#togeppys

with a bow on top ;

azriel x reader summary: reader had been sent on a mission on the continent for weeks, and was going to miss this year’s solstice celebration. rhysand decided that the only way to cure a brooding azriel was a surprise visit home from his mate.  wc: 2.4k

The Inner Circle knew Azriel well enough to tell that he was brooding. On a regular day, most people mistook the spymaster's usual silence for agitation, but his family knew that he simply preferred to listen. His behaviour for the last six weeks however - this had become incessant brooding. 

The first two weeks you were gone, he was tolerable. Given your positions in the court, both of you were used to being sent away for brief trips that separated you. You had learned how to cope with small lengths of time away from each other. He had gone about his days as usual; training in the morning with Cassian, and checking in with his spies in the afternoon for any new information.

The next three weeks, he was on edge. It wasn’t uncommon for a mission to stretch on for a month, but the distance definitely wasn’t comfortable. By this point, Azriel had resorted to keeping himself occupied at any given moment - he stayed out all day, and drank at night to keep himself from dwelling on how much he missed having you by his side. It snowed plenty in those weeks, and he had to stop himself from scowling in your absence each time he remembered the way you would light up at the sight of the snow falling outside your window. 

By the sixth week, the Inner Circle knew to tread lightly around the male. Everyone around him was abuzz at the spirit of solstice, but the shadowsinger had no holiday spirit. You wouldn’t be returning until just before the new year, and he didn’t feel very festive without you. Mor would ask him what he wanted as a solstice gift, and he simply huffed in response. His brothers had endless smack talk, taunting each other over who would win this year’s snowball fight, but the male stayed silent - he didn’t care about the outcome because he wouldn’t have you there to celebrate his victory. 

Azriel did what he could to not put a damper on everyone else’s solstice spirit - he helped decorate the river house to make sure everything was orderly, he bought everyone gifts, and made sure to get Nyx a few noisy toys that would give Rhys a headache. On solstice morning, he got up with his brothers to participate in the annual snowball fight, and he put in as much effort as he could muster. He did enough to put a smile on his family’s faces, but he wasn’t fully present. He wouldn’t be, unless you were there with him. 

As evening arrived, the entire family gathered at the river house to eat dinner together, celebrate Feyre’s birthday, and open presents. The group had chosen to open presents first this year - Nyx couldn’t stay awake long enough, so they decided to get the gifts out of the way and enjoy an adult-only dinner when he had been put to bed. 

Everyone wanted to see Nyx’s reaction to his gifts, so he opened them first while the others watched. The toddler giggled at the sound of wrapping paper being opened, and Azriel couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face at the child’s glee. You might not have been there, but his heart still felt warm being with the rest of his family. The happiness in the room was contagious, and despite the shadows skittering restlessly around the room, he felt at peace with his family around him. 

Rhys shot Azriel an annoyed look as Nyx opened up his final gift; a child’s drum kit that the shadowsinger had purchased with the sole intention of pissing off his brother. Feyre also looked weary as she looked at her son, who was already causing a ruckus with his new toy. 

“And to think I got you the best gift you could have asked for, and you punish me with this,” Rhys joked, exasperation in his voice. 

Azriel raised an eyebrow. “You got me the best gift I could have asked for? That’s high praise.” 

Rhys looked at his brother, a smug smile on his face. “If you can seriously think of any gift you’d like more than what I brought you, I will personally wear a tutu and go out into the streets of Velaris.”

Cassian’s eyebrows shot up at that. “Did you buy him a palace or something, how are you this confident?”

Rhys simply shrugged, to which Azriel narrowed his eyes. “Well let’s see, if you’re so sure.”

Azriel couldn’t even begin to guess what Rhys had bought him. At their age, gift giving was hard - everyone already had every material item they needed, so the holidays were filled with gag gifts, or items that ended up in a drawer unused. The only thing he wanted for solstice was you, and the day had already proven to be lacking in that area. 

Rhys stood up and left the room with a mischievous smile on his face, everyone’s eyes trailing him. 

“What could he possibly have gotten?” Cassian asked no one in particular, trying to think of what his brother would have wanted as a gift. 

Nesta, who was pressed against Cassian’s side, looked to Feyre. “Are you in on this?” 

Feyre shook her head, equally as confused as everyone else in the room. “I have no idea what he got any of you.” 

Mor, on the other side of the room, crossed her arms. “Well whatever it is, he better have given this much consideration to all of our gifts, it’s no fair if Azriel gets something spectacular and the rest of us get mediocre gifts.” 

The High Lord reappeared in the doorway, a small box in his hands. Considering how much Rhys had been boasting about his present, everyone looked skeptically at the size of the box. 

“Are there keys to Azriel’s palace in that box?” Cassian muttered, though loud enough for everyone to hear. 

Rhys passed the box to Feyre, who handed it off to Azriel, the daemati’s eyes still twinkling with mischief. The box was small and surprisingly light, with a red ribbon tied around it for some festive flair. Azriel looked down at it, mildly afraid of whatever it contained. 

“Open it,” Rhys urged, leaning in the doorframe, everyone in the room watching expectantly. 

Azriel finally pried his eyes away from his brother, going to untie the ribbon. He took it off gently, and opened the lid of the box to find… 

“Gloves?” Mor asked, no doubt surprised that it was - frankly, a quite nice - pair of gloves inside the box. Azriel’s name was stitched into the material, but it was nowhere near the calibre of gift that everyone had begun expecting. 

Azriel furrowed his eyebrows together, thinking about how they’d all be seeing Rhys in a tutu very soon. He lifted his gaze to Rhys and started to make the retort when the words died on his tongue. 

While everyone had been focused on Azriel unboxing his new gloves, Rhys had moved out of the doorframe. The space where he had stood moments before was occupied by a new figure - one that had Azriel forgetting how to speak. You stood in the doorway, a big smile on your face. Your cheeks were flushed from the cold, and there was a long red ribbon tying your hair back, identical to the one that had been wrapped around his gloves. Rhys had gifted Azriel you, served to him with a bow on top.

It was as if the world outside of the two of you faded away. Azriel’s heart began racing in his chest as the two of you locked eyes and if possible, your smile grew even further. 

The Illyrian barely heard his brother say “Happy Solstice”, before he had shot out of his seat and crossed the room so quickly that the others might have thought he winnowed. Within a matter of seconds, he had picked you up in a hug, his face lit up in pure joy. His shadows, which had been moving restlessly around all night finally focused, rushing towards you as quickly as their master had.

“Happy Solstice my love,” you whispered into his ear as he spun you around, and you could feel both of your hearts beating wildly in your chests as your bodies pressed against each other. Your mate finally set you down, and took your head in his hands as he examined your face. He was beaming, and took in every one of your features as if he wanted to never forget any detail about you. 

“I’ve missed you more than you can even imagine,” he muttered, finally moving to place his lips on yours. The two of you kissed like two people starved, desperate to make up for time lost in the last six weeks. You had gotten so lost in your reunion that you had forgotten you were in a room filled with family until Amren cleared her throat from across the room. 

“So, the brooding’s finally over.” 

You peeled yourself away from Azriel, slightly embarrassed, though happier than ever to finally be with your mate once again. Surely enough, the male who usually wore a stoic face like a uniform couldn’t stop looking as if his whole world revolved around you. 

“I wasn’t brooding,” he tried to defend himself, though his words contradicted his actions, given that he couldn’t peel his gaze from your face. 

Nesta scoffed, “You definitely were.”

Rhys laughed. “Cut them some slack, we’d all be the same if separated from our mates.” 

You and Azriel couldn’t even be bothered to nod your agreement as he took your hand and guided you back to where he had been seated. You pressed up against his side, looking at the box of gloves that were now on the floor. 

“Nice gloves,” you commented, your head going to rest on Azriel’s shoulder as you took everyone in. 

“I can’t tell if this means we’ll still be seeing Rhys in a tutu,” Cassian commented, eyes drifting down to the gloves again. 

Your face scrunched up in confusion, having missed that earlier part of the conversation. “A tutu?” 

“The gift Rhys was talking about was his wife, not the gloves, idiot,” Mor quipped, “Unless Az really can think of anything he would have wanted more.”

Azriel couldn’t deny it - Rhys was spot on. He had gotten him the one thing he wanted and nothing would beat having the one he loved in his arms after being away for so long. Although… “I can think of one thing.” 

Rhys’ eyebrows shot up, and you looked towards your husband, mildly offended that he would suggest that there was something he wanted more than you. “You can?” 

“Well, for her to have not left in the first place.” 

You rolled your eyes, and Rhys scoffed, leaning back in his chair. 

“That’s a technicality and you know it. Given the situation you were in, I got you the best possible gift.” Rhys disputed, crossing his arms with an eye roll. 

Azriel smirked at his brother before placing a kiss to the top of your head. “Yeah. Unfortunately we’re getting no ballerina Rhys this year.” 

For the rest of the evening, you and Azriel were in pure bliss. As your family opened gifts, you and Azriel shared stolen kisses, your hearts alight with joy. Laughter rang out all night, as you indulged in the wine and cracked jokes with your loved ones.

During dinner you stuffed yourself with delicacies, reveling in the family mealtime that you had yearned for every night. You shared stories of what your life had been like on the Continent for the last month, and your family caught you up on all that you had missed. 

You and Azriel couldn’t keep your hands off of each other; the spymaster kept one hand on your thigh at all times, and your hand constantly rested on top of his. When either of you needed the spare hand to eat, Azriel’s shadows slithered around your ankles, unwilling to let you go. The others poked fun at it, but they saw how happy the both of you were, and were finally happy to see you back at home. 

“We finally conquered Az’s winning streak at the snowball fight this year,” Cassian announced to you as he took a bite of a Feyre's birthday cake, “I took home the victory at last.” 

Azriel shook his head as he took a sip of his wine. “I demand a rematch. You only won because I wasn’t in the right state of mind. Now I could kick your ass.” 

“So you admit, you were brooding?” Rhys piped up, a taunting gaze shot towards Azriel, which caused you to laugh. “I will admit, it didn’t feel like a fair competition. I’m up for a rematch tomorrow morning.” 

“And we’re just nullifying my win? How is that fair?” Cassian complained.

“If you really thought you could win, you should be able to do it even when Azriel isn’t at a disadvantage,” you teased, to which Azriel smiled proudly, bringing your hand to his mouth to place a kiss atop your knuckles. 

“Fine, I’ll show you that I can win tomorrow as well,” the general complied, turning his gaze to you, “But Azriel will be at a disadvantage tomorrow as well with how much you’ll wear him out tonight- ow!”

Before Cassian could finish his sentence, Azriel had dealt a swift kick to his brother’s shins under the table, earning small chuckles around the table.

“There’s no chance anyone’s beating me tomorrow. None.” Azriel stated, eyes staring into your own, blazing with a confidence you very rarely saw from the male.

Surely enough, as the snowball fight ended the next morning, the three brothers entered the cabin to greet the girls, who had opted to lounge there for the day. Rhys couldn’t hide the laughter on his face, while Cassian dragged his feet as he walked towards the birchin, pout clear for all to see. Azriel walked in last, a smug smile on his face. 

the first solstice ;

azriel x reader summary: reader is spending solstice with the inner circle for the first time after becoming mated to azriel, and the court’s spymaster does his best to make sure that she’s comfortable around his family wc: 2.6k

At your age, you didn’t expect to be experiencing so many firsts. With 300 years of experiences under your belt, you thought you had become a creature of habit. Somehow, this year has proven you wrong. 

You met your mate, which led to you falling in love for the first time. You had your fair share of romances over the years, but none had you falling head-over-heels like your mate did. 

You met Azriel by a stroke of fate - he had been in the Summer Court on diplomatic business for his High Lord when you encountered him at a restaurant in Adriata. He had quickly caught your eye, partially because of how his Illyrian physique stood out in your court, and partially because of the way he radiated strength - no one could doubt that he was a warrior. You couldn’t let him pass you by, so the evening quickly turned to quiet conversation and coy smiles being shared; you were smitten. 

As dinner ended and you both began to part ways, you felt it then. The gold threads tying the two of you together pulled taut, as if forbidding you from saying goodbye. The bond burned strong between you, radiating throughout your whole body. You spun around to face each other, and the look in both of your eyes told you all that you needed to know - the Night Court’s spymaster was going to throw your entire world off-kilter. 

Azriel began visiting you in the Summer Court, and it didn’t take much for you to accept the mating bond. The man was charming, learned exactly how to make you laugh, and was downright beautiful to look at. Every single day with him was a new first, and you couldn’t be happier. 

The two of you had been dating for many months when an abundance of true firsts came around - your first winter solstice celebration at the Night Court, and your first time meeting his family. When Azriel proposed the idea of you finally meeting his family at the celebration, you had been on board; when better to meet his family than when they were too drunk to properly scrutinize you? 

Now, as you stand in your room waiting for Azriel to come pick you up, you can’t help but pace and wonder why you chose to do this to yourself. Being from the Summer Court, you very rarely celebrated the winter solstice. You acknowledged it every year, but you saved your festivities for the summer solstice instead. Are there any traditions you don’t know about? Should you drink less than everyone else so you don’t get drunk and say something crude, or is it impolite to turn down a drink from a High Lord? You’ve only heard terrible stories about the Night Court’s Inner Circle from others, and despite Azriel singing their praises, will they be awful to you because you’re not one of them? What if-

You’re jolted out of your fretting by a knock on the door. You take a few breaths to try and calm yourself before opening the door so that your mate won’t see the panic that was written on your face only a moment before. 

After a few heartbeats you open the door with a smile plastered on your face. Azriel stands in the doorway, and his eyes darken as soon as he sees you. His gaze rakes from your head to your toes before darting back up to your eyes. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” he says, placing a hand on the small of your back and pulling you flush against him for a kiss. 

When you both finally come up for a breath, you finally take a second to properly scan him. He always looks like a figure out of one of your dreams, but today he looks especially well-groomed, which has you tempted to pull him inside your home and bail on the night’s event. “You look incredibly handsome yourself.” 

Your hands grow clammy when you remember that you do in fact have to leave for the night. You subconsciously rub them against the side of your dress before reaching behind you to grab your bag. The first signs of panic emerged a week ago, when you had the Illyrian approve or veto each possible dress option to ensure that you weren’t over or underdressed for the event. In the end, you both settled on the one you’re wearing now, but you’re still anxious about it all the same. 

“I’m surprised you don’t have track marks on your floor from all the pacing,” Azriel hums as you double check the contents of your small bag to make sure that you have your keys and everything you need. 

“How did you know I was pacing?” 

“As soon as I arrived outside your door, I heard your footsteps. I thought it was kind of cute for the first few seconds, and then I realized you were actually panicking and decided to rescue you from your misery,” the male said, placing a kiss atop your head as you locked your door. 

As you turned to face him, you let out a long exhale. “What if they don’t like me, Az?” 

Azriel shook his head and took your hands in his. “There is nothing about you that they won’t love. My family is… okay yes, they’re loud. But they’re very nice people, and I’ll be there with you the whole night. You have nothing to worry about, okay?” 

You look into his eyes, which hold nothing but reassurance, and your heart calms enough for you to finally think a little clearer. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

Standing outside Rhys’ townhouse, Azriel gives you another second to collect yourself, reassuring you all the while. “If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. I don’t want to force you into it if you’re not ready.” 

You shake your head, “No. I’m going to have to meet them eventually.” You look towards the city of Velaris, and use the sight of the homes covered in snow to calm yourself. Azriel had brought you to the city before, but it had always lined up with the others being out of town. You mentally berated yourself, why didn’t you take those opportunities to meet them one by one? With one more deep breath, you take a step closer to the doorstep. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Azriel nods, and steps in front of you to open the front door. The warm interior is a welcome contrast to the freezing air you were standing in only seconds before. As you walk inside, Azriel takes your bag from you and sets it on a chair near the entrance, the sound of voices and laughter carrying over from the living room. 

The Illyrian holds his hand out, inviting you to take his hand and follow in behind him. You take it, and he presses a light kiss to your knuckles, before guiding you towards the living room. 

“Hey, Az is finally here,” a male voice rings out as you walk in. You don’t realize it, but you’re half-hiding behind your mate, not entirely painting the picture of confidence you wanted to present on your first meeting. 

“And the newest member of our family,” the other male voice says. It’s not hard to identify that it’s the High Lord, solely based on the amount of power radiating off of him. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

A shy smile lights up your features as you finally come out from behind your mate. Instantly, you feel only warmth from the fae in front of you - there’s no trace of the reputable iciness from the Night Court residents. “I’m glad to finally meet you as well. Az speaks really highly of you all.”

Azriel uses his free hand to point out each person in the home. “I’m sure you’ve probably worked it out by now, but this is Rhys, Cassian, Mor, and Amren.”

Mor stands up from where she and Amren shared a loveseat. She walks over to you, and Azriel slowly lets go of your hand. Mor takes his place, coming in for a polite hug in greeting. After the greeting, she links her arm through yours, a friendly smile on her face.“We were just waiting for you two to get started on dinner. Then, we open presents. Then - or during - whichever you fancy, we get super drunk.” 

Dinner is more pleasant than you expected. Mor sits to your right, while Azriel takes your left, his shadows idly tracing circles on your thigh while you eat. The female raises an eyebrow when she notices their movement, but doesn’t comment on it. As the dinner progresses, Azriel periodically checks in silently with a pointed look directed your way. Each time, you nod, ensuring him that you’re alright now - the panic has subsided. How could it not when his family has treated you with the utmost kindness?

“What’s Az like around you? And please spare no detail,” Cassian asks, lifting up a forkful of chicken to his mouth, “I’ve never seen him be such a mother hen. This is like… an entirely different Az than we know.”

Azriel, still trying to play it coy, raises an eyebrow. “I’m not acting like a mother hen.” 

“You are,” Mor finally pipes up, gesturing to the shadows still moving around your legs, “But it’s nice to see him so happy. We don’t usually get to see Azriel doing this much doting.” 

You smile at your mate, before turning your gaze back to the others at the table. “At first he just acted like a diplomat for the Night Court. I had to do some convincing to get him to realize that I didn’t have any intention of ignoring the mating bond.” You nudge the male next to you jokingly. “But he’s more than I could have ever asked for. You’d never expect him to be a cuddler, would you?” 

An amused grin lights up Rhys’ face at that. “A cuddler?” 

The corners of Amren’s mouth quirk up, and Cassian lets out a full laugh. “Az likes to cuddle? Oh, you’re never going to hear the end of that one.”

You look over at Azriel apologetically, noticing a hint of red starting to creep up his cheeks. However, he continues to hold his head up high, used to the teasing from his family. “Jealous you don’t have anyone to warm your bed?” He fires back at Cassian, which shuts the other Illyrian up. 

Rhys laughs at Azriel’s dig, and swirls his glass of wine around before taking a sip. “Got any other embarrassing stories that Az opted to keep from us?” 

You think about it for a moment, trying to come up with something that will lift the mood, but won’t embarrass the male too badly. You tug on your bond gently, as if asking for permission to share something else. He responds with an equally gentle tug and a warm feeling of support - his way of encouraging you, seeing that you’re making progress with his family. 

“He also talks in his sleep,” you finally decide on, thinking of something they might not know, “When he comes back from a mission he passes right out. When he’s done some work during the day but didn’t get proper sleep the night before, you can have a whole conversation with him in his sleep.” 

“Anything of substance?” Amren asks, evidently curious to hear if the male’s shared any secrets. 

“I once did an entire trade negotiation with him for fun,” you laugh, thinking back on it, “I got him to promise me half of the Night Court’s jewels in exchange for a mating ceremony on a made up isle off the coast of the Summer Court.” 

“In my defense, I think we had been doing some relocating that whole week,” Azriel piped up, recalling the event, “I don’t remember any of the conversation though.”

A chorus of laughs goes up from around the table. You visibly ease up at the positive responses you’ve been receiving and Azriel notices, reaching down to squeeze your knee in praise. 

“Rhys, you better watch for a raid on our troves when that mating ceremony happens,” Mor jokes, a pointed look at the High Lord. 

A twinkle in his eye, he smiles, looking between you and his brother. “Well, I can’t approve half of our jewels, but you’re definitely welcome to your pick of a few as a mating present from me,” he says, sincerity lacing his voice. “And, if your imaginary isle finds itself unfit for a wedding, the Night Court is eager to host.” 

You look towards your mate, love shining through both of your eyes at the realization that this is your new reality. You’re about to start a new chapter in your lives, and the people at this table will be there with you through it all. Azriel leans in to kiss your temple, as you smile back at Rhys, gratefulness written all over your face. 

“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” 

Cassian, who had been watching the interaction with admiration, chooses that moment to raise his glass of wine. “A toast,” he says, the rest of you lifting your own glasses in sync, “to our brother and our new sister. May the two of you find joy with each other, and to the first of many solstices together as a family.” 

“To family,” everyone repeats, taking a sip of their drinks, the joy in the room palpable. 

After dinner, you all continue the laughs throughout the opening of presents. You went shopping with Azriel to make sure you didn’t show up empty handed and had something to give to everyone in attendance. You and your mate had exchanged your gifts ahead of time, knowing that you’d want to keep them private for your first solstice together. To your surprise, the others also got you gifts, and you open them all with a smile brighter than any you’ve had in a while. 

The night ends with more drinks and a friendship formed with the others - everyone is drunk and stumbling into bed long past midnight, unable to make the trek back to the House of Wind.

You wake up in Azriel’s arms the next morning, his eyes already half lidded as you nestle your head into his shoulder, head pounding from the hangover. 

“Mornin’ love,” he mutters, voice gravelly from sleep. 

You let out a noise that’s akin to a grunt, which causes your mate to chuckle. He pulls you in closer to him, his hand going to rest on the small of your back. 

“I’ll take that as a sign you enjoyed solstice?” he asks into the top of your head. 

“Mhm,” you mutter again, desperately trying to fight the ache in your head, “It was really nice. I liked everyone.” 

“I’m glad,” he responds. The two of you lie there in silence for a short while, the only noise in the room the sound of your breaths as you take your time to fully wake up. 

“This was a really great first winter solstice,” you finally say when you’re awake enough to form proper thoughts, tilting your head up to look at your mate. Your heart is full - the night that you had expected to be full of judgemental stares was instead filled with inviting embraces and welcoming spirits. Not to mention, you got to have the male you love doting on you all evening. Everything was perfect. 

tsukishima kei x reader

reader is childhood friends with tsukki, and has an ongoing bit where she'll ask him out periodically. she's grown used to him saying no, and doesn't expect it when he actually says yes.

You would easily consider Tsukishima Kei your closest friend. You grew up on the same street, went to the same schools, and were in the same class on multiple occasions, so your frequent proximity had forced the two of you to become very familiar with one another. Though he had a personality that others may find sour, knowing him for so long meant that you had seen every version of him, and knew that there was more to him than the reputation that he had gained. Sure, he was arrogant and standoffish a vast majority of the time, but you knew that he was also kind and considerate towards those he cared about. 

You didn't think that it was possible to gain feelings for a friend so close to you, but over the years you couldn't help but find yourself growing more and more intrigued with the idea of being in a relationship with your best friend. You cherished the friendship that the two of you had, but you couldn't help but wish that it could blossom into something more. Even as a child, you knew you wanted to make a move, but were held back by the fear that he would take it negatively, and you would lose a friend that meant the world to you. Sure, you both had other friends outside of each other, but a life without Tsukishima Kei by your side was not something you wanted to risk. 

The first time you asked him out was a joke to test the waters. The situation had been perfectly laid out for you, so you figured you might as well give it an attempt. 

At twelve years old, you, Tsukki, and your deskmates sat chatting about how White Day was approaching, with some members of the conversation more enthusiastic than others. One boy excitedly announced that he had started dating another girl in the class, and was planning on surprising her with candy on the special day. One by one, each of the boys rattled off who they wanted to give a present on the holiday, while the girls helped pitch ideas on how they could make their surprises even better. 

"Who are you getting a present for, Tsukishima?" a voice sounded next to you, a bright eyed girl addressing the one member of the circle who had not made a contribution. 

Tsukki stared blankly at her, before shaking his head, "No one, I don't have a girlfriend." 

The boy seated next to him accusingly pointed a finger in his direction. "There's gotta be someone you want to get a gift for. It's White Day, this is your chance to get one!" 

Your best friend scoffed, folding his arms in defiance. "It's a made up holiday, and a girlfriend right now would be a waste of time and money. Why would I buy chocolates for someone I don't have any interest in?" 

Sounds of protest came from everyone sitting at the table. Upon hearing his thoughts, you supposed that should have been a clear enough answer to whether or not he had an interest in anyone, but you couldn't help but think that he was only staying quiet because you were present at the table. While somewhat disappointed, you knew that this was your chance to prod him further and get a more concrete answer.

"Date me, I'm your best friend and I'll gladly take the chocolates," you half-joked, trying to play it off as cool as a twelve year old possibly could.

Your answer came quickly, not in the form of an answer, but in the ease of him brushing you off, not even considering the possibility that you could genuinely mean what you had just said. 

"I'm not getting anything for anyone, find someone else to buy your chocolates." 

Following that conversation, it had been a whole year before you took another chance at proposing the idea of a relationship, fearing that you would be shot down once again. It was a similar situation; the environment had given you the chance to casually slide the idea into the conversation, and you couldn't give up the opportunity. 

You and now-thirteen-year-old Tsukishima Kei stood in a convenience store on your way home from school, picking out snacks after you had spent a long day with your clubs at school. You were in the art club and had to take home a painting that you had done on a disproportionately large canvas. As you decided you wanted a barbecue pork bun, Tsukki picked yours up on your behalf, seeing as your hands were fully occupied with your artwork. Standing at the till, he gave the payment to the store owner, an elderly man with a strong gaze, and took the bag that was handed to him in return. 

"Young man, why don't you give the food to your girlfriend and carry that massive painting for her instead?" the elderly man chimed as the two of you began to pull away from the counter. 

Both your eyes widened, and you could see that the taller boy's cheeks had gone slightly red at being criticized by the man before you, along with the realization that you had been incorrectly identified as his girlfriend. He opened his mouth in protest, but the store owner gave him a pointed look, forcing him to place the bag back on the counter and take the painting from your arms. A large grin broke out on your face as you picked up the buns and gave the man a toothy smile while the two of you gave him a small bow before exiting the store. 

"That's more like it," you heard the owner's voice carry from behind you as the doors to exit the store chimed while you walked into the evening air. 

The second you were out of earshot of the man, you broke out into laughter, immediately turning to the boy who had turned an even deeper shade of red. 

"Hear that Kei? Carry the massive painting for your girlfriend," you mocked, taking your bun out of the bag and taking a bite, ensuring to make a grand show of the amount of freedom your arms had in that moment. 

"Tsk," was the only response heard from the boy as he turned his face away from you to try and hide the red that was slowly disappearing from his cheeks. 

"I say we should start dating so that you can become my personal artwork carrier," you quipped as you skipped ahead of him along your path. 

"Never going to happen," his voice sounded from behind you, unamused. 

"Go out with me!" you called back, continuing to skip ahead of him. 

"No." 

That incident had begun the joke that ran between the two of you. You would ask him out, and he would respond with some form of deadpan denial. Your friends had grown accustomed to it, expecting you to make the joke from time to time. On the days you spent with both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, the shorter boy would even occasionally play along. 

"What in the world is that poster for?" you asked one day, noting an obnoxiously coloured poster stuck to a pole near the corner where you and Tsukishima split off from Yamaguchi on your paths home. 

"A couples dancing competition," the green haired boy read off with a laugh. 

"I wonder what the turnout would be, based on how ugly that poster is," your best friend commented, leaning forward to get a better look at the image before the three of you. 

"The two of you should sign up," Yamaguchi responded jokingly, matching the smile that was growing across your face, "It would be a sight." 

"You're so right, both of our incredibly above average dancing skills would blow the competition away," you joked, "the only thing we're missing is being an actual couple." 

"I'm not going out with you." 

"It was worth a shot." 

As you grew older, the two of you continued to remain best friends. You had shared sentiments over schoolwork, had jokes shared between each other, and you knew the ins-and-outs of each others' lives. You were closer than ever, but the fact that you two had only grown closer meant that it hurt even more that the two of you wouldn't be anything more than friends. As far as you were concerned, he only thought of you as a cherished friend, and all the times you had asked him out were nothing more than a gimmick resulting from a comfort level obtained from your level of friendship. You loved having him as a friend, but as you grew older and more mature, your feelings grew with you, and your childhood crush developed into infatuation with the boy living down the street. 

When high school came around, you both joined Karasuno together, acknowledging that it made sense for you to attend the same school once again. After the incident when you were thirteen, he had formed a habit of helping you carry your larger paintings on the walk home, and in turn you feigned some interest in the volleyball club, hearing what he and Yamaguchi had to say about their matches. 

When the boys volleyball team qualified for the finals of their tournament, you joined your school in supporting your two friends as they faced the top school in the prefecture. You were one of many loud voices cheering the boys on, though you liked to believe that amongst them all, you were cheering the loudest. When Tsukishima made the first block against the opposing ace, you felt a burning pride to see the boy you liked finally begin to show some emotion on the court, your excitement visible from the stands. 

Though you didn't understand the game well, it had you on your toes; everything that took place was crucial to the boys' success in the game. So encapsulated by the gameplay, and cheering on the series of blocks that Tsukki had done only moments before, you were confused when murmurs started to pass through the crowd and the players began to crowd around the tall blonde. It took a few seconds for you to realize that he was injured and was gripping his hand while the others spoke to him. Concerned, you left your spot amongst your classmates and approached his brother, who had a matching look of concern etched upon his face. 

"Akiteru, did you see what happened? Is Kei injured?" you questioned, standing next to the older Tsukishima brother. 

"I hope not," he muttered back, eyes carefully watching what was going on below. 

You both watched intently as your friend wrapped a towel around his hand and began to walk towards the gymnasium exit.

"C'mon, let's go see what happened," he stated, as you both left the stands along with the first-year Karasuno manager to go meet his younger brother. Walking down the steps you could feel the anxious energy radiating off of all of you, and you tried to shake it off so that the injured boy would not sense it too. The three of you met him outside the doors of the gym. 

"Kei, are you okay?" you asked, somewhat redundantly; of course he wasn't 'okay' if he was leaving the game because of an injury. 

"I'm fine," he quipped back, trying to act more nonchalant than you could tell he felt inside. You observed your friend as he had a back and forth with his brother over his physical state. He commented on how it was nice to rest after all the sets- you could tell that there was some truth to the statement, but you could also see that he had finally found his groove, and really wanted to be back in the game. As he began to walk away, you could see the frustration emanating from his stance, and you and his brother decided to follow him and the older manager to the infirmary.

You ran up to catch him, and walked alongside Tsukki, Kiyoko and Akiteru. You walked in silence, knowing that the middle blocker was busy ruminating on the events of the game, and could only think of getting back on the court, despite his efforts to pretend otherwise. As the four of you arrived at the infirmary, you sat beside him and the two others stood near the door behind you while the nurse took a look at his hand. You could tell that he was scared that the nurse would announce his hand was too severely injured and he would have to sit out the remainder of the match. 

To try and ease some of the nerves that he would be feeling, you grabbed his non-injured hand and gave it a small squeeze. 

"I'm sure it's fine and you'll be back soon," you whispered so that only he could clearly hear, "and once you get back, you'll win the game and go to nationals." 

You gave him a small encouraging smile, finally meeting his eyes, and for a few moments the boy did nothing but stare back at you. 

After a short pause he finally responded with a nod, "I hope so," before dropping his eyes as the nurse analyzed and dressed his wounds. The remainder of the visit, you four sat in silence, the volleyball player evidently deep in thought over what he would do when he returned to the match, however his eyes occasionally fluttered away, as if something were distracting him.

Soon, his finger had been wrapped and immobilized, and the nurse announced that he would be allowed to return to the game. The four of you sprung up, and began jogging back to the gym, Tsukki slightly out-pacing the rest of you. You and Akiteru stood by the doors as the other two ran to the coach to explain his condition and request that he be put back in the game. You and the other Tsukishima brother ran back up to the stands to watch upon seeing him take a seat on the bench, the substitution card in his hand. 

You watched as the remainder of the match unfolded, Tsukki back on the floor, knowing that he was still in pain though he tried to hide it. You didn't think it was possible, but you were even more captivated by the game in front of you, every movement drawing you closer and closer to the edge of your seat, more and more in awe of your best friend’s tenacity. When the final point was scored and Karasuno were announced as the winners, you jumped out of your seat, cheers and hollers all around you as your entire section cheered on the victory of your school's team. 

The victory party had begun, with Karasuno staff and students overjoyed alike, excitement filling the air. The team bowed to your cheering section, and you let out more cheers to your two friends before you. You first made eye contact with Yamaguchi, who had found you in the crowd sooner and you gave him a smile and a thumbs up to show your congratulations. Noticing his teammate's line of vision, your best friend found you as well and you beamed even more, changing your thumbs up into a heart that you made with both your hands. You could almost hear the half-laugh, half-scoff that came from the boy as he immediately turned away from your antics. You couldn't help but laugh as well when you turned away from your seat and started to join the crowd that had begun to trickle out of the stands. 

When everyone had finished mingling in the lobby, you excused yourself from your other friends to go greet the volleyball players who were dispersed outside the gym. You easily spotted the blond head of hair that stood taller and slightly apart from his teammates, the green-haired boy nowhere in sight. 

You decided that the best course of action to get his attention was to launch yourself at his back. So you did, and he let out a yelp as he caught you behind him, a small exasperated laugh being let out. You let go of him and gave him a proper hug, but from the front, despite his protests. 

"What did I say, go back soon, win the game, go to nationals," you said matter-of-factly, pointing a joking finger in his face once you had finally freed him of the hug, "I think I can see the future."

"I mean we were already so close to winning, the prediction was right in your face," the boy responded sassily, obviously trying to get back at your outrageous remark. 

"I don't know, I think I have a gift," you continued joking, "I'll show up to all of the nationals games and start predicting who's going to win, just you wait and see." 

"There are too many games going on, you'd never go to them all," the boy responded, trying to shut down your new aspirations. 

"No, I'll do it, just you wait and see. I'll go to all of yours too, up until you win it all." 

"You'd look like a stalker, the crazy fan of Karasuno who won't leave us alone." 

"Hmm... no," you responded back, "The best course of action is for us to start dating because then I would no longer be a crazed fan and instead a loyal girlfriend there to support my boyfriend." 

"Mhm okay." 

"And then if anyone asks I could just say that I... wait did you just say okay?" 

You had continued on your rambling, so focused on the dumb situation that you had thought up, that you had completely failed to notice the boy's response, or the way that he had been looking at you since the moment you had met him outside the gym. 

He now stood, smiling smugly at you, and you realized that while you had been going on and on, he had been looking down at you, a newfound admiration on his face. You couldn't say when exactly the change had been made, but you realized now that he was looking at you in a way that he had never once before, and you began to feel the butterflies in your stomach. 

"I did say okay," he stated plainly, placing a hand on the top of your head, making light of the fact that he towered over you. 

You were speechless and could do nothing but stare back at him in confusion. 

"After all this time, did you want me to say no again?" he asked, when almost a whole minute passed without a response from you. 

"NO, no not at all," you said finally, accepting that he wasn't just messing with you and actually meant it, "it just caught me off guard." 

The boy removed his hand from your head and smiled once again, less smug this time. 

"Okay, so now I'm expecting you to show up to all our games at nationals and be the supportive girlfriend cheering me on constantly." 

"Girlfriend already?" you retorted, once again taking his non-injured hand in yours, the difference being that now he held it as well, the feelings no longer one sided, "What happened to taking a girl out on a few dates before claiming that title?" 

"Did you really ask me out all those times just to not even want to be called my girlfriend?" he asked back, eyes narrowing in disbelief at the comment that you just made. 

"Nevermind, girlfriend it is." 

Bonus:

A week had passed since the volleyball team had won the game against Shiratorizawa. The boys had been busy following the win, so you finally had a moment to treat both your friends to a congratulatory dinner. The three of you walked in the direction of the restaurant on a Sunday, with you standing in between your two friends. You passed a hideous poster, identical to the one that the three of you had previously joked about. 

"Now that we've mastered volleyball, I think it's time for you two to take up dancing seriously," Yamaguchi smiled, recalling the previous joke that you had made over the poster. 

"I wholeheartedly agree," you said back, "this time we even meet the couple criteria." 

Yamaguchi stopped walking, turning to look at the two of you. You innocently looped your arm into Tsukki's, though your boyfriend stood still, no reaction evident on his face or through his body language. 

A few seconds passed before Yamaguchi unfroze and continued walking, a smile now plastered on his face. 

bodhi durran x tavis!reader

garrick discovers that his younger sister has been in a secret relationship with bodhi and takes his duties as a protective older brother very seriously. ✧ : slight nsfw near the beginning but I don't write smut as of rn so it's super surface level and like 3 sentences lmao

The first rule of being in a secret relationship should probably be to make sure you always lock the door behind you. Usually, this would be your priority - double checking that no one was around to watch you slip into a secret alcove, only passing stolen kisses in the quiet of an empty classroom, and locking the damned door. Only, today Bodhi looked so ridiculously beautiful as he trained his squad that your priority was elsewhere; you desperately needed to get your lips on him, and he needed to get his hands on you - beelining your way to the solitude of his room was the only thing on either of your minds.

The only issue that both of you neglected to consider was that for marked ones, an unlocked door guaranteed uninvited visitors.

An unlocked door wouldn't have been a problem if your older brother, Garrick, hadn't been looking for you to let you know that he had some spare time to give you extra training. It wouldn't have caused any issues if he hadn't run into Emery in the hallway, who told your brother that he saw you and Bodhi head into the second year's room only moments before. It wouldn't have resulted in the situation you're currently in if the two of you hadn't had such an incredibly platonic relationship over the years, that it didn't even cross the older Tavis' mind to knock, because there was no way the two of you were up to anything that he couldn't just barge into.

The problem was that all of the above did happen, and you and your boyfriend now have to pay for the consequences of your own actions.

Within moments of returning to Bodhi's room, his shirt was discarded onto the floor and you found yourself in his lap as the two of you got comfortable atop his bed. His back leans against his headboard and your mouths are locked together in a passionate kiss, as if starved for one another. Your fingers are lost in his hair, gripping his soft curls as if it will keep you from floating away from pure bliss. His hands are gripping at your ass, fingers kneading at the soft skin, indicative of pure desire.

If humanly possible, you're drawing yourself even further into his embrace when the sound of the door clicking open surprises both you and your boyfriend, instantly causing you to pull apart. You roll off of him to lie on the vacant side of the bed and bury your face in the pillow as if hiding your face will make you unrecognizable to the unwanted guest, and Bodhi makes a show of being very interested in the ceiling.

"Hey, I've got like an hour free-" the all-too-familiar voice sounds as it enters the room, but quickly goes silent. You don't even have to look back at the man standing in the doorway to know what expression he wears: jaw ticking in annoyance after having snapped shut, mouth set in an unamused line, and broad arms crossed over his chest to make himself look larger and more intimidating than he already does.

You peel your face away from the pillow hesitantly to get a look at your brother, and sure enough, you've got it down to a tee. His eyes bore into you, fury apparent on his face as he takes in the sight before him.

"Explain. Now," he growls out, finally properly entering the room and shutting the door behind him. And locking it. As you very clearly should have done.

Bodhi squeezes his eyes shut for a few seconds before reopening them and finally looking at the angry man before him, dread apparent on his face. "We were just… studying."

Garrick's expression is unwavering as his eyes move from Bodhi's swollen lips down to his bare chest, and to both of your packs laying next to his own feet, very clearly shut and untouched with all of your books inside. "Try again."

You and Bodhi glance at each other, a moment of terrified eye contact before you grimace, hoping that he won't take his anger out too severely on either of you. "So… my dear big brother who I love very much…"

The man walks closer to the edge of the bed and if even possible, levers a more terrifying gaze on both of you. "Cut the crap. Is this a hookup or is this an ongoing thing that the two of you have neglected to mention to me?"

Bodhi scratches the back of his head, clearly puzzled as to which answer will result in a lesser punishment for both of you. On one hand, claiming it's a hookup would mean you could pretend nothing has happened before today, but it would end in Garrick beating the shit out of Bodhi for trying to sleep with his little sister. On the other hand, telling him the truth might mean your brother would hopefully see that you two are serious about each other, but would cause him to get angry about not being kept in the loop… and probably still end with Garrick beating the shit out of Bodhi.

You loose a sigh and wince, knowing you'll have to face the man's wrath regardless of your response. "The second one."

Garrick stands still for a moment, his expression unreadable as his gaze darts between the two of you. For a moment there's a tense silence as both you and your boyfriend wait to see his reaction.

"Does anyone else know? Does Xaden?"

You shake your head. "No."

"And how long has this," he gestures between the two of you, and you feel yourself turn a deep shade of red, "been going on?"

"Three months." Bodhi answers, speaking with extreme caution as if any word will cause your brother to pounce on him at any given second. Both of you are walking on eggshells, waiting for the mass destruction you know is coming.

The older boy tenses, raising an eyebrow at you. "Three whole fucking months? And when exactly were you planning on mentioning this to me?"

You scratch your head, thinking of the best answer to give him. You and Bodhi had discussed when would be the best time to mention your relationship to Garrick and Xaden, but you were both scared that it would change everything. With Bodhi being one of Garrick's best friends, and the four of you essentially being as close as family growing up, you were worried that if anything went south it would tear your group apart. So, you decided to keep it a secret until you were sure that you were committed to making the relationship work.

"Soon, we swear," Bodhi starts, unsure of how to best relay your plans to your brother, given that they weren't exactly concrete, "We just… wanted to be sure that this was going to work before making it public."

"And so even after three whole months, you still weren't sure enough to tell your own brother?" Garrick retorts, voice so levelled it sends a shiver down your spine, "Don't you think that might have been indication enough?"

Before you can stop them, the words are exiting your lips faster than you can force them back in. "Well, most people usually wait until after three months to announce pregnancies. I'd say three months is pretty standard to announce big relationship news."

The regret instantly floods your whole system as soon as you finish your sentence, and Garrick responds immediately, moving to your side of the bed, ready to swipe at you for your snark. You jump over Bodhi with a yelp, and he follows you, the two of you now standing with the bed in between you and the third-year. Your boyfriend stands slightly in front of you, ready to protect you from any hits Garrick might toss your way; while you know your brother won't hurt you too bad, you've definitely roughhoused in the past and know that despite his overprotectiveness, he isn't afraid of leaving you with a couple of bruises after a fight.

"Forget she said that," Bodhi tries to recover on your behalf, shooting you a mildly annoyed look from over his shoulder, "But we are sure about the two of us. Just… you wouldn't have wanted us to casually tell you over breakfast would you? We were just waiting for the right moment."

Garrick cracks his knuckles as he stares down the man in front of him. "You think that's going to change my opinion of this all? You're one of my best friends and I trusted you to keep an eye out for my little sister. She's the only damned person I care about keeping safe in this hellhole, and despite all the trust I had in you, you went and started sleeping with her behind my back?" Your brother points an accusatory finger at Bodhi, before moving it in your direction, "And you… do you want to even talk about how shitty it is to find out like this that my only family left has been keeping a secret this major from me?"

Both you and Bodhi are stunned to silence, and you feel your heart breaking in your chest despite the fear you felt only minutes ago. You knew that it was wrong of you both to keep this from him for so long, but you were so consumed by your own fear of ruining the group dynamics and the excitement of being in a secret relationship that you barely considered how finding out that you've been keeping this a secret would impact your brother.

"Gare, I'm so sorry," you whisper, your eyes sincerely apologetic as you lock eyes with your brother whose rage-filled expression now holds traces of betrayal.

"I'm sorry for keeping this a secret, but I'm not sorry that any of this happened," Bodhi speaks up boldly, causing Garrick to snap his gaze over to the boy and narrow his eyes, confused yet still angry, "I have been keeping an eye out for your sister, and us being in a relationship hasn't changed that. If anything, it's just made me even more protective over her. If you think I'm going to let anyone hurt her when I'm around, you're out of your damn mind."

The tension between them reminds you that despite the fact that you're Garrick's sibling, Bodhi is one of his best friends - he has a long-standing relationship with your brother that makes him unafraid to challenge him when others would cower in fear. Garrick moves around the bed obviously to give Bodhi a piece of his mind, but you step between the two men, placing a firm hand on Garrick's chest to stop him from advancing.

"Hear him out for a second," you beg, your voice barely above a whisper, "Please."

The third-year levels a look on you for a second, before crossing his arms once again over his chest, eyes boring into his friend, letting him know that he's allowing him to continue speaking, though he's not happy about it.

"I love your sister, and I am so damn serious about this relationship. I don't give a flying fuck if you approve of us or not, but I will never betray the trust that you put in me to keep her safe. If it's the last thing I do, I will make sure that anyone that threatens her safety will pay."

You can't hide the shocked look on your face - you and Bodhi had only been dating for three months, so you had never said that you loved each other, but you know without a doubt that you feel the same way about him despite the words going unspoken until now.

Garrick stares at the boy for a moment, deep in thought. It's as if you can physically see the gears turning in his head as he decides how to proceed. He finally lets out a sigh, and then his gaze turns to you.

"Do you love him?"

Without hesitation, you drop your arm from where you were holding your brother back, and nod. "Yes. I do."

"And he… treats you well?" the older boy asks, gaze skeptically jumping to his friend, seeing as he's the person that knows the most about the kinds of antics your boyfriend gets up to.

"Extremely well." You nod once again, a smile gracing your lips as you look back at Bodhi for a second. "Besides, wouldn't you rather me date your best friend than another guy in the quadrant? Imagine how much different this situation would be if you had walked in on me with Aetos instead."

Garrick and Bodhi both look appalled for a moment, causing you to laugh slightly, easing some of the tension in the room. A slight smile lights up Garrick's lips, before they fall back into a straight line.

"Durran, if you ever break her heart I will break your jaw, get Nolon to mend it, and then break it again before you can recover. Got it?" he threatens, icy gaze trained back on Bodhi.

The boy nods, a smile now on his face, relief taking over both of you as the situation you had dreaded for so long has finally been dealt with. "Got it, Tavis."

Garrick stands for a moment again, surveying both of you for a minute before slowly nodding and heading for the door. He unlocks it and moves to step through the doorframe, before looking back at you for a moment again. "Just to be clear, I never want to see PDA from either of you. Keep it behind locked doors from now on."

He walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him. You and Bodhi both breathe a sigh of relief, both of you mentally exhausted from the altercation. With an exhale, you flop down on the bed, your body going limp now that the air in the room no longer feels so heavy. Your boyfriend softly smiles at the sight, before a deeper cheeky smile lights up his face. He moves across the room to where your brother stood only seconds before, and presses the lock with a light 'click.'

Your head snaps up to see him approaching you, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he leans over you.

"Now that that's out of the way, how about picking up where we left off?"

bonus:

At dinner the next day, you sit chatting with Imogen and Liam, advising the first-year boy on how to stay as far away from burnout as possible when dealing with Professor Carr's training. Liam lets out an exhausted sigh as he defeatedly takes a bite of the bread on his plate, and you and Imogen chuckle, knowing what he's had to endure.

Your eyes flicker up as a flurry of movement approaches your table, and your smile falls when you see your boyfriend limp over to you as he sits down, his lip busted open and caked with blood.

"What the hell happened to you?" Imogen questions, and Bodhi doesn't respond, eyes only moving to the two larger forms that come and join your group. Garrick and Xaden have matching mischievous smiles on both of their faces.

Your brother takes a bite of an apple as he sits down, his expression full of pure joy despite the bruises forming along his own jaw as he gives you a content smile. "Bodhi just needed a little ass kicking today. No biggie."

You roll your eyes, shooting the third-year an annoyed look, to which he only beams in response. "Was that really necessary?"

riorson!reader x garrick tavis onyx storm spoilers

xaden's younger sister, who has been in a relationship with garrick since before the rebellion, is meeting her mother for the first time in 13 years in hedotis and dealing with all of the chaos on the isle. based off of the song family line by conan gray & only one use of Y/N because I could not find a way to work around it lol cross posted on ao3!

Scattered 'cross my family line I'm so good at telling lies That came from my mother's side Told a million to survive

As your dragon makes contact with the sand in Hedotis, you slide down their front leg to finally disembark after the aching 13 hour flight that your squad endured. Your body is tense from the rigid position you were forced to maintain on the ride, so you stretch to get all of the knots out of your body while familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. With a roll of your shoulders, you take in the slightly cooler temperature of this particular isle, and the new greenery that adorns the ground ahead of the group. You turn to look at the sea and the expanse of blue that seems to go on endlessly, relishing in the peace that overtakes you as you watch the waves roll in and crash at the shore.

Raising your arms above your head to stretch out your back, you let out a deep breath as the tension begins to lessen and you finally begin to feel comfortable again. Before you can fully lower your arms back down to your side and move to locate your brother or Garrick amongst the squad, a muscular set of arms wrap themselves around your waist, their owner's head coming to rest on your right shoulder. You don't need to turn to recognize the feeling of Garrick embracing you, and all you can do for a moment is smile, taking in the comfort of the warmth that he presents.

"Beautiful," Garrick comments and you can't help but agree, assuming he's describing the sea that you've been staring at for at least a few minutes now.

"It is, isn't it?" you ask rhetorically, staring down at the horizon where the blue of the sea meets the blue of the morning sky, "There's something inherently peaceful about it all, and it's such a gorgeous shade of blue."

"I wasn't talking about the sea," your boyfriend responds, spinning you around in his arms so that you're now facing him, and you can clearly see the mischievous twinkle in his eyes that somehow always seems to make itself visible when he flirts with you. He leans forward and gives you a quick peck on the lips before standing up straight once again.

Despite the fact that the two of you had been dating since right before the apostasy, you still get butterflies when he does things like this, and you feel your cheeks redden slightly despite your brain telling you that it's irrational to be getting this giddy when a man that you've been dating for six years tells you that you're beautiful.

You jokingly smack him in the center of his very muscular chest, and he lets out a laugh, finally untangling his arms from around your waist. You take his hand in your own, beginning to pull him towards the other riders and fliers who had gathered a little ways away. Your eyes skim over the buildings and merchants nearby as you approach them, finally hearing what they were discussing.

Mira and Drake are busy arguing about the Pelson maneuver, and both of you can't help but smile as no one takes Drake's side. It's when Xaden snaps at him that your smiles quickly drop, and you, Garrick, and Violet look at each other alarmed. Something that trivial ticked Xaden off that easily? Anxiety over how quickly your brother's humanity is deteriorating tightens your chest, and Garrick gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. You only look away from each other when Violet's head snaps towards a group in tunics that approaches your squad. As you all turn to face them, your boyfriend removes his hand from yours and you almost protest, before he instead wraps one arm around your waist protectively, as if he can yank you behind him at a moment's notice.

The man who approached you compliments your dragons, and introduces himself after Xaden questions who he is.

"I'm Faris, the second of the triumvirate," his introduction begins, and you can't help but stare at the colour of his eyes, a shade of blue bordering purple that you'd never seen on anyone before. Many people on the Continent had incredible eyes, but you had never seen any this colour before.

"Welcome to Hedotis," he greets the group, before complimenting Violet on her eyes. It appears to be a trait that everyone is focused on in the moment.

"I was just thinking the same about you," she admits.

"Mine are quite common on our isle," he responds, "I've brought my household to formally make your acquaintance and escort you through our beautiful city. If you're amenable, we have room for you to rest at our home on the northeast shore."

He gestures behind him and looks over at the group he arrived with. "Darling, won't you come say hello? I apologize for my wife. Talia seems to be overcome by your magnificent dragons."

The name sends a shiver down your spine - hearing your mother's name spoken by anyone brings a sour taste to your mouth, regardless of whether or not it's in reference to her specifically. A woman who seems to be the man's wife walks up to approach him, her face hidden from view. Her gown flows behind her, and she laces her fingers in his hand.

When she looks up and you can finally see her face clearly, you're frozen in place, unable to form a coherent thought or will your body to do anything that isn't just stand utterly still and stare at the woman in front of you. Her gaze first catches on your brother who is as frozen as you are, her eyes widening in shock. Her eyes study him for a moment unbelieving, before they flick over to you and you suddenly forget how to breathe as she looks over you in a similar fashion. Your knees go weak beneath you, and if it weren't for Garrick's arm holding you upright, you think that you'd have collapsed into the sand by now. The boy next to you is visibly pale as he mutters, "Oh, shit."

"Xaden? Y/N?" she whispers, raising her hand before dropping it, "Is that really you?"

Upon hearing her speak, you and Xaden seem to exit your trancelike state, your senses finally coming back to you. The moment of shock is gone, and all you can feel is rage. The woman before you is not the woman you spent your childhood looking up to, wishing you could be as graceful and beautiful as her. She's the woman who abandoned you at 8 years old in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye. She's alive, been here in Hedotis all this time, without so much as a message. You see red, as Xaden curtly greets her with a tense "Mom."

She looks at you expectedly, and you can't find it in yourself to meet her with the same greeting. She lost the ability to be your 'mom' when she left you at a time when you were a child who needed a guiding feminine figure in your life. She lost the title of 'mom' when she didn't come back for you when your father died and you were forced into a foster home and subsequently Basgiath.

"Mother," is all you can get out, because the woman before you is not your mom, she's just the woman who brought you into this cruel world.

— • —

You sit silently with your legs draped over Garrick's lap on a couch in the bedroom that the two of you are sharing. You haven't said a single word since your first encounter with your mother, and you're grateful that your boyfriend doesn't push you to comment on it until you're ready. One of his hands soothingly combs through your hair, grounding you from the ire that pulses through your veins. Your mind hasn't calmed once since that moment, thought after thought plaguing you, your body essentially acting as if being controlled by an external source.

You were only eight when your mother had left, still a child with your kid-like features dominating your appearance. When you were fourteen, you had once heard Garrick and Bodhi's mothers whispering about how you looked exactly like your mother, only sharing a few features with Fen and your brother. Upon seeing her for the first time as an adult, you realized that they had not been exaggerating. There was no doubt that you were her offspring, your features almost identical to hers, which only made the experience more infuriating.

Xaden had informed you that he had no intention of talking with your mother before he retreated into his room with Violet, and you couldn't blame him. She left on his birthday, and he was the one that was forced to take on the responsibilities that never should have been his to bear. You wanted to do the same, shut the woman down if she tried to talk to you, but something in you also wanted answers; to hear the doubts that had circled in your mind for years confirmed, so that you could either find it in you to forgive her and move on, or conclude that she never was the woman you thought she was.

As if hearing your thoughts, a soft knock sounds on your door, and you know it's her - none of the riders or fliers would knock on the door with so much uncertainty. Garrick's hand freezes in your hair and he looks to you for confirmation.

"I'll go open it," he says, soft enough so that his voice can't be heard on the other side of the door, "Do you want to talk to her? I'll tell her to fuck off if the answer is no."

You ponder the options for a moment as a second knock follows. You can't seem to make up your mind, but your brain is leaning more towards hopefully never encountering her again. You shake your head in response, and he nods in understanding, pressing a quick kiss to your forehead as he moves your legs to the side so that he can stand up and walk to the door.

When the door opens you hear a clear "Garrick-" from your mother before the man swiftly steps through the crack in the door and into the hallway, shutting the door behind him so that their voices are now muffled.

"She doesn't want to talk," you can vaguely hear him say in response to a garbled request from the woman, his voice raised enough that you can still hear him despite the wall separating you, "And rightfully so, you abandoned them thirteen years ago and you're expecting for them to what, welcome you back with open arms and cheer for their mommy? A fruit platter isn't going to change you not being there for thirteen years. At this point, you've been gone longer than you were ever there. Besides, if you had been around the whole time you'd know she's too afraid of eating figs ever since Fen had to save her from choking on one."

You can't help but smile at the way that the older boy is defending you through lecturing your own mother. You know this is just as shocking for him - the woman was a frequent figure in his childhood as well before she turned her back on all of Tyrrendor and everyone within it. You're grateful for the protective stance that he's immediately taken, mentally reminding yourself to show him your gratitude when you're no longer in this situation.

"I'm not expecting a jolly reunion, I just want to talk, even if only for a few moments," your mother responds, a strain in her voice as if begging Garrick to convince you to talk to her, "She has the right to be angry, I just… I want to explain."

While you know that you likely can't trust a word she's saying, hearing her say that ignites the spark in you that makes you want to get your answers. Xaden definitely isn't going to talk to her, so maybe you can get answers for you both. You wonder if she had already tried at Xaden's door, and how Violet would have handled this situation. Garrick at least knew the woman before she left so he's able to argue with her, Violet has next to no context to defend Xaden.

"Explain what? That you abandoned your two children in the middle of the night without telling them you were leaving in the first place?" you hear Garrick scoff, "You weren't there to see the two people I care about most in this world fall apart because they lost someone that was supposed to be there for them and love them unconditionally."

Your heart seizes at Garrick's words as he continues angrily berating your mother. You really have to make sure he knows how much you appreciate him standing up for you later. Your heart takes over your head, and you find yourself standing up and making yourself look presentable in the mirror. You're going to go out there and put up with the woman for even just a few moments so you can get your answers.

"I do love them," you can hear Talia protest as you move towards the door, "You don't understand Garrick, you were just a child yourself. Even if it's just at dinner tonight, I need-- I want to talk to at least one of my children."

"Exactly, I was just a child, but your own son was the same age as me, much less your daughter being two years younger, and even I couldn't fathom your rationale for just up and leaving, so just imagine how much they-" Garrick's voice gets louder as you open the door, and his sentence is cut short, his head immediately snapping over to you as you stand in the doorway, eyes blank as you glance between the duo that had been arguing outside your door.

"My girl…" your mother whispers seeing you in the doorway, and you immediately shut her down.

"You lost the right to call me that when you abandoned me and Xaden," you state firmly, eyes boring into the woman before you even as her face falls from hearing your statement, "I wasn't going to talk but you get ten minutes to answer questions I have. That's all you're getting."

Talia frantically nods, agreeing to those terms, "Yes, yes of course, there's a room down the hall where we can sit." She brings your attention to the fruit tray that she has apparently been holding all this time. The hazel eyed boy looks at you with a skeptical glance, as if confirming that this is what you really want. You nod, hand briefly brushing over his bicep as your mother waits for you to follow her.

"Thank you," you whisper to him.

"I'll be right outside in the hall if you need me, okay?" he reassures, and you nod once again, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before you move to follow after the woman.

As you walk down the hall, she spares a quick glance back towards Garrick, who hasn't moved an inch as he carefully watches the two of you walk away.

"The two of you really did end up together," the woman says, likely thinking back to when you were a child and you used to proclaim innocently that you would marry Garrick one day, seeing as he was the only boy you frequently played with that wasn't your brother or cousin, "He really loves you to defend you like that."

She doesn't say anything for a few moments as if in thought, before she continues. "Do you love him?"

You furrow your brows, finally looking at the woman in confusion. "Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

She's silent once again, not answering your question, and you start to worry that this may be indicative of the conversation you're about to have.

"You and Xaden both… you found people who really love you. I'm happy," she finally says, and you once again look over at her confused. What is she playing at? Is this her way of trying to manipulate you into forgiving her in hopes that Xaden will follow in your footsteps?

You shake your head to clear your thoughts, and continue following after her. You're talking to her to get answers on behalf of your eight-year-old self. Nothing more.

— • —

Oh, all that I did to try to undo it All of my pain and all your excuses I was a kid but I wasn't clueless (Someone who loves you wouldn't do this) All of my past, I tried to erase it But now I see, would I even change it? Might share a face and share a last name, but (We are not the same)

"You never told us you were from Hedotis," you state accusingly as you now sit across from Talia in a grand room obviously meant for casual conversation with guests, the fruit tray resting on a small table between the two of you. She had never once explicitly mentioned being from the isle to you or Xaden, though in hindsight it seemed the obvious conclusion. She loved bright colours, and at night she soothed you and your brother with arinmint tea and stories of a purple-eyed race that lived in peace.

You and Xaden had come to the conclusion that she was hiding among the forces in Poromiel, completely unaware of the grand life that she had been living while her two children faced the possibility of death every day. You can't help but let your eyes wander over the grandeur of the room you're currently seated in; windows framed with intricately embroidered curtains, the shine of a clearly maintained floor, everything placed strategically around the room as if to serve a greater purpose. You have to stop yourself from comparing the room to how she maintained Riorson house years ago, in fear of accidentally letting your walls down in front of her.

"You and Xaden are the heirs to Tyrrendor, it was necessary you grew up with the Tyrrish customs, not those of Hedotis," she responds smoothly, as if her response was practised. You wonder if that was the lie she told herself all those years ago to rationalize hiding this information from the two of you.

A moment of silence passes between the two of you, both of you unsure of how to properly continue this conversation. You came into this discussion with the intention of getting answers, but now that the truth is within your reach, you're suddenly not so sure you want it. She stares at you expectantly, waiting for you to ask the question that hangs heavily in the air.

"Why did you leave?" you blurt out, finally finding it in yourself to ask before you become too scared to face the answers you're about to receive.

"I was only wed to your father because of a contract-" she begins, but you quickly cut her off.

"I know about the contract," you dismiss her response, once again immediately identifying this as a part of her rehearsed rationalizations, "I know that you never loved Dad, but you had to have an heir reach ten years old. You only had me two years after Xaden to make sure you wouldn't have to bear another child and stay another ten years if anything happened to him, didn't you?"

She stares at you, eyes wide for a moment, obviously not expecting this to be one of the questions you asked. A few seconds pass before she slowly nods, the first long-unanswered question you had finally being confirmed. You're not sure how to feel- your mother just confirmed that you were essentially just a backup for your brother.

"Is that why it was so easy for you to leave then?" you follow up, voicing the thoughts that swirl up in the back of your head, eyes never leaving her for a moment. You can see how she tenses, this conversation not going in the direction she expected.

"It was never easy for me to leave," she counters, shaking her head, "It was the most difficult thing I've ever done." Sorrow is plastered all over her face, but at this point you can't tell if it's real or just pretend- she'd lied to you throughout your entire childhood, who's to say she wasn't lying in this moment too?

"You didn't have to leave just because your contract was over," you fire back, crossing your arms over your chest, "If you really loved us, you would have stayed and been there for us as a mother would."

"I would have been killed! Either publicly as your father was, or in secret just as Mairi's husband was - I couldn't be a mother to you if I was dead," she tries to argue, but you can't help but roll your eyes.

"You weren't a mother to us either way. Dad wasn't killed until I was 15, there were moments that I- we needed you in the seven years you weren't there," you instantly reply, bitterness seeping from your words "And okay, fine if I play into that narrative, why didn't you come back for us when the rebellion was over? Xaden and I were sent to foster homes while our mother was apparently alive and thriving on the other side of the sea."

The resentment that radiates from you is evident, and the woman before you seems to shrink into herself with each word you speak. She displays regret, but there's no way of telling how sincere those outwardly displayed emotions are.

"I wanted to take you with me when I left," she begins, speaking slower now as if choosing her wording very carefully, "Your father wouldn't let me. I wanted to come back for you when I got word that the rebellion was over too, but General Melgren was watching all of you children too closely. I feared that he would consider it treason if I brought you two here, and would kill all three of us on the spot."

There is some reason to what she is saying - there was no way Melgren would have let the two children of the rebellion's leader flee the Continent and his control, but it doesn’t hurt any less.

"The least you could have done was tell us that you were leaving instead of disappearing in the middle of the night," you state plainly, and notice how she lowers her head as if agreeing with a small nod.

"Yes, leaving on Xaden's birthday was not the best way to go, but you have to understand that you were both very emotionally attached children. You sobbed uncontrollably every time your father had to leave for trips away, I never would have been able to leave if I told you both that I was leaving the Continent." she starts rambling, her excuses falling on deaf ears.

The frustration that had been simmering at a low boil within you has begun coursing through your veins as you hear her explanations, finding it increasingly difficult to stay civil.

"And you didn't stop to think that might have been an indicator that you shouldn't have left?" you snap, earning a flinch from your mother. Before, she had been willing to let you lead this conversation, but now the woman has rebuttals as the conversation approaches the direction that she had been anticipating.

"I felt nothing but love and adoration for both of you, but you were just children. You wouldn't have understood-" she starts, but your frustration has escalated to exasperation over the fact that despite your points, she does not seem capable of seeing the situation from your point of view.

"We understood fully well what abandonment felt like," your voice is laced with even more resentment as you interrupt her last excuse, ready to bring perspective to what life had been like following her departure, "What you didn't understand was how your leaving scarred me and Xaden. I slept by the foot of your bed every night, thinking that you would come back and I'd be there to see you when you returned. Dad noticed after a few nights and let me sleep in his bed until he was sure that I knew he would never willingly abandon me. So yes, I was a child but I had a better understanding of how a loving parent should act because of Dad than you ever will."

Talia looks at you in stunned silence, a tear rolling down her cheek. She reaches for your hand, but you immediately pull it away, unable to share in this emotionally vulnerable moment with her. You can't find it in yourself to pity her as the gravity of her actions seems to finally sink in.

"I- I didn't realize," she manages to whisper, and all you can do is scoff. You're not sure what she expected from you. Did she think you would accept her excuse of wanting to preserve her own life? Your father made sure to compensate extra for the lack of her presence in your life, and nothing she exhibits now comes even close to the love you felt from him when he was alive.

"Of course you didn't," you gesture to the room around you, though monochromatic, it's much more majestic than the life you'd been living before your return to Aretia, "When you have a life like this you don't need to think about your two children running from death on the Continent. What, you got married immediately, had a couple more kids and forgot all about us?"

You meant it as a sarcastic joke, but the pause and brief panic that flashes behind the eyes that are so similar to your own is not lost upon you when she responds, "I never forgot about the two of you."

Your eyes narrow in her direction as you lean forward slightly in your seat. "Did you have more children when you returned here?"

Talia's lips straighten into a thin line as if contemplating whether or not to divulge her next words. Finally, she decides to tell you the truth. "Yes, I have two sons with Faris. Simeon and Gaius."

It's now your turn to be stunned to silence. You have two half-brothers that you didn't know existed. Two more children to replace you and Xaden. You can't help the jealousy that consumes you; the two boys get to have a childhood with the mother that you and Xaden didn't get to fully experience - a childhood that didn't end in abandonment. You were already born to be a replacement for your older brother, and the fact that she had exactly two more children is the icing on the cake. Your next words are spoken coldly, as only fury fuels you now.

"This whole time, I wished you were dead," you start after the prolonged moment of silence that had passed, earning you a bewildered look, "I thought that there was no way the mother I grew up adoring wouldn't come back for us unless it was physically impossible for her to return."

Talia opens her mouth as if to protest, but you continue before she has the chance to speak.

"We might share the same features, but I am nothing like you. You say you love us but someone who loves their children would never make them feel the way you made me and Xaden feel. I will never treat my children the way that you treated us." Standing up angrily, you cast a cursory glance at the fruit tray that rests untouched in front of you. Its contents are all tailored to things you and Xaden liked as children, but don't match your current tastes at all, only further proving that she's too busy clinging to an idealistic past.

"I will be attending dinner but only for the sake of Violet's mission," you begin walking towards the door without so much as a second glance to the woman, "I don't speak on behalf of Xaden, but do not expect anything more of me."

You don't wait to hear her response before throwing the door open and walking out into the hallway. Garrick, who was patiently leaning up against one of the walls waiting for you, immediately straightens up upon seeing you emerge. Immediately noticing the anger plastered over your face, he cups the side of your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb in a soothing manner.

"I don't expect that went particularly well," he comments, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, it definitely did not," you respond, removing his hand, instead lacing your fingers with his, "Thank you for waiting out here for me."

The boy flashes you a sympathetic smile, the dimple just barely popping in his cheek, "Any day, love."

The two of you begin walking back to your assigned room, and you force yourself not to let any tears fall. You wasted too many tears on this woman as a child, and you will not let any more be shed because of her.

"She's somehow more awful of a mother than I remember," you try to joke.

"Really? I was going to nominate her for mother of the year," the boy jokes back as you walk through the doorway back into your shared room, "Though I guess she is the only one left so it's not really a fair competition."

You can't help but laugh, though you do acknowledge the harrowing truth that she is the last parent alive for any of you marked ones. Where there had been a mother-shaped gap in your life, the parents of your friends were more than willing to take turns acting as a second parent whenever you needed one.

When you had entered womanhood, Bodhi's mother was there giving you tips and helping you select any feminine items that you needed. When you got sick while your father was away on a prolonged trip, Imogen's mother brought you soup and made sure that you were well rested. When you first started dating Garrick, his mother was there to give you both a stern talking to about staying safe and making sure that you were both equally embarrassed by the end of her speech.

You didn't need the woman who gave you life to be present in your life when you had a community of people that truly loved you, always ready to stand by your side.

The revelation brings you to double check that the door to your room is closed and locked, before pushing Garrick to sit on the edge of your bed, with you standing between his legs. His eyes widen in shock, before fluttering shut as you go to firmly place a kiss on his lips, his hands reflexively going to rest at your hips. He enthusiastically returns the kiss, before abruptly pulling away. You frown as he looks at you, eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"As much as I like what appears to be developing here, I need to know that you're not just doing this because of whatever just happened with Talia-" he begins, his eyes looking between yours for confirmation that you're in the right state of mind.

You cut him off with another kiss, once again lasting only a few more seconds before you pull away to whisper in his ear.

"I spent so long caring about the mother that wasn't there for me, and I haven't been giving enough appreciation to the boy that has been by my side through it all," you say, and you can feel the sudden increase in his heart rate.

You see the corners of his mouth lift up in a smile, as his hands tighten around your hips.

"I won't argue with that."

— • —

How could you hurt a little kid? I can't forget, I can't forgive you 'Cause now I'm scared that everyone I love will leave me

You and Garrick were the last to arrive for dinner, and much to your dismay, the only two seats left at the table were the two right next to your mother. Garrick gives you a glance and takes the seat next to the woman before you can even open your mouth to comment on the situation. You mutter a quick thanks to him, before taking the seat to his left, next to Aaric. Xaden shoots you a glance as well, a look that he has perfected over the years, silently asking you if you're okay. You nod slightly, and he nods in response, indicating that he's okay as well.

After the conversation you had with Talia, you don't have much of an appetite. At first you only pick at your food, but Garrick leans over to you, whispering in your ear that you should eat so that you have energy to explore the rest of the isle. You can't argue with that, and use a hyper-focus on the plate in front of you as an excuse for avoiding the stare that Talia has divided between you and Xaden.

You only retain bits and pieces of the conversation, cataloguing enough so that you're informed enough for the mission, but not paying full attention in fear of either breaking down or lashing out against the woman to Garrick's right.

You can't help but tighten your grip around your fork as the remainder of your group identifies that this dinner is a test of all of you - a way for them to determine if you're worth their time.

"Talia will serve as witness," Nairi says, "And we thought an informal setting would be best given the… delicate nature of relations."

You can't help the satisfaction that comes from seeing your mother's shoulders slump as she shrinks in on herself at that statement.

"You mean in case my sister and I embarrass our mother in a public setting with our lack of wisdom. Is that your fear, Mom?" Xaden quips back coolly, casting a glance over at you before glaring daggers into the woman. To some degree, she's lucky that you had the conversation with her earlier - you can't imagine how much less civil you would be right now if you hadn't taken out your anger on her earlier in the day. She has two new perfect sons that she can present to the public. You and Xaden are now reduced only to these secluded meetings, her Riorson children not up to the Hedotis standard.

"No." The woman seems to regain her previous composure, realizing how weak she had looked before, "My reticence about tonight is due to my own shame, in that I asked Faris for a personal favour so that you might be more comfortable during the conversation. I don't worry about your intelligence. You were always bright children." She reaches for her goblet, hand shaking, a reminder to you of her cowardice. Despite what she says right now, you know that she's afraid of how her husband and the remainder of the triumvirate will perceive her two children from her past.

You can't help the audible scoff that escapes you, Aaric sparing you a quick look as Faris seems to change the subject, focus shifting to Cat as they discuss gryphons. It's not lost on you that she can only comment on your intelligence before she left, but what value does that measure present? You were eight and Xaden ten, merely children who knew so little of the world. Now you're both adults, riders bearing the burden of a revolution on your back. Your intelligence then is nothing compared to what you know now.

You're brought back to the conversation when you hear Nairi speak up once again. "So many young royals here. So many potential alliances. Why are you not contracted to one another? It seems… foolish not to forge futures and provide heirs who could unite your kingdoms."

Your eyebrows shoot up, and you notice that even Garrick can't hide the shock on his face at that statement.

Aaric defends his reasoning from next to you, so nonchalant that he appears as if this is just regular dinner conversation to him. You can't help but respect the way that he treats all of this with grace despite the subtle insult.

When Nairi turns to Xaden, his gaze also flickering over to you, you find yourself holding your breath. The whole situation with Cat and Violet was messy, and you fear slightly for how this will turn out.

"And your excuse? We received news months ago that your title had been restored to you." Your heart seizes, but you don't let it show. They have more current information than you realized; you should have guessed based on the way that Talia mentioned she knew about the rebellion ending, but it still hurts to hear.

"Well then as you know, I'm a duke, not a prince." Xaden responds even-toned, contrasting his action of stabbing a piece of potato on his plate with a fork. Nairi looks over to you, as if expecting your response as well.

"I'm only the backup for Tyrrendor," you sourly look towards your mother, who avoids eye contact at the accusatory statement, "I don't inherit much as long as Xaden stays alive, so I'm free to marry Garrick with no consequences." You toss a small smile over to the boy next to you, who in return has a smug smile light up his face, his arm going to rest on the back of your chair.

Talia rushes to defend Xaden's position, immediately blabbering on about the size of Tyrrendor and how an alliance was supposed to be secured, trailing off as she glances between Xaden and Violet.

"I don't owe you an explanation about my love life." Xaden states, a complete lack of amusement clear on his face.

"Lost that privilege about thirteen years ago," you mutter in response, but the woman hears it, and a dejected look crosses her face before she pivots to Cat, who is now summarizing the situation between her and Xaden, and the benefits of Xaden and Violet being in a relationship. You roll your eyes as the triumvirate seems to argue their points, proposing a contract marriage between Xaden and Cat.

Your blood begins to boil at the conversation unveiling before you. Do none of these people have an ounce of humanity in them? Is everything only done for the sake of a contract? You look between Talia and Faris, and you begin to see how clearly she fits in here, the woman who was willing to abandon her two young children for the sake of contract, married to this man who has no regard for Xaden and Violet's relationship.

"If bloodlines equaled allegiance, we wouldn't be sitting here under interrogation," Garrick pipes up sarcastically laughing, and you can't help but laugh at the truth of his statement. Talia was your mother, if you went by their logic, Hedotis would already be allied with Tyrrendor. "The two of them are your children right?"

A smile ghosts your lips at your mother's discomfort as she downs the tea in front of her in embarrassment.

"Draw up the papers," Xaden says suddenly, and all of your necks immediately snap towards him in shock. Is he really agreeing to a marriage with Cat?

"Ah, there we go! What an excellent decision. Shall we go with three or four years?" Faris exclaims happily, his hands clapping together. Normally, you would have a sarcastic retort, but you're too surprised by Xaden's response to say anything.

"Lifetime. Anything less is unacceptable," you watch as Xaden's hands meet the back of Violet's neck. "And her full name for the papers is Violet Sorrengail. Two Rs."

You almost choke on your own saliva, and Garrick does let a choked laugh out from beside you. Somehow, Aaric doesn't even react.

"My last name is tied to the title, but we could take yours," Xaden says to Violet.

"You could hyphenate? Or combine? Riorgail? Sorrenson?" Garrick proposes to the whole table, and you have to smack him in the leg so that he stops spurring them on. Xaden continues arguing with your mother who is a pleading and panicked mess from across the table.

Garrick turns to you as the others argue, his voice dropping and his dimple ever so present, "We could do that too when we get married. Thoughts on Riorvis? Tavson?"

You scrunch your face up in disgust, "Both of those sound awful."

He nods, "Yeah now that I hear it out loud I agree. Hyphenate? Riorson-Tavis? Tavis-Riorson."

You think on it for a moment, grateful to be having this lighthearted conversation rather than the heated topics the rest of the table are currently facing. "That's kind of a mouthful. I'm fine with just taking Tavis."

He raises an eyebrow surprised, but the smile doesn't leave his face, "You'd abandon the Riorson name?"

You lay a comforting hand on top of his thigh and a warm smile in response, "For you? Definitely."

He removes his hand from behind your chair, moving it to instead rest on top of yours. Your anger has dissipated, your mood significantly improving upon discussing the prospect of you being married to the love of your life. You're not going to let the rest of this table ruin that.

You focus on your food once again, instead taking your fork in your left hand now that your right is trapped under Garrick's. You try not to let your mother's words rile you up again; her spat with Xaden is almost word for word the same as the conversation she has had with you. It's clear that she has rehearsed her excuses, and you give Xaden the space to let his resentment out now, just as you had done in the guest room.

You don't speak another word until it's time for dessert, when your plate gets whisked away to the kitchen, and you lose your source of distraction. When dessert is placed in front of you, you can't do anything but freeze, eyes staring blankly at the slice of chocolate cake in front of you. You can't even find it in yourself to look up at your brother, for you know he's feeling the same sentiment as you right now. Chocolate cake was always his favourite, but it was equally sentimental to you. Every birthday or special event, chocolate cake was your mother's go-to celebration food. Every special occasion in your childhood was marked with this exact cake, and seeing it in front of you makes your mouth go dry.

Garrick has already begun eating the cake, mumbling to you about how it tastes exactly like the one from your childhood. You can't find it in yourself to take a bite - it feels as if you would be conceding to your mother, letting her win, showing her that she can still find a way into your heart.

You're suddenly snapped to your senses, as you see Violet from off to your left snatching the fork from Aaric's grasp. You look up in confusion, even more bewildered when you hear her yell "Stop!"

You quickly look around the table and notice that Garrick is the only one that's eaten any of the cake. Your heart starts to beat faster when you feel him start to sway.

"He said we could start," he says quizzically, before he blinks slowly, "I feel… I feel-" his eyes flutter and he collapses. By this point, your heart is beating wildly out of your chest as you and Aaric both lunge to stop him from completely dropping onto the table.

Holding him in your arms, you go to check his pulse, and you feel pure fear run through your entire body when Aaric, who is helping support the large man exclaims, "He's not breathing!"

Xaden runs over immediately, taking Garrick from your arms and laying him on the floor. You crouch next to him, refusing to leave his side, tears starting to blur your vision. You'd hoped in this kind of situation that you'd be able to remain calm, but seeing the man you love in such a vulnerable state, moments away from death, you lose all ability to think logically.

Your brother is checking his pulse once again, confirming that his heart is still barely beating.

"We need to get him to breathe, he's fucking blue." Aaric comments.

Xaden agrees, before leaning over and breathing into Garrick's mouth. The room feels as if it's spinning while you watch Garrick's chest rise as it's filled with the air from the other boy's breaths. You feel utterly useless as you sit there, watching your brother attempt to save your boyfriend's life.

"You poisoned my children?" you hear your mother shriek from across the room, your gaze snapping up as you hear her angrily berate her husband. You slowly start to put the pieces together. Faris poisoned the cake as part of the test, and Garrick was the only one who fell victim to it. This wasn't her doing, but if it weren't for her husband, you wouldn't be in this situation. You've already let her take enough from you, you won't let her take Garrick too.

"Let me," you say to Xaden, pushing him away from Garrick as he comes up for a breath. He starts to protest, but you cut him off, desperation in your voice, "Please Xaden, help Violet find a cure, I'll keep him breathing."

The boy hesitates before nodding, and he lets you take his place. Your lips meet your boyfriend's, significantly colder than they were only hours before. Tears stream down your face as you find a rhythm, breathing air into his lungs while Aaric sits near you in support. You don't hear a single word being spoken in the room, your frantic heartbeat the only sound in your ears as you work to keep the hazel eyed boy alive beneath you.

It feels like an eternity later when you feel Xaden's hand on your shoulder, urging you off of him so that you can take a break and he can take over for a bit. You look over to see Trager placing his hands on Garrick's chest to keep his heart beating. When did he get here?

You sluggishly look around the room to see that the rest of your group has arrived, and two members of the triumvirate are retching on the opposite side of the room. Tears are still frantically streaming down your cheeks as you stare down at your boyfriend's lifeless body, only being kept alive by the two men preventing him from drifting off to Malek.

"Don't leave me, please Garrick," you mumble, taking his hand into your own, "I can't lose you too, please stay alive." You don't look up when Cat and Maren come join you, the first girl soothingly rubbing a hand down your back, the latter mumbling encouraging words in your ear. You're too consumed with fear to be surprised that Cat is comforting you, though it does make sense to some degree. She controls emotions, it's only reasonable that she's here to comfort you through this. Or girl code or something. Who knows.

"He's going to be okay. Dain's preparing the cure now," Maren whispers into your ear, and you finally look up at the girl, pity in her eyes as she takes in your fragile state.

"They found it?" you whisper, and she nods. Cat's hand is removed from your back as Violet calls her off to do something, but Maren stays at your side.

"It was figs. He's just preparing it so Garrick can consume it. He's going to be fine." she smiles softly, and you finally stop trembling for long enough to her to take some comfort in your current state and go off to help Cat with her orders.

You don't move an inch until Dain comes back with the fig-drink and he and Xaden make quick work of trying to shove it down Garrick's throat. You lean forward, holding your breath once again, waiting to see if it works and if you'll have the man you love back to you.

He suddenly sputters, some of the drink coming out of his mouth, but Xaden is there in a moment telling him to get up and drink it. You feel as if your body is weightless, sagging in relief as your boyfriend takes four chugs to get the remainder of the drink down. He's alive and you're not going to lose him today.

You and Xaden both look at each other, relieved that he was able to at least be conscious for long enough to take in the drink. You take as few breaths as humanly possible in the next three minutes as you and your brother sit hand in hand next to his body waiting for him to wake up.

When Garrick groans and opens his eyes, muttering "This is my least favourite isle," you cry out, burying your face into his chest. Xaden's head falls back as if in a prayer of thanks that his best friend is alive.

Garrick lightly places a hand on the back of your head, as Xaden jumps up and goes to shove Faris against the wall. Deservedly so. You can't find it in yourself to be angry at your mother right now, you can only feel relief and the tears start once again as you remove yourself from Garrick's grasp.

You quickly move to place a kiss on his lips, more desperate than any shared between the two of you before. He weakly kisses you back for a few moments, before you finally come up for air. Your foreheads rest against each other, and he wipes away the tears that are falling down your cheeks.

"I thought I lost you Gare," you cry, trembling in his embrace.

"It's going to take more than a piece of chocolate cake for you to lose me, love." he jokes, and you can't help but laugh as you hold him, tighter than you ever have before, "Ironic the figs that almost choked you to death years ago are the thing that saved me today."

"I love you," is all you can say, despite the chaos reining around you. Fights are being broken out, threats being uttered, but all you care about is the boy in your arms right now that you hope to never lose again.

"I love you too," He kisses your temple with all the strength he can muster, before groaning as he tries to properly sit up, "Can we get the hell off this isle as soon as possible? Your mother's new family is a little psycho."

You smile, nodding as you support him.

brennan sorrengail x reader

brennan is excited over becoming a new father, but is held back from his joy because he wishes that he could be sharing the excitement with his sisters and parents. as his family one by one learns about him being alive, he's over the moon that he can finally show off his little girl to the people he cares about the most. ✧ : i'm pretending that imbuing the wardstone didn't kill lilith for this fic because against all odds she's somehow up there for most redemption worthy parent. also I'm so down bad for any concept of the fourth wing guys as parents because they'd all be such good dads. this one got a little away from me, idk how I got almost 8k words out of this. also dividers are by @empyreanevents !

Ever since you and Brennan sought refuge in Aretia, it was a part of your weekly routine to do a patrol of the area surrounding the city. Your signet allowed you to survey locations without needing to be physically present in the area, so you were the obvious choice to look for nearby signs that anyone had figured out your group had taken up residence in Riorson House. On one autumn day, the patrol had been more demanding - while the weather was chilly with November air, you were surprised to feel warm, your body sweating beneath your leathers despite the cool air whipping around you as you flew atop your dragon. You also couldn't help but notice that it felt harder to use your signet, like the pull of magic wasn't as strong as it usually was. As you flew back to Aretia, you were ready to mention your concerns to Brennan, wondering why everything felt odd on that particular day.

Your dragon, Cille, landed in the courtyard outside the fortress, and you ran down her leg to disembark as you had done so many times before, only this time everything seemed to go wrong. The second you stood on solid ground, you were immediately overcome with dizziness, barely able to keep yourself upright. You knew something was off when your head began pounding and everything around you began to blur.

The only thing you were able to do was send a quick instruction down the bond to your dragon; "Call for Brennan-" before the world tilted, and you passed out on the stones.

Cille was instantly communicating frantic commands to Marbh, who in turn relayed the messages to Brennan. Your husband, who was in a strategy meeting at the time, left the room running with no hesitation despite confused protests from the others in attendance, and found you laying on the stones outside the entrance to the fortress with your dragon hovering protectively over you.

The dragon moved out of the way to give the man access to you, and he immediately brought you into his arms, looking you over and assessing for any injuries.

"What happened, there's nothing to mend?" he asked quizzically, looking up to the green swordtail to see if she could give any information on what was wrong with you.

While she would generally torch anyone who talked to her directly, she was aware of the close bond the two of you shared, and was more concerned with seeing that you would be alright than killing the man on the spot.

"They did not encounter anyone, but the girl was not feeling normal on the flight," Marbh passed on Cille's words to Brennan, who began removing your flight jacket to try and improve your breathing so that you would wake up. He continued tending to you by changing the way that you lay to increase blood flow, and soon you stirred again, disoriented as you finally came to.

"You're okay," Brennan muttered to you soothingly, gently brushing your hair out of your face as you moved to sit up, "Slowly, don't rush to get up."

"I don't know what happened," you said, surveying the area around you. Cille stood protectively a few steps behind you, and the only other person in the courtyard was Brennan. You no longer felt dizzy and your head had somewhat cleared, but you only felt more sluggish than before.

"We'll take you to the healers to have them do some tests, but you should just rest for today," Brennan responded, helping you stand up, and you silently agreed. You didn't feel well enough to do anything demanding.

Later that evening, a healer found you in the corridor as you and Brennan headed back to your room after dinner, handing you a rolled up piece of parchment with the results of your tests, a gentle smile gracing her face. Because of that, the two of you assumed that the results would say that nothing was wrong, it was just the atmosphere that threw off your body's balance.

You sat atop your bed and opened the results as Brennan sat behind you, reading the parchment over your shoulder. When you finally got to the diagnosis, your head whipped around quickly to meet his gaze, his eyes wide in shock.

"Tell me that passing out didn't impact my ability to read," you said, heart beating so hard you could feel it in your throat.

Your husband was too shocked to speak, taking the parchment out of your hand so that he could more closely look at it. After his eyes looked it over two more times, a massive smile lit up his face, and he pulled you in for a bone crunching hug.

"No it didn't, you're really pregnant."

The two of you spent the next few hours sobbing into each other and excitedly discussing what this meant for you. You had discussed having kids in the past, but didn’t expect it to actually become a reality so soon. Brennan already began placing kisses on your stomach, whispering about how excited he was to meet your baby, despite the fact that at that point it wasn't even as large as one of your fingers. Regardless, the two of you were over the moon, anticipating the life ahead of you.

Throughout the pregnancy, to say that Brennan was overprotective was an understatement. At every waking moment, he had his eyes on you, watching to be sure that you weren't over-exerting yourself, making sure no one made you too uncomfortable, and catering to your every need.

At times, it was infuriating - you had to admit there were some moments where you snapped at him, causing him to ease up slightly, but you knew that he was only doing it because of how much he cared for the both of you. He took on extra tasks to make sure that you didn’t have so much cleaning to do, walked down to the kitchen in the morning so that you could have your morning tea in bed, and placed soft kisses on your stomach constantly, talking to the bump that became more and more present with every day.

While the Assembly originally didn't approve of your having a child in the midst of a war, they soon warmed up to the idea of having a reminder of innocence in the fortress. The female members doted on you, a running guess between them of the baby's gender. Suri and Kylynn strongly believed that you were having a boy, and you and Trissa were adamant that it would be a girl. When questioned, Brennan responded with a different gender each time, unable to come to a conclusion on which he suspected.

On the day that your baby was born, Brennan was by your side every second of the way, only stepping away from you to call for a healer. You laboured for hours, and your husband whispered gentle praises in your ear encouraging you to keep going. He traced soothing patterns on your back when your body was overtaken with strong contractions. As you delivered your child, he let you squeeze his hand so hard that your nails drew blood without so much as a single complaint.

When your child was finally placed in your arms, a baby girl as you predicted, you cast him a tired glance only to see his face lit up with pure joy.

"My beautiful girls," he whispered, placing a loving kiss on your forehead, then leaning down to do the same to the baby in your arms, "I think I'm the luckiest man in the world."

You smiled lovingly at him, gaze jumping between the man that made your heart thump erratically in your chest, and the baby that was formed from the love that the two of you shared.

"Which name do you think best suits her?" Brennan broke the silence after a few moments as the two of you watched your child rest contently on your chest, small breaths the only thing moving her tiny frame. You had discussed names that you were considering, but had ultimately decided that you would make the final decision when you finally saw your child.

The sunset from the window across the room enveloped the room with a glow of orange that only added to the sense of peace that you felt in the room, and it solidified the decision that you were about to make.

"Olive," you said certainly, gently stroking the girl's cheek, "The olive branch is a sign of peace, and olive wreaths are a sign of victory. She's the start of a world where the war is won and we can live peacefully without conflict."

Brennan smiled softly as he moved in closer to sit next to you on your bed, an arm wrapping behind you, and another around your child, now named. "I think that's perfect."

The next week was a flurry of emotions, introducing the baby to the members of the Assembly and your friends in the army, and sleepless nights learning how to take care of a newborn. Brennan had some idea of what to do from seeing his parents take care of his younger sisters, but he was still a child himself at the time, so he also had a lot to learn. He made sure to support you constantly, waking up in the night with you as you fed Olive, and taking the baby so that you had time to bathe, eat meals and nap.

A week after the baby was born, you returned to your room from a shower to see Brennan sitting on the bed with your baby held tightly in his arms as he rocked her. A loving smile lit up his face as he refused to pry his gaze away from her as if she would disappear at any second. You knew him better than anyone though, and picked up on the slight sadness that lingered in his eyes as he watched the girl sleep.

"What's wrong?" you asked, taking a spot on the bed next to him, moving in close enough so that your head could rest on his shoulder and get a clear view of the newborn.

"Hm?" he mumbled, eyes still trained on the bundle of blankets in his arms.

"Something's bothering you, what's going on?"

At your question, he finally pried his eyes away from Olive, gaze flickering to your own that looked at him with concern. You could tell that he was conflicted about speaking up, but as he broke his gaze, he leaned his head so that his cheek was pressed against the top of your head before letting out a sigh.

"She's so perfect," was all he said at first, thumb going to gently stroke the girl's cheek, "I've never been more proud of anything in my life."

You sat in silence for a few seconds, processing his words, unsure how that connected back to the sadness you saw in his eyes. "And… that's a bad thing?"

"No, it's everything I could ever ask for. It's just…" he let out another sigh, "I feel so much pride introducing her to everyone that has come to see her this week. But… I can't help thinking that none of them are the people I really want to be showing her off to."

It was then that you understood what he was saying - he wished that he could be with his parents and his sisters, introducing his family to his little girl, the newest addition to the Sorrengail family. You didn't have any family that you left behind, so you couldn't fully understand what he was feeling, and you weren't entirely sure how to support him through it.

"Mira and Violet would be all over her, they would think she's absolutely adorable," he continued, the sadness from his eyes now seeping into his voice, "She doesn't show it much, but my mother loves kids, and my dad was always so caring to all of us. I know I'm angry at how my mother kept everything going on out here a secret, but it's killing me that they don't know that they have a niece and a granddaughter."

"I know it's hard, but us being here instead of with them means that there will be countless families spending another day together who otherwise wouldn't be alive to enjoy those extra moments." You slowly reached your hand out, placing it gently on his arm, making sure that he felt connected with you in that moment, and you felt his head dip as he nodded, agreeing with what you were saying. "When the war changes its course, we'll be able to return to them and Olive will get to meet her aunts and grandparents. In due time."

"In due time," Brennan agreed, shifting his hold of your daughter so that he was holding her in one arm, and his other hand went to rest on top of yours. After a few comfortable moments of silence staring down at the girl in front of you, he finally spoke up again.

"I grew up moving around between outposts so much that 'home' was wherever they were, anywhere I was with the people I cared about," your husband let out a soft exhale, thinking back to his childhood, "Now my home is with the two of you. It's… so hard being away from them, but I have our small family to take care of now." As he did on the evening when Olive was born, he placed a kiss on your forehead, before leaning forward to kiss your daughter, still asleep in his arms.

You nestled your head closer into his shoulder, basking in the feeling of being present with the two of them. "As long as we have each other, everything will be okay."

With Violet and the marked ones' arrival in Aretia three years later, Brennan was on edge. After mending her back from the brink of death, you had to keep him grounded amidst his worry for his youngest sister. He radiated worry, his usual fretting towards you and your daughter now targeted at the silver-haired girl. Despite that though, you could also sense the undertones of happiness in his composure - after six years he finally had one of his sisters back, at least one person from his family knowing that he was alive.

"Hey, I'm asking my sister, not Cadet Sorrengail."

"And you've been back in my life for all of five minutes after faking your death for the last six years, so excuse me if I'm not going to suddenly open up about my love life. What about you? Did you remarry? Kids? Anyone you've basically lied to for the entirety of your relationship?"

While Brennan initially flinched at the accusation, he looked like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders as he was finally able to tell his younger sister about all of the things relating to your little family that he had been dying to share with her all those years.

"I'm still married, my wife came with me here after Naolin saved me. She was also injured pretty bad," the man started, trying to speak slowly so that it wasn't too much to lay on Violet at once, "And… we have one daughter. She just turned three, her name is Olive and I really want you to meet her."

Violet stared back at her older brother in stunned silence, eyes surveying him skeptically, afraid that he was lying to her once again. She had asked the question as a kind of rebuttal, not expecting the answer that actually came out of his mouth.

"You… what?" The girl was already shocked by her brother being alive after all this time, but to hear that he had a family of his own in Aretia was an entirely new bout of information to process.

In the time that Violet stood staring in visible disbelief, Brennan had initiated one of your usual games of telephone that your dragons never seemed to get the end of. Marbh passed on a message to Cille, who asked you to bring Olive to the Assembly Hall so that Violet could meet her.

"So not only did you fake being dead for six years, you've been hiding your wife that everyone presumed to also be dead, and a child?"

Brennan scrubbed the back of his head with his hand. He knew this was going to be a tough conversation to have, but Violet was the one in his family that he could get through to with words alone. If one of his family members was going to forgive him for lying to them over the last six years, Violet was his strongest hope.

"I know, I'll be apologizing to you for the rest of my life for not letting you all know I'm alive," he said, eyes full of empathy as he met Violet's own that were fueled with anger and surprise, "I've questioned every day whether keeping you and Mira in the dark about what was going on out here was the right move. But then I became a father, and my priority became doing what was right for my daughter, even if it meant keeping this all from you."

"And you couldn't do both? You're outside the wards here, your daughter would have been safer within Navarre's protection," Violet fired back, an eyebrow raised as she rebutted her brother's point. All the man could do was sigh, knowing that he'd had this discussion with you multiple times when deciding whether you should stay in Aretia following Olive's birth.

"Physically she'd be safer, but we refuse to raise her in a life of lies. If we went back, Mom would have started preparing her for the riders quadrant the moment she was old enough, and we would have been forced to live as cowards behind the wards doing nothing, except this time we would know that others are suffering." Brennan was holding his ground now, prepared to speak his mind, hoping that Violet would see the passion behind his words. "So no, we wouldn't have gone back. She might be physically vulnerable here, but my wife and I would burn this city down a second time before we let anyone hurt her. She will have a choice as to where her future will lead."

Violet was stunned to silence a second time, understanding the gravity of her brother's words. This was a different side of him that she'd never seen before - she knew he had been an overprotective brother in her youth, but seeing him as a parent was different. There was a deeper level of protectiveness to him, and it was clear in his eyes that he was sure of his decision on this front. As much as she wanted to continue to argue, she knew that the general would have done exactly as he said, and that he was bringing up his daughter with knowledge that she wished her own mother had shared with her.

Before she could open her mouth to say another word, a soft knock sounded at the door to the room, and you peeked your head in cautiously. Brennan and Violet's heads whipped in your direction, and your husband gave you a small nod indicating that you should come in.

With a soft smile, you slipped through the crack in the door, greeting the youngest Sorrengail sister.

"Hello Violet, it's good to see you after so long. I'm glad to see you've recovered well from your injuries."

The girl met you with a matching smile and greeted you with a similar kindness, before her eyes drifted down, wide in adoration at the first sight of her niece.

You had entered the room with Olive's hand in your own as she walked in behind you. Now, faced with a new person that she had never met before, she hid behind your legs, one eye cautiously peeking out to observe your newest guest.

"Olive, come here angel, there's someone I'd like you to meet," your husband said gently, dropping down to a crouch and extending a hand for your daughter to join him. She peeled herself from your legs and scrambled into Brennan's arms, now hiding in his side, head buried in his shoulder. You followed close behind, now standing only a few steps away from them both.

You couldn't hide the smile on your face at the girl's timidness, heart clenching at the happiness visible on your husband's face. You knew that he had been waiting for this moment since your daughter was born, and you silently thanked the gods that he was finally able to have the introduction with his sister that he had longed for. Violet brought herself to a crouch as well to be closer to eye level with Olive, a gentle smile gracing her lips, all previous traces of anger gone as she properly took in her niece for the first time.

"You know how Daddy said he has two sisters that you'd get to meet one day? Do you remember what their names were?" Brennan asked, placing a hand on the girl's back in an attempt to pull her away from his shoulder.

It took a few seconds for the child to remember and build up her confidence to answer, but she finally responded, "Mira and Violet."

The red-haired man grinned, rubbing her back encouragingly. "Exactly, smart girl. This is your Auntie Violet, Daddy's youngest sister."

"Hi Olive, it's nice to meet you," Violet cooed, eyes still locked on the girl in front of her.

At a small nudge from her father, your daughter responded with a small "Hi," followed by another pause. "I like your hair."

At that, all three of you let out a small exhale that was as close to a laugh as you could muster.

"Thank you, I like yours too," Violet responded, reaching a hand out before pausing, her hand hovering right over the girl's shoulder. She looked at Brennan as if confirming that what she was about to do was okay, and he nodded in response, gently pushing your daughter out of his grasp and moving her more towards Violet. Olive moved out of her father's arms, and met Violet in a soft hug, the silver-haired girl's hand lightly holding the tot's head.

As she pulled away from the hug, her hands instead moved to rest on Olive's arms, looking her over, eyes still full of wonder. They moved from the pigtails atop her head that matched Brennan's own locks, to her eyes that were a perfect replica of your own, and down to her small frame that was so inviting to cuddles and soft hugs.

"You're absolutely adorable, do you know that?" Violet questioned rhetorically, earning a nod from your daughter. Both you and Brennan let out a real laugh at that, casting a glance at each other, nothing but adoration visible in both of your eyes.

Violet then turned her gaze to both of you, shoulders sagging and a sigh of defeat escaping her lips. With that, Brennan immediately knew that he was mostly forgiven for his disappearance over the last six years, all because of the girl in Violet's grasp.

"She's perfect," Violet whispered, fingers moving to idly play with one of the girl's pigtails.

"I know," your husband whispered back, standing up from his crouch and moving in closer to where you leaned against the edge of the table. He wrapped an arm around your waist, eyes twinkling with joy as you all looked at Olive, knowing that she had a new family member willing to protect her to their dying breath. Violet had only been around her for mere minutes, but it was evident she would not let any harm come to the girl.

Violet moved her hands up from Olive's arms to gently cup her face, giving your daughter a gentle smile that she matched enthusiastically, now comfortable with her aunt's presence.

"I've got a new reason to keep fighting now, don't I?"

When the next family reunion took place three months later, it didn't go nearly as smooth as the first, much to Brennan's dismay. After a punch to the face and a broken nose, you stood holding a cloth filled with ice against your husband's face as he began mending himself. While you were lucky enough to avoid Mira's wrath given that she didn't have a close enough relationship with you to warrant physical harm, you couldn't ignore the scowl pointed towards you and her brother. You worried that she believed you were the reason Brennan never returned to the Sorrengail family.

"So what are the Sorrengail siblings going to do now that you're all reunited?" Xaden asked, looking between the three of them.

"We're going to beat the shit out of our brother." Mira smiled.

"Survive," Brennan responded, shooting a pointed glance at his sister.

Violet began responding when a small voice interrupted her. "I need-"

"Daddy?"

Everyone's heads immediately turned to the door that was left slightly ajar from when Xaden entered, to see Olive, staring wide eyed in horror at the blood dripping from Brennan's face.

You and Brennan stood stunned, having lost track of the time and not realizing your daughter had already awoken from her nap. Xaden's eyes widened, realizing his mistake, and Mira's entire body tensed up, eyes frantically darting between Brennan and the child in the doorway as if awaiting an explanation.

Violet, who had been standing closest to the door, was the first to break out of her stupor, quickly spinning the girl around so that she wasn't seeing the sheer amount of blood that stained the front of her father's shirt. She kneeled down to be level with the girl, before frantically looking back at you.

"Daddy's okay, he just got into a little bit of an accident," Violet tried to console the girl, whose eyes started to brim with tears, "He just has to use his magic to heal himself and he's going to be all better."

Despite the fact that Olive had grown very fond of Violet since their first meeting, the rider's words did nothing to console her, and her bottom lip jutted out, a torrent of tears threatening to fall.

"Get her away from here," Brennan whispered to you, and you immediately agreed, slipping away from his side to whisk your daughter into your arms. You swiftly picked her up out of Violet's grasp, soothingly tucking her head into the crook of your neck as you tried to calm her trembling frame.

"Daddy's going to be okay, he just hit his nose a little," you whispered into the little girl's ear, rocking her back and forth as you moved to take her out the door and away from the shocking scene, "Why don't we go take a visit to Cille and Marbh, huh? Say hi to your favourite dragons?"

The girl made a small noise of agreement into your neck, and the two of you walked out of the room, leaving the three siblings and Xaden alone. Brennan instantly let out a sigh of relief, his tense body relaxing as he leaned on the edge of the table, despite the pain he still felt in his face.

Violet moved to stand back up with the support of Xaden, relief also evident on her face. Mira, however placed her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at her brother.

"You want to explain what in Amari's name that was?" she said, looking between the three people in front of her, shocked. Xaden raised his hands in mock defeat, signalling that as a non-Sorrengail it was not his problem, and moved towards the wall where he was in the protection of his shadows. Violet moved closer to Brennan as if ready to protect him should her older sister get physical once again. Brennan only looked wearily at his sister, knowing the verbal tactic he used on Violet was not going to work a second time.

"That was my three year old daughter, Olive, being scarred at the fact that you bashed her father's face in," he scoffed, continuing to mend his nose which had finally stopped streaming blood.

"So six years of being fake-dead aside, when were you planning on mentioning that you have a kid?" the girl half-shouted, moving in towards her older brother once again. Violet quickly moved to step in between them, causing Mira to stop advancing, but it didn't stop her from furiously crossing her arms over her chest.

"In my defense you've been here for, what, 20 minutes? I would have gotten there a lot sooner if you hadn't snapped my nose and let me actually explain," Brennan huffed, finally done fixing the brunt of the damage to his face. The rest was just minor fixes which he could deal with after this conversation. He stood up fully, now staring down his younger sister, ready to face whatever accusations she would throw about your family.

Mira rolled her eyes. "All you've done is keep secrets, who's to say you wouldn't have just continued to hide her?"

"Me," Violet piped up, making sure her presence was known. While her older siblings had been arguing, she felt impossibly small, but on the topic of her niece she was willing to come to her brother's defense. "When I first got here, we talked and he told me with minimal prompting. If you two stopped screaming at each other for just a few minutes and actually listened, you'd find out what you want to know."

The two older siblings stood silent for a moment, staring each other down, before Mira finally sighed.

"Fine, I guess it's just been a lot of new information today. Okay, venin, wyvern, secret city, revolution, alive brother and sister-in-law, niece. Anything else life-changing I need to know?" she asked pointedly.

Violet was prepared for a quick 'no' from Brennan, but when it didn't come, she looked over at him confused. The red-haired man rubbed the back of his neck for a second as if carefully choosing his words.

"I guess we have to start telling people eventually. My wife's pregnant with our second child."

Mira's eyebrows shot up, Violet immediately let out a surprised "what?", and even Xaden, parked on the opposite side of the room, looked momentarily surprised.

"Are you sure your brain was restored when you were brought back? Why in Amari's name are you having another kid when there are venin on your literal doorstep?" Mira questioned, to which Brennan rolled his eyes.

"Obviously she was pregnant before Violet showed up on death's door after Resson, we just didn't realize until after. If we'd known how quickly everything was going south, do you think we'd willingly put ourselves in this situation?"

For a moment, the room was silent with the realization that there was going to be a new addition to the Sorrengail family at the worst possible time. The venin were becoming more pressing as a threat every day, Riorson house was preparing to take in an abundance of fliers, and the revolution was actively fighting against Navarre.

"The timing is shit, but congratulations," Violet finally broke the silence, moving in to hug her brother. She paused seeing the amount of blood across the front of his shirt, and settled for a side-hug, which he gladly accepted.

Mira didn't say another word, still gathering her own thoughts. Brennan studied the look on her face, trying to work out what she was thinking.

"I need to know that you only have good intentions towards my family," he said to Mira, breaking her out of her mental spiral.

"What?" she asked, immediately offended by her brother's statement.

"You can't blame me for being cautious, I was expecting some kind of reunion when you got here at least similar to how Violet reacted, but you immediately got violent," your husband responded, standing firm on his statement, "I know you're my sister, but I need to know that I can trust you to have the best intentions towards my kids."

The older Sorrengail sister scoffed, pointing an accusatory finger at Brennan. "The only reason you're still standing right now is because of that little girl. I'm allowed to beat the shit out of you because you're my brother and I'm still furious that you lied to us all this time. I may have only seen her for a minute, but if you think I’m going to let anyone lay a finger on my niece or the new baby, you're out of your damn mind."

Brennan and Mira stood in a stand-off of sorts for what felt like an eternity as he continued to study her, but a few moments later the man finally nodded and backed down, satisfied with the girl's response. Noticing the shift in his body language, she too backed down.

Violet, who felt too on edge at the tension in the room, decided to pivot the conversation.

"She's such a sweetheart Mira, you're going to love getting