaby of his calm breathing wasn’t enough to ease your heavy heart, but it was soothing and reassuring. He was there. No one was going to hurt them- not tonight at least. You pictured the jade bundled up on your side table and wondered if it was to blame for the sinking pit in your stomach.
You relaxed your grip on him and while it took ages to fall asleep after that, you did sleep.
In fact, you crashed hard.
57 notes · View notes
mamaspresley · 4 years
Note
rafe x pogue reader where they’re sneaking around and he gets jealous seeing her at a party flirting with another guy and gets possessive and things get a little heated and smutty...
jealous | rc
a/n: YES YES YESYE YESYES YES
word count: IDK I’M SORRY
pairing(s): rafe x pogue that he’s hooking up with but nobody knows!reader
warning(s): underage drinking, smut, rafe being ANGRY and JEALOUS, dom!rafe, rafe playing with feelings and being a dick
Tumblr media
“Am I gonna see you at Kelce’s tonight?” Rafe had asked you that morning as you climbed out of his bed, immediately reaching down for your shorts. 
“I don’t know,” you answered honestly as you pulled the denim shorts up your legs, looking down to button them before glancing in his direction. The infamous Kook king, Rafe Cameron, in all his fucking glory. Laying in his bed, the white sheets draping around his torso with the sun shining into his room and casting the perfect glow on his beautiful set of abs. Hard to believe you were running your fingers down them just this morning. “I hadn’t really decided if I should go or not. Didn’t think I’d be welcome.”
“You should go.” His answer was quick but he was even quicker in defending it. “I mean, if you want. You’re not one to pass up an opportunity to get shit faced.”
He was right, you weren’t about to pass up free alcohol and weed. “Yeah, you’ve convinced me.” You slipped your bikini top on, clasping it together in the back expertly before running a hand through your hair, looking at him. “You’re going then?”
“Again—shit faced.”
You chuckled, throwing Rafe’s boxers at the boy before making your way to the door. “I’ll see you later, Cameron.” This wasn’t anything out of the ordinary—you and Rafe had been sleeping together for a while now, but it wasn’t exclusive. He was a Kook and you were a Pogue, simple as that. The two sides of the islands hardly clashed, and you were the exception. But the two of you made sure that you understood it was simply for sex. No feelings, no strings, none of that shit. 
You understood that rule completely. There were no blurred lines in your opinion, your relationship with Rafe was strictly physical. It was so physical that neither of you even told anyone. You hadn’t had any problems with the agreement until that night at the party, which threw you for a loop. You should’ve noticed something was off when he asked if you were going—Rafe never cared, let alone asked. The two of you didn’t even have each other’s numbers, only contacted when you were feeling needy, so when Rafe showed a sudden burst of emotion you were caught off guard to say the least.
“You’re acting like a fucking whore, Y/N.” Rafe had you cornered, one hand against the wall as the other held your waist with such a grip you could feel the bruises forming. He’d followed you into the bathroom after you left JJ, and didn’t even realize Rafe had trailed along until you turned around to close the door. He was angry, the vein in his forehead prominent as he glared down at you. “Coming to this party with that Pogue, knowing I was gonna be here?”
“What the hell are you talking about, Rafe? We didn’t agree to be at this party as a couple,” you fired back, eyebrows furrowed as you stood your guard. Why was he acting so fucked tonight? “If you didn’t want me to bring a friend then you could’ve fucking told me instead of leaving it to the last minute.”
“A friend? Really, Y/N? With the way you’ve been all over him tonight he doesn’t look like a fucking friend.” Rafe was fuming. If you didn’t know him better, you’d be scared for your life being pinned against a wall with an unpredictable, furious Kook with a history of violence towering over you. Okay, maybe you were a little scared. But that all flew out the window when the meaning behind his words sunk in and you realized why he had followed you in there, why he was practically steaming with rage.
“Are you jealous?” The words slapped him across the face as Rafe took a step back, hesitance flooding his eyes. You let out a laugh, standing up straight. “You’re fucking jealous of JJ. This can’t be real.”
“Why would I ever be jealous of that Pogue?”
“Because it’s him I was fucking with and not you.” Never in a million years would you try to get with JJ. That kid was your best friend, your ride or die since the third grade. But Rafe didn’t need to know that, and he sure as hell didn’t need to know that the energy he was giving off right now had you practically dripping.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rafe said with a scoff, shaking his head before he brought his hand up to comb through his hair. You smirked, crossing your arms as you watched him step back, reaching for the door handle.
“Yeah, leave, Rafe. So I can get back to JJ, who is a hell of a better fuck than you anyway.” Okay, maybe you were overstepping. But the way Rafe’s face twisted into one of anger, jealousy, and everything in between had you excited, awaiting his attack that you knew were inevitable. 
Rafe turned back around, and in an instant his lips were on yours. Your hands found the shirt on his biceps as his found your neck, wrapping his fingers around your throat while he backed you up into the wall. Everything was messy and uncoordinated but you didn’t care, and neither did he. There were too many emotions flying around the air for either of you to process what was happening, so you let your bodies do the talking.
The moment was rushing by so fast that neither of you had time to rid yourself of your clothes. Rafe slid his pants down as you pushed your skirt up, and suddenly he was burying himself inside you, thrusting deep into you at a steady pace, your legs wrapped around your torso as he held you up by your thighs.
“Fuck, Rafe,” you moaned, sliding your hands underneath his shirt to come in contact with his warm skin, only to dig your nails into it. He hissed, looking down as he pushed himself farther into you, snapping his hips back only to do it again. You swore you could see stars as Rafe brought his right hand to wrap around your throat, holding you there as he lifted you up to sit you on the counter, never missing a beat.
“You're so tight, holy shit.” Usually Rafe wasn’t so vocal when the two of you hooked up, but something about tonight was different. He was moaning at your every touch, panting your name as he pounded into you, and more importantly he was praising you. “Feels so good, princess. Oh my God, just like that.”
“Rafe, Rafe I’m gonna cum,” you whined, leaning your head back against the mirror as you felt his cock slide in and out of you easily, coated with a mixture of the two of you. If it weren’t for the immense pleasure you felt then, you’d be a bit worried about someone outside hearing you. But you didn’t even form a thought as you let out a loud moan that sent Rafe over the edge. You felt him shoot into you, and despite him finishing Rafe kept fucking you, unlike the many times you’d helped him orgasm and he’d let you finish yourself off.
“Come on, baby.” Pet names were new. Before tonight the two of you strictly stuck to your own names, but you couldn’t say you hated the sudden change. “So good, princess. Come on.”
“Rafe, Rafe—” You were almost there, and it only took Rafe’s three words to send you into an immaculate bliss.
“That’s my girl.” 
It truly was a religious experience, getting fucked on the bathroom counter of Kelce’s house by the Rafe Cameron, hearing him call you his girl before he gave you the best orgasm of your entire fucking life. It ended all too soon, and both of you knew it. He didn’t move, neither did you, from your spot on the counter with his hand on the mirror behind you and your legs wrapped around his hips, his free hand on your thigh to hold you closer. You were both breathing heavily, your head back against the mirror as he stared at you in depth. You didn’t notice his eyes on you until you opened yours.
“Why the fuck are you staring at me?” That felt like a stupid thing to say in that moment, and it sounded even stupider as your voice was hoarse, cracking mid-sentence like a pubescent boy’s would. Rafe didn’t seem to notice—he didn’t really notice anything except you.
You thought for a minute that Rafe was gonna yell at you again or something. The look on his face was indescribable, and usually you had an easy time reading him but not tonight. Not when he was looking at you like he couldn’t make his own mind up. 
“Are you gonna answer me?” you asked, finding your steadier voice again. Except Rafe did answer you this time, but not in the way you expected. He pushed his lips against yours, leaving you in shock when he pulled away much quicker than you would’ve liked. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and Rafe pulled out of you quickly and did up his pants, running his fingers through his hair to tame it before reaching for the door handle for the second time that night.
“Hold on,” you said, hopping down from the counter and fixing your skirt. He glanced over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows at you as you stared at him incredulously. “Aren’t you gonna give me some backhanded compliment like you always do after we fuck? Or, like, make fun of my choice of chapstick or something?” He stared at you blankly. “Like, you know I hate watermelon, Y/N. Or, like, wow, no need to be so loud. It’s almost like I’m fucking a pornstar, Y/N.”
He didn’t even make a face. You were completely bewildered.
“Rafe, what the fuck?” Your hands moved to your hips, eyebrows knit as you looked at him angrily. “What the hell is wrong with you tonight?”
“Why are you reading into this so much?” he finally spoke.
You laughed in incredulity. “Why are you not?” At his blank expression, you continued. “We’ve been sneaking around for months, Rafe, and all of a sudden you’re judgmental about the guys I hang out with? What happened to the Rafe I was fucking when I had that crazy obsession over Tyler Kendall? Or… or the Rafe I was fucking when I turned down Topper right in front of you? Why is it now that you’re getting protective? Why… why didn’t you do this shit before, when I hadn’t promised myself not to fall for you? Or… or why—”
Rafe shut you up in the only way he knew his—his lips. He kissed you again, lips crashing onto yours but this time you were much quicker to engage. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down to your level as you slanted your lips over his, feeling his hands grip your hips and push you into the counter. He was the one to pull away again, resting his forehead against yours as he caught his breath and found his words.
“I’m trying really hard here, Y/N,” he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut as you looked up at him curiously. “I don’t… I don’t wanna hurt you. Or us.”
“There is no us, Rafe.” The words hurt as you said it but it was the truth—that was the number one rule between you two. Don’t fall for the other person.
“You know just as well as I do that there’s an us,” Rafe said, opening his eyes and pulling his head back to look you in the eyes. Eye contact with Rafe intimidated you, but not that moment. That moment, all you could think about was him. “I wouldn’t have snuck you into my house at 1 in the morning last night if there wasn’t an us. And... I wouldn’t have followed you into here instead of doing a line with Top.”
“What… What are you trying to say?” You knew what he was getting at, but the satisfaction of getting him to admit what you’d wanted him to for the longest time was eating at you. Say it, Rafe.
“I’m saying that I’m afraid of losing you, Y/N,” he began, “but I can’t lose you if I don’t already have you, first.”
You didn’t even think for the few seconds you took after those words. Your brain had gone completely blank, the only thing swirling around your head being his voice saying those words, over and over again. Until you eventually had to shut them out, and you pulled him back down to meet your lips. 
“I don’t wanna lose you either,” you whispered, feeling the smallest of smiles peek at his lips as Rafe ran his hands over the dips of your waist, squeezing you lightly before he pulled away. He didn’t look like he was gonna say anything, and all that needed to be said had been said. Except for one thing. “Did you call me your girl earlier?”
“I was hoping you didn’t hear that.”
1K notes · View notes
forthehpfanboys · 4 years
Text
Bloody Knuckles and Sunshine
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Pair: Harry Potter x Reader; he/him.
Summary: Harry loved his ball of sunshine and will do anything, including throwing hands at a dude a head taller than him, to protect it from harm.
Warnings: Mention of the f slur, Fighting, fluffy tho, also small homophobiaaaa
Notes: I loved this, dang-it. Hufflepuff reader!
~DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE~
-
Harry put a finger to his lips, signaling to be quiet. He smirked when he saw your friend's eyes light up with mischief and silently agreed. He slowly inched forward, waiting until he was all but pressed against your back. He lunged forward, covering your eyes before whispering ‘guess who?’ in your ear.
He let out a laugh when you screamed successfully catching the attention of everyone in the dining hall. He pulled his hands away only to wrap them around your waist, watching how your face melted into a color to rival a strawberry. He laughed harder when you pulled your hood up to hide your blush. 
“Harry, you jerk!” You squeaked out while your friends snickered into their hands. “That wasn’t funny!”
“Aw, I’m sorry, love. You’re right, I’m a big meanie.” He said between chuckles, kissing your hood covered cheek. He laughed louder when you slapped his arm. “How is my favorite ray of sunshine doing this evening?” Harry took any opportunity he could to see you blush and it was quite easy to do, especially with such a soft nickname that fit you perfectly. Seriously, you’re smile lit up entire rooms and Harry levied for it. 
“Well, I was telling Cedric about this kneazle kit I found out by the bushes yesterday but now I wanna melt into the black lake and never come back.” You grumbled, slowly pulling your hood down when you were sure the attention and blush had faded. You smiled when Harry responded with a fake gasp of shock.
“And you didn’t tell me? After being your boyfriend for three months?”
“Three and a half-”
“That’s even worse!” Harry pouted at you, cheering internally when he managed to make you blush just the slightest. 
Truth be told, you’d been dating the wonder boy for 3.5 months and it all started because you’d bumped into him one random day. You’d apologized so quietly and swiftly, he nearly missed your American accent. He told you it was alright and you ran off before he could get a name. He ended up seeing you later that day, during dinner at the dining hall. They did a quick welcome ceremony for you before sorting you with the hat. Harry was practically leaping for joy when you were put in Hufflepuff. He was just grateful at the time to not have to deal with another Slytherin who’d judge people for something as simple as blood status. 
While you were quiet and shy and reserved and just overall the softest human Harry had ever met, he tried to talk to you whenever he could. He managed to break your shell a little bit each day, slowly spending more time with you and introducing you to his friends. 
You’d study with Hermione and help her tutor the other two dorks in the group. You’d play wizard's chess with Ron where most games end in a tie, but ever so often you would beat him, as would he. Long story short, his friends love you and at this point, Harry was loving you too, just a little differently. He wanted to hold you at night and fall asleep in your arms. He wanted to bake your favorite cookies just to see you smile. He wanted to see your bright eyes reflect the stars so badly.
So one day he did it. He asked you on a date in the middle of one of your chess games with Ron, leading to Ron winning because you were far too distracted by the males request. You did end up saying yes though, which rocked his hard harder than anything else. 
He took you to Hogsmeade, obviously. He showed you the shops, since this was the first time you’d been. He introduced you to the lovely world of Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks. One date led to another, then another, then another, until it was literally a weekly thing. He saved Friday after school for you and only you. It was, actually, really cute. 
At every month milestone of you two being official boyfriends, he’d try to do something immensely special. In the first month, he took you out on the quidditch brooms for a night ride out. You gazed at the sky together, watched the sun set and returned to cuddle in his arms in the common room of Gryffindor tower. Second month, the two of you went adventuring in the Forbidden Forest, with Hagrid low-key third wheeling to make sure you were safe, then a cute picnic by the Black Lake. This month, he’d snuck you into the Shrieking Shack just so you’d get scared and confide in him. It was terrifying, but he made up for it with snuggles and treats swiped from the kitchen after hours. You were excited to see what month four had coming.
“Oh, stop. You’re acting like a big baby.” You giggled out, leaning over to kiss his shoulder. You waved your friends off when they faked a few gags. “What brings ya over here, anyway?”
“What? I can’t see my ball of sunshine? I’m hurt, (Y/n)! You wound me!” Harry scoffed, placing a hand over his chest as if his heart had shattered like a mirror. He looked around at your friends when they all grew quiet. “..What?”
“You usually only come over here to tease him or because someone specific and blonde was staring at him from across the room.” Cedric spoke up, his eyebrows cocked up while Harry’s furrowed in confusion.
“What? Do I?” Harry turned to you, his eyes shining with worry. You bit down on your lip before slowly nodding your head. You spoke up quickly when he let out a pain filled groan.
“But that’s ok because I get to see you in herbology, potions and astronomy!” You waved your hands, trying to show it really wasn’t a big deal. It really wasn’t! You got to see him a lot and understood he couldn’t be with you 24/7 and that his friends wanted his attention too, so it was fine. 
“I’ll do better.”
“What? Harry, no! Love, you’re fine!” You squeaked out, cupping his cheek gently. “Honestly, it’s ok.” You pulled your hand away when he swung one leg over the bench to straddle it next to you. 
“Are you sure?” Harry stared into your eyes, basically scanning your soul for lies like a bar code. You nodded your head again, planting a soft kiss on his nose. “Ok..” He smiled, pulling you to him before planting his own peck against your lips. 
He only pulled back when someone chose to shout a specific f slur across the room. The raven haired male didn’t hesitate to stand up. His eyes were scanning across the now quiet dining hall.
“Who said it?” Harry’s voice was not filled with sweetness. It was filled to the brim with venom and it only became more obvious when no one spoke up. “Oh, come on now! You weren’t scared to shout before! Don’t be shy now!” 
Neither you nor Harry batted an eye when McLaggen stood up. The blonde bimbo had been anything but pleasant toward you when you made your relationship public. 
“I’m just saying what we’re all thinking, Harry.” McLaggen’s cocky voice spoke up as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Cormac’s cockiness faded when McGonagall began spouting about intolerable language in Hogwarts and how that word was one of the many students should know better than to say. While the Gryffindor headmaster was going off, Harry didn’t hesitate to walk around the table, despite your protests, and punch the bloke square in the jaw.
You jumped up from your seat just as Cormac’s behind hit the floor of the dining hall. Harry  followed the bloke to the ground, deciding to bruise his ego and pretty face further. Upon order of McGonagall, the twins and Lee jumped up, separating Harry and McLaggen. Fred held Harry back while George and Jordan carried the idiot out of the hall. 
Once Harry stropped squirming, Fred let go, allowing you to scurry over and grab his hands. You also dragged him out of the dining hall much to McGonagall’s disliking, but went in the opposite direction as the quidditch players. You took him to the courtyard, setting him down on a step before kneeling in front of him. 
“Harry.” You spoke up, looking down at his right hands knuckles, that were covered in blood. “Come on, babe.” You whispered out, your heart cracking at the sight of your love hurt.
“I know..” Harry grumbled, his eyes also staring at the red liquid coming from his knuckles. 
“So, why do you keep fighting? Words can sting just as much as a punch.” You spoke up, reaching into Harry’s robe and pulling his wand out of the pocket. You transfigured a handful of leaves into a roll of bandages before shoving the wand into Harry’s not bloody hand and started wrapping up his knuckles.
“Because you’re too soft on people.” Harry looked down at his knees, his hands coming to his sides to rest against the stone. He started drawing a pathetic portrait of the two of you sitting at some.. Beach? Maybe it was grass. Poor babe couldn’t draw that well.
“Hun, people have reasons behind the things they say and do..” You rested a hand against his shoulder. He looked up from his drawing in the dirt to gaze up at you, his eyes big and innocent even after a fight.
“I know..” He grumbled again. “But he deserved it this time, babe, you know he did. If it wasn’t me, it’d be Cedirc or Ron for Merlin’s sake.” 
“I know..” You sat down next to the raven haired male, pulling him to your side and letting him lean his head against your shoulder. “I’m not mad, ya know? It.. It was nice.” You bit your lip. Harry knows that hesitation. His eyes snapped up to yours, noting the soft blush across your cheeks.
“Oh, really, sunshine? You like it when I play knight?” He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking a little when your soft pink cheeks turned brighter in hue.
“May-.. No, I’m not giving you a reason to keep getting bloody knuckles.” You shook your head, gazing across the courtyard.
“Oooh, you do like it when I play knight!”
“Harry, no.”
“Harry yes!”
“Harry, no!” You shouted, your voice slightly sterner. Harry wasn’t used to you being so stern or loud, it was kinda scary. “Do not get into more fights just to fluster me.” Your shy demeanor came back ten fold, causing him to smirk wider.
“Of course not! Why would I do that, sunshine?” Harry snickered, his arms wrapping around your waist and kissing the base of your neck. He wasn’t going to bring up every year he managed to find himself in literal life or death situations or the fact that he was most likely going to be defending you again.
“Because your Harry Potter and ‘I-Fight-Homophobs’ really should be your middle name.” You smiled, praying he didn’t notice how hot your body had gotten from the heat. He let out a final laugh, his lips planting a big kiss to your cheek. “Harry, seriously, though. No more fights. It’s scary.”
“No, I know! Whatever you say.”
“I’m serious!”
“No, I know!”
“Then where are you going?”
“To finish what I started! Just five minutes, sunshine. Just five, I promise!”
“Harry, no!”
407 notes · View notes
goldencuffs · 4 years
Text
pen pal
Laurent starts writing emails to inmates in Marlas Penitentiary in his third year of university. The only reason he considers doing it at first is because of Auguste, who writes in one of his weekly emails in the middle of a long, sour summer: These emails help, you know. They keep me sane.
The sadness Laurent feels at reading that is immeasurable. He has to go for a run afterwards, because running is more productive than crying. If Laurent starts crying, he won’t do anything else for the rest of the day. Or week.
He keeps writing to Auguste every week, but as he does so, he feels like he could do more.
A few weeks later, Laurent tells Auguste about it over the phone. Laurent never lies, or keeps things from Auguste. The last time he did, he ruined Auguste’s life. 
Auguste, as usual, sounds tired over the phone, his voice scratchy and low. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Laurent bites his lip, phone pressed against his cheek. He always makes his calls in his room, with the blinds drawn, the lights turned off, the door closed, so the room is washed in darkness. It’s the closest he’ll ever get to understanding how Auguste lives now. This is the only thing he doesn’t share with Auguste, because it would upset him deeply. Auguste always thinks he makes these calls in the open, with the sun beating down on him, the wind through his hair — the kind of life Auguste will never have.
Laurent is acquiescent. He says, “Okay.”
They talk about Laurent’s classes, the new neighbour who has really loud sex, and the cat Laurent is thinking of adopting. Auguste assures Laurent that he is eating and that no one has given him any trouble.
When the call ends, Laurent wants, desperately, to go out on a run. Talking to Auguste always does this to him; leaves him jittery, chest concaved, heart racing. The guilt swallows him. So Laurent punishes himself: he keeps himself locked into his room until the following morning.
Summer ends, but the heat in Marlas is relentless. Laurent and Auguste continue corresponding over email and phone, never talking about things that actually matter.
Laurent gets asked out on a date by Pierre, one of the men who lives in the neighbouring apartments. Laurent says no, and Pierre pushes him, hard, against the wall.
Laurent is left with a large bruise on his bicep. He’s fascinated by the colouring; the purple blends seamlessly in with the blue, which runs into the black. He can’t stop touching it all week, pressing his fingertips down on it until his eyes water.
Pierre is an affable man. He is always polite in the elevators, helps the elderly lady across the hall with her groceries and hosts barbeque parties in the communal area. He hadn’t seemed like the kind of man who couldn’t handle the word no. Then again, Uncle had been like that too.
On Friday, Laurent gets drunk for the first time in eight years.
The following day, he gets to talk to Auguste. Laurent is too hungover to hide his own despondence.
Auguste notices. Laurent doesn’t want to waste their ten minutes on something that will upset Auguste. He will eventually tell him; Laurent doesn’t like keeping secrets anymore.
As the call beeps, letting them know there’s only thirty seconds left, Auguste says. “Look, I’ve been thinking… I think it’d be nice if you sent some of the guys here some emails every now and then.”
Laurent perks up. “Really?”
“Yeah,” says Auguste, a smile in his voice. “But I’m going to send you a list of people, alright? I don’t want you emailing some creep.”
“Of course,” Laurent says, breathless. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love —” The line cuts off.
Auguste’s email drops in his inbox on Tuesday at eleven am, like clockwork. In it, he includes the names of other inmates that are reasonable, suitable. There are five names. Laurent request the email IDs of all of them and sets about writing.
He only gets two responses. One is from a man named Alexon, who says he isn’t interested in corresponding right now, and the other is from Ancel, who writes fuck of. Im not a cherity progect.
Laurent writes Ancel another email, assuring him he’s not a charity project, but that goes unanswered.
Auguste laughs — or Laurent assumes he does because his email says LOL! — when he tells him about it.
So, Laurent goes on the Marlas Penitentiary website. Underneath the How to contact loved ones tab, there’s a link that says: Become a Penpal! Change a life!
Laurent clicks on it.
There are, surprisingly, hundreds of inmates, all of their pictures shown in neat, square boxes, alongside their name, age, sexuality and religion.
Laurent scrolls through dozens of them. He makes note of the younger ones, the ones he might be able to carry a conversation with. He also filters his search to life sentence because Laurent doesn’t want to give someone the opportunity to demand to see him in a few months.
Near the end, Laurent sees him.
It’s hard not to be captivated by his photo. He’s one of the few people smiling in it, and it was obviously taken outside of prison. A large man with curly, styled hair and dark eyes grins at him, teeth white and straight, cheek dimpled. He’s wearing a suit, arms crossed over his chest, arms bulging, shoulders wide. Laurent has never seen someone so attractive in his life — didn’t think people in the real world could look like this, let alone end up in prison.
His profile says: Vallis, Damianos Theomedes. 27. Bisexual. I’m bored in here. I need to keep myself sane. Send me something if you can actually keep a conversation going. Thank you for taking the time to read through this. Sorry I don’t seem nicer. I used to be.
It’s definitely… different. Laurent marks him as a maybe.
Later, Laurent asks Auguste if he knows anyone called Damianos in Marlas. Auguste responds with a, “Nope. And I know pretty much everyone here. So that’s not a good sign.”
“Why not?”
“It either means the dude is a complete recluse, or that he’s barred from most communal activities. Like I said, not a good sign.”
But something about Damianos’ profile keeps Laurent intrigued for the next several days.
He isn’t sure what it is; the picture, of someone who once led an obviously lavish style, or Damianos’ words, I need to keep myself sane, an echo of Auguste’s sentiments. Also the Thank you had been unusual, as well as the I used to be nicer. Laurent used to be nicer, too.
Laurent ends up Googling Damianos’ full name that night.
There are about twenty articles to sift through. All of them detail a violent, horrific crime, where Damianos murdered his own brother in his penthouse.
But even that doesn’t deter Laurent. He remembers how the media, the court, the lawyers had presented Auguste: as someone vicious, cold and calculated, the complete antithesis of how Auguste really was.
The articles about Auguste had been eerily similar. All of them mentioned how shocking it was that a doctor at the top of his game could senselessly murder his own uncle, but very few of them mentioned why Auguste had done it.
They made it out like Auguste was some bloodthirsty maniac, bent on revenge, and not a caring, protective older brother who had been horrified by their Uncle’s actions.
It’s why Laurent decides to give Damianos the benefit of the doubt. If he does end up being a creep, or a weirdo, then Laurent has the luxury of never speaking to him again. He’s not being stupid about this.
His request is fulfilled two days later. Damianos’ email ID is attached at the bottom.
Laurent sends his first email that afternoon.
426 notes · View notes
coffeewithheroes · 4 years
Note
Hiya, nice to meet you V! Do you know the Tiktok trend that goes like, “why can’t friends just kiss each other?” If you do, would you mind doing some headcanons about how Iwaizumi and other characters of your choosing would react? tysm!!💕
a/n: nice to meet you anon! i’ve seen that trend before and omg i love it so much! i just love the friends to lovers troupe in general :) never be able to get over it i swear🤧
really went all out on my first answered request, hehe!
-
“why can’t friends just kiss each other?” ⪼ haikyuu hcs
-
IWAIZUMI
Tumblr media
💌 Iwaizumi would probably already know about the trend, seeing as he’s got tiktok obsessed oikawa as a best friend.
💌 oikawa would probs tease Iwa about how you might use it on him one day, which earns him a good wack.
💌 luv you tooru get well soon
💌 might secretly hope that you make a move on him, but doesn’t get his hopes too high. there’s a chance that you’re not even interested in Tiktok impossible, or you’d rather confess to him the traditional way, OR, you might not even like him. again, impossible
💌 lucky for him, you LIVE for trends like these :)
💌 you’ll probably be at his house or something, thanking the stars above that Iwaizumi has finally granted you a break from studying, as well as the opportunity to make your move!
💌 you pull out your phone, and search for the sound, heart beat so loud you hope he can’t hear.
💌 remember to breathe, baby. because it’s go time.
💌 you press play.
💌 at this point, Iwa looks up from his own device, and has that “wait, what?” look on his face.
💌 you’re laughing at him to hide the sudden waves of embarrassment.
💌 not to worry dear, your efforts were not in vain.
💌 Iwaizumi is honestly so frigging happy that you did this. he can’t help but think about how cute you are.
💌 “you’re so stupid, you know that?” and yet, the opposite comes out of his mouth.
💌 but again, must i remind you not to worry?
💌 the next few moments are absolute heaven - Iwaizumi pulls your face towards his, and kisses you hard.
💌 damn, he’s been waiting for this.
OSAMU
Tumblr media
💌 this would be something neither of you are expecting-
💌 it’s actually atsumu who set up the entire thing lmaooo
💌 the three of you usually walk home together after volleyball practice, but atsumu had faked being sick and went home early, leaving just osamu and yourself.
💌 whilst walking, you get a message from atsumu, a video.
💌 and you play it out loud of course, not expecting it to be something like this:
💌 “why can’t friends just kiss each other?”
💌 cue the awkward stares and silent curses of atsumu‘s name.
💌 you want to think of something, anything to say that will get osamu’s mind away from the words he just heard.
💌 but unlucky for us, our brains always run out on us when we need ‘em most, right?
💌 in the end, it’s osamu who breaks the silence.
💌 “well, why can’t we?”
💌 “there’s no rule against it...”
💌 “should we...”
💌 “I’m okay with it if you are?”
💌 the kiss is one of those which start off as simple pecks, but get all crazy after that 😳
💌 you know you can’t get too carried away though, being in the middle of the street and all.
💌 osamu takes you to his house instead of dropping you home, and atsumu can’t help but smirk victoriously at the sight of your bruised lips.
💌 looks like you got a lil’ bit carried away after all
💌 instead of thanking his matchmaker brother, you opt for giving him the finger.
💌 osamu’s pretty content with that solution too, so it’s all good!
TSUKISHIMA
Tumblr media
💌 your mind immediately wanders to Tsukishima the moment you discover this Tiktok sound.
💌 things will either go really well, or really bad. and of course, you’re hoping for the latter.
💌 tsukishima’s a smart dude, and will immediately notice something is up the moment you pull out your phone and start grinning ear to ear.
💌 “what are you doing?” he really doesn’t waste time.
💌 “hey, do a tiktok with me.”
💌 “absolutely not.”
💌 but he doesn’t stop you when you set up your camera and press the three second countdown.
💌 when the question pops up, tsukishima is lowkey shocked
💌 like, what did i just hear? 👁👄👁
💌 you’re laughing your ass off at his reaction, but tsukishima wouldn’t be tsukishima if he allowed others to openly laugh at him in his presence or at all for that matter
💌 he gives you one of those “shut up” kisses :)
💌 and suddenly, the tables have turned, and he’s the one who’s making fun of your reaction!
BOKUTO
Tumblr media
💌 bokuto’s actually the one who introduces you to the trend
💌 the hilarious thing is, he didn’t even mean it as a confession, he just wanted to show you one video which he found particularly cute!
💌 he’s super excited about it, so while he’s taking a break during practice, he whips out his phone from his bag, and shows you the video.
💌 it gets your heart pumping QUICKLY fr-
💌 you’re not actually sure how to react tbh. you know that there’s a chance bokuto was just showing it to you because he thought it was cute, not because he was indirecting the fact that the two of you should actually kiss.
💌 but my guy akaashi has got your back :D
💌 “bokuto-san, does that mean you would like to kiss y/n as well, seeing as she’s your friend?”
💌 “...hey, hey, hey! dude, you’re right!”
💌 bokuto does not hesitate-
💌 pulls you towards him, then tilts his head just right so that he can kiss you.
💌 it’s over in an instant, there’s literally no time to react.
💌 he isn’t trying even a little bit to hide the smile on his face.
💌 “i’ll give you more later, i have to go back to practice now, yeah?”
HOSHIUMI
Tumblr media
💌 another one who knows his way around Tiktok - chances are, he found the trend before you did.
💌 hoping that you’ll understand why he’s calling it his new favourite trend, and get the hint that likes you and wants you to confess that way!!
💌 spoiler alert: you’re going to do it.
💌 the whole thing goes down during one of your weekend sleepovers.
💌 it’s three am, both of you are dead tired, and you’ve decided that you want a kiss before you head to sleep.
💌 loud enough for him to hear, not loud enough for his parents to wake up, you play the sound.
💌 “what? you— y/n!!”
💌 this cutie can’t even form words, he’s that happy!
💌 does not waste any more time trying to speak - he’s sure that you’d rather be kissing him.
💌 and you would :)
💌 hoshiumi starts off by placing kisses all over your face and neck, purposely avoiding your lips.
💌 because that’s his final prize, of course!
💌 it feels like forever has passed, before your lips finally touch his.
💌 it’s amazing, it’s sweet, it’s heartwarming, it’s all the synonyms which you can possibly come up with for those three words.
💌 the two of you fall asleep, legs tangled and all.
💌 his parents most likely have at least heard of tiktok. don’t know the trend specifically, but know that their son has finally managed to get himself a beautiful girlfriend! ❤️
KUROO
Tumblr media
💌 here we go,,
💌 this whole situation is like a total accident.
💌 you were just scrolling through your for you page like we all do, when you came across the original video.
💌 “why can’t friends just kiss?”
💌 kuroo’s head turns so fast when he hears it.
💌 hasn’t seen the trend himself, but thank you to the man who made it, you’ve given kuroo an opportunity to kiss his crush 🙏
💌 “you know, that man is talking sense.”
💌 he’s smirking, he’s wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and you’re trying to keep it together.
💌 don’t freak out, don’t freak out, don’t freak out
💌 “maybe we should kiss. like right now, and prove that friends are indeed allowed to kiss?”
💌 you’d like that, wouldn’t you? :))
💌 and so, when he leans in, you do absolutely nothing to stop him!
OIKAWA
Tumblr media
💌 flipping heck, he’s so pretty
💌 soo...
💌 do 👏 this 👏 trend 👏 with 👏 him 👏 please 👏 and 👏 thank you............👏
💌 oikawa absolutely adores Tiktok, so you can bet your ass he knows about it.
💌 of course, doing something like this takes GUTS. confessing to anyone is a pretty difficult thing to do, especially with a good friend!
💌 you decide to confide in Iwaizumi in the matter, you know you can trust him not to say anything until after the big day.
💌 someone you can’t trust with a secret as big as this, is Matsukawa.
💌 accidentally overheard the convo between you and Iwaizumi, and thought it would be hilarious to accidentally spill the tea to his majesty.
💌 who is absolutely excited, by the way.
💌 when the big day arrives, you’re nervous as hell, and so is he.
💌 things go wrong, oh so wrong.
💌 oikawa’s sitting beside you on the couch. as soon as you take your eyes away from the tv and start paying attention to your phone, he starts watching.
💌 you don’t actually notice, too busy trying to calm yourself down.
💌 and then...
💌 before you even get to press play on the sound, oikawa is turning your head and pressing his lips against yours.
💌 it’s one of those simple, yet expertly executed kisses, the kind which makes you unable to open your eyes for a few seconds.
💌 “you uh...didn’t play the sound.”
💌 “you didn’t give me a chance to, idiot.”
💌 he’s just silly like that but i think i speak for everything when i say we wuv him sm 🥺
USHIJIMA
Tumblr media
💌 Ushijima takes volleyball seriously, and he takes his studies seriously too.
💌 he’s been tutoring you for about one and a half hours now, and what the hell you’re so tired.
💌 but according to waka-baby, you haven’t done enough to deserve a break!
💌 (it’s true, you’ve only done about 3 questions since the topic is so boring lol)
💌 BUT THAT IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT THE POINT!
💌 begging and grovelling doesn’t work on Ushijima. and that’s when you think - what about Tiktoks?
💌 specifically the trend which has friends becoming lovers through a kiss after a single question.
💌 when Ushijima goes up to the counter to ask for more coffee, you take out your phone and quickly search for the sound.
💌 he’s not impressed by your choice to do this, but he forgets about that once he hears those sweet, sweet words.
💌 stays silent at first, as if in deep thought.
💌 “if i agree to this, will you get some work done?”
💌 “how about you agree to this, because you like me?”
💌 you used confidence! it was super effective!
💌 ushijima allows you to kiss him, and to him, your smile is brighter than the freaking sun.
💌 “lets get back to work.”
💌 but you and him both know that neither of you will be able to concentrate now :)
ATSUMU
Tumblr media
💌 osamu’s the one who shows you the Tiktok. passed it on through kita, who’s just knowledgeable about everything??
💌 but are you sure you want to do this?
💌 h e c k y e s ☐ f r i c k n o ☒
💌 just kidding!!
💌 after showing you the video, osamu, the better twin, enlightened you about the fact that atsumu was planning to do the trend on you!
💌 cute, awh 🥺
💌 unlucky for him, you beat him to it! sorry not sorry
💌 you make your move the day before he wanted to make his.
💌 you play the sound, lowkey excited to see atsumu’s look of surprise.
💌 but...there isn’t one?
💌 what’s? going?? on???
💌 “‘you got played baby girl. ‘samu showed you the trend on purpose, and lied about me wanting to do the trend. all so that you’d be the first to admit that you like me.”
💌 he’s a little kid stuck in a teenager’s body, please forgive him.
💌 gives you one kiss for the sake of the video, and about twenty for messing around with you :))
753 notes · View notes
swan-of-sunrise · 3 years
Text
Taking Care of Business (Chapter Six)
Tumblr media
Summary: The trio makes their way back to Mos Eisley, and Din begins to realize how much his new partner really means to him.
Pairing: Din Djarin X Reader
Word Count: 2.9k
Warnings/Disclaimers: None
A/N: Kind of a filler/random chapter that I’m not too sure about, but I wanted to sprinkle in a bit of fluff before we get into the next big adventure lol I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Six The Medic (Previous Chapter)
After helping the Tuskens and the villagers gather up their weapons and supplies, Din and (Y/N) began preparing their speeder bike for the trip back to Mos Eisley. The Tuskens had gifted them a large chunk of the creature’s meat and while they continued harvesting the rest of its carcass, he and the captain wrestled the heavy meat onto the back of the bike; the child watched them work with widened eyes, and Din grinned in amusement when he realized how eager he was to eat it.
Din glanced up from their work as Cobb walked up to them, the Mandalorian armor packaged up in his arms. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to explain.”
“No need.” The marshal placed the bundle of armor onto the seat of the speeder before handing him the helmet, a smile of respect on his weathered face. “This was well-earned.”
“It was my pleasure.” He spoke truthfully, shaking Cobb’s outstretched hand; through their adventure together, he’d grown to admire the marshal and considered it an honor to have fought by his side. Well, mostly admire, he thought to himself, recalling how the charming man had flirted so easily with his partner.
Letting go of his hand, Cobb turned to (Y/N) with a lopsided grin. “Well, if you ever get tired of hangin’ ‘round this fella, princess, you know where to find me.”
Din felt a sudden surge of jealousy. The captain didn’t appear to be romantically interested in the ruggedly-handsome Marshal of Mos Pelgo, but it didn’t stop Din from envying the man for the effortless way he made her smile.
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, but…” (Y/N) looked over at Din with a glimmer of admiration in her eyes that nearly made him blush. “I think I’m right where I’m meant to be.”
Cobb shrugged good-naturedly and shook her hand. “Princess, you sure are somethin’.” He winked at her before looking between her and Din. “Well, this was fun. I hope our paths cross again, you two.”
“As do I.”
The marshal turned to walk away but halted, gesturing over to the Mandalorian armor with a smirk. “Oh, and tell your people I wasn’t the one that broke that.”
Once Cobb made his way over to where his villagers stood, Din glanced over at (Y/N) as she wrapped her cowl around her shoulders. “Feel up to driving, alor’ad?”
“I always am.” With a grin, she pulled on her goggles and secured the child in his satchel before carefully climbing onto the packed speeder bike. “Ready to go, partner?”
With a nod, Din seated himself behind her and placed his hands on either side of her waist as she revved the speeder’s engine and shot forward, starting out back across the Dune Sea with the twin suns high above them. They had originally planned on traveling the entire way back to Mos Eisley without stopping but as the suns began to set, Din reconsidered the plan; his body was aching all over and he knew that (Y/N)’s leg was injured, so he ultimately decided that their best course of action was to camp out for the night and travel at first light.
The captain readily agreed to his new plan and stopped the speeder bike near a small outcropping of rocks, keeping an eye on the child as Din set up their camp. He watched the two of them out of the corner of his eye while he worked, biting back an amused chuckle whenever he caught a snippet of (Y/N)’s words; she spoke to the child as if he were an adult, perhaps because she wasn’t used to dealing with small children, but it was entertaining to listen to her partake in an almost one-sided conversation with the babbling child.
“How’s your leg?” Din asked later on that evening, after they’d put the child to sleep in his satchel; he and (Y/N) were sitting beside the campfire and he noticed that she’d been absentmindedly rubbing her calf as they talked. “I saw you limping back there.”
“Oh, yeah, I think I might’ve landed on it weird when Vanth and I fell out of the sky.” She stretched out her right leg and flexed it, trying and failing to mask her wince of pain behind a smile. “It feels…okay.”
Giving his head a small shake, Din gestured to her leg with a gloved hand. “May I?” With a small sigh of defeat, she nodded and leaned back on her elbows as he carefully rolled up her trouser leg. He could tell even through his helmet’s visor that the captain’s calf muscle was cramped, the theory only confirmed when he hovered a hand over the bulge and felt the slight warmth radiating off of it through the leather of his glove. “Yep, your muscle cramped up, probably due to the shock of the impact. There’s not much a person can do to speed up its healing, unfortunately, but…” He cleared his throat, his hands beginning to sweat nervously underneath his gloves. “But I can make it feel a little better…”
“O-okay. Thank you, Mando.” Her kind smile faltered a bit once he tentatively began rubbing his thumbs down on the spot. “I guess I should add ‘medic’ to your ever-growing list of impressive skills, right alongside ‘Tusken Translator’ and ‘Diplomat.��” Din scoffed and she lightly kicked his armored thigh with her other foot. “I’m serious! The way you got those two groups to set aside their differences and work together was amazing, Mando, and you should be proud of yourself.”
Din felt his face warm at (Y/N)’s praise, and he was thankful that she couldn’t see just how flustered her words made him; feeling overwhelmed, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You know, there’s no Mando’a word for ‘diplomat;’ ‘translator’ is miit’amyc and ‘medic’ is baar’ur, but there’s no word in that language that directly translates ‘diplomat.’ The closest would be naak, which means ‘peace.’” He looked up from his work to meet (Y/N)’s stunned expression, suddenly feeling self-conscious under her gaze. “I’m rambling, sorry-”
“No, no, it’s okay! You’re actually doing a great job at distracting me from the pain, baar’ur,” She joked, biting back a wince as he continued massaging the muscle. “How do you say ‘bounty hunter’ in Mando’a?”
“Beroya.”
“What about ‘smuggler’?”
He paused for a moment. “Mir'sheb.”
(Y/N) smiled. “So, you’re a beroya and I’m a mir’sheb.” At her statement Din burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer and she merely raised a confused brow. “What, did I pronounce it wrong?”
“Mir’sheb...mir’sheb means ‘smart-ass’...”
His chuckles continued as she threw him a withering glare and the corners of her lips curled into a reluctant grin. “Just for that, I’m gonna find a language you don’t know and learn to speak it just so I can call you names all the time.”
Their laughter died down and they sat in comfortable silence as Din massaged her cramped muscle. With one particularly hard rub, (Y/N)’s eyes squeezed shut in pain, she blurted out, “It’s kinda silly, isn’t it? You purposefully get swallowed by a kriffing krayt dragon yet I’m the one with the stupid injury.”
Din frowned in guilt, remembering the expression on the captain’s face when he’d flown out of the creature’s mouth; it had been an equal mixture of shock and anger, the latter nearly disguised by her trademark grin. “I’m sorry, alor’ad.”
“It’s okay, it’s already feeling a little bit better-”
“That’s not what I was talking about.” He interrupted. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about my plan; we’re partners now, and I didn’t treat you as my partner back there.”
Blinking her eyes open, (Y/N) looked at him with a patient expression on her face. “I understand, Mando, there wasn’t enough time. I was…I was just worried about you, that’s all.” Din stopped massaging the muscle and she gave her leg an experimental flex. “Oh, that feels great! Did you want to take first watch or should I?”
“I will,” He quickly answered, averting his gaze as she bent over to roll down her trouser leg. “You get some rest.”
(Y/N) bid him goodnight and crawled into the bedroll beside the child, her breathing evening out as she quickly fell asleep. Once Din was sure that the captain was unconscious, he began taking off pieces of his armor and tending to his many injuries; since they were only darkening bruises, he couldn’t really do anything except examine them and check for any broken skin before strapping his armor back on over them. He finished his work quickly, wincing in pain as he straightened his back and rolled his shoulders.
“Dinner time.” Din mumbled under his breath, reaching over and grabbing a ration pack from his bag. He made swift work of opening it up, since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten, and just as he was about to lift the bottom of his helmet up over his mouth, he hesitated; glancing over at his partner and the child, he made the split-second decision of removing the entire helmet.
As the cool desert breeze blew over his warm skin, Din’s eyes widened in shock at his own recklessness, but his shock was soon replaced by wonder when his gaze drifted back to the captain. With his own eyes he was finally able to admire all those features he’d noticed the moment he met her, taking note of the softness of her skin and the way the corner of her lip curved up while she slept; the breeze had blown some of her hair onto her face and for the briefest of seconds, he’d been tempted to reach over and brush it behind her ear. Kandosii’la. But common sense finally returned and he gave his head a small shake before quickly eating his food and securing his helmet back on, purposefully looking anywhere but her as he continued his watch.
It wasn’t just (Y/N)’s beauty that had taken him aback that evening. Din wasn’t used to having someone around who worried for his safety; when she’d wished him luck before their first mission together, he figured she was only being polite, but now he knew that she genuinely cared about his well-being. Cobb Vanth was right back there, Din thought to himself as his face flushed, his partner really was something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Din allowed (Y/N) to drive the speeder bike, partly because his body was still sore from the previous day’s excitement and partly because he secretly enjoyed the feel of his gloved hands on the curve of her waist. As they sped across the Dune Sea, thoughts of their quest intruded on his mind and he inwardly sighed; they hadn’t found a Mandalorian on Tatooine, which meant that they were virtually back at square one.
Preoccupied with planning their next move, Din didn’t spot the trip wire until it was too late; they were instantly ejected off the speeder, the child crying out in shock as they flew through the air. Din twisted in midair, hastily bringing a hand up to his vambrace and igniting his jetpack so that he could land on his feet. He stumbled backwards and dodged the burning speeder as it flew past him and crashed onto the sand in the distance, turning to see where (Y/N) and the child had landed just as blaster bolts hit his shoulder and helmet. Grunting, Din stumbled back some more and heard a gruff voice call out, “Get the child!”
Another shot hit his shoulder and he quickly realized that he was being cornered by four figures, pulling out his blaster to shoot one of them but missing his mark when another attacker slammed down on his weapon with a sword. He dropped the blaster but was quick to defend himself, managing to disarm his attacker and hit him in the head; two attackers pinned him up against the rocks and he couldn’t do much but hold his arms up to defend against their blows until he spotted the fourth attacker beginning to aim a rifle blaster at him. He quickly fired his grappling hook and watched as it wrapped around the weapon, tugging it hard and ducking down to let the weapon hit both his attackers in the heads. They fell to the ground and he stood but froze when he saw that the fourth attacker was holding the child in one arm and a knife in the other.
“Wait!” Din held his hands up, his heart clenching as he took in the child’s widened eyes. “Don’t hurt the child. If you put one mark on him there’s no place you’ll be able to hide from me.” The attacker didn’t move, but he was suddenly aware of a familiar presence nearby; to distract the attacker, he gestured towards the speeder wreck in the distance. “We can strike a bargain. There’s a lot of value in this wreckage; take your pick. But leave him.”
The attacker suddenly gestured towards Din’s left with his knife, speaking angrily in his unknown language and pointing it back at the child in his arms. He turned his head a little to watch (Y/N) reluctantly lower her blaster and toss it off to the side, looking back at the attacker and sighing when he realized just what the attacker wanted.
“Okay.” Din slowly reached behind him and detached his jetpack, taking a step forward and placing it gently on the ground before backing away. “Here, it’s yours. Take it. It’s okay.” He heard (Y/N) make a sound of protest and he held a hand out to quiet her as the attacker set the child down; he grabbed the jetpack and immediately ran off with it, but all of Din’s attention was on the child as he hobbled towards him with a distressed cry; he bent down and picked the child up, examining him for any injuries. “You okay?” The child cooed and looked over at (Y/N) as she hurried over and Din turned his attention to the fleeing attacker; bringing his hand up to his vambrace, he launched the jetpack high up in the air and all three of them watched as the attacker plummeted to the ground.
The child let out a snort of amusement in his arms and Din could hear the smile in (Y/N)’s voice when she quipped, “I guess the rumors were true: ex-bounty hunters really do have a flair for dramatics.”
“Says the woman who’s from Naboo, probably the most theatrical planet in the galaxy.” Din joked, his eyes still on the jetpack as he piloted it to land on the ground before them. His smirk faded when he looked over at (Y/N), finally taking note of her split lip and bruised neck. “Dank farrik, what happened to you?”
“I got in the way of a Nikto and his target.” She winced a little as she tried and failed to grin. “He was going after you while you were dealing with that first guy and I tried stopping him, but…well, I told you that I wasn’t the greatest at hand-to-hand combat.”
“Then that settles it; I’ll start training you as soon as we get into hyperspace.” Din vowed, his heart clenching as the captain nodded and shot him a grateful look. “Looks like we’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way to Mos Eisley, though…”
After fashioning a makeshift yolk out of scraps and a small argument with (Y/N) about sharing the load, they began their long walk out of the Dune Sea; Din was carrying the Mandalorian armor and the krayt dragon meat, and (Y/N) had slung the child’s satchel over her shoulders and was carrying the rest of their supplies in an improvised backpack. Theirs was a completely equal partnership, she’d reminded him with a brow raised in challenge, leaving no room for further argument.
While Din admired her strength and determination, he also worried about her slight limp and the injuries she’d sustained in their skirmish with the bandits so to distract himself from their current situation, he began asking (Y/N) questions about herself. He kept their conversation light, asking about her favorite things and listening to her answers with interest; she was fairly easy to talk to, unlike most people he came across, and it was almost a little strange just how closely she listened to him talk about his own life. And he knew that it wasn’t because she was feigning interest; she seemed to genuinely care about what he had to say, and that was something he wasn’t really used to seeing in another person.
“Have you ever tried uj’alayi?”
(Y/N) shook her head. “No, what’s that?”
“It’s a kind of cake, made with ground nuts, syrup and spices. It was my favorite food as a kid, and my…my mother would bake it once every month.” Din smiled a little at the memory before glancing over at the captain. “Don’t they have sweets on Naboo?”
“Yeah, but they’re really rich and filling; they definitely aren’t as tasty as how uj’alayi sounds.” They walked up a sandy dune and stopped at the top. Din was silently relieved when the city of Mos Eisley finally came into view, although a part of him wished their conversation could’ve gone on longer; I’m gonna find her some uj’alayi at the next market we visit, he silently vowed to himself as she exclaimed, “Maker, I’ve never been so happy to see a Tatooine city in all my life!”
“Really? As an ex-smuggler, I thought you’d love visiting shady dive-planets like Tatooine…”
“I’m gonna kick your ass for that…just as soon as I learn how to.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading!
Mando'a Translations: Alor'ad-Captain Miit’amyc-Translator Baar’ur-Medic Mir’sheb-Smart-ass Kandosii’la-Stunning, Amazing Uj’alayi-Uj Cake
Chapter Seven
Taking Care of Business Masterlist
Tagging: @remmysbounty​ @sinon36​ @seninjakitey​ @thatonedindjarinfan​ @ginger-swag-rapunzel​ @mostclevermiss​ @momc95​ @welcometothepedroverse​ @sarahjkl82-blog​ @zukoyonce​ @itsnottilly​
128 notes · View notes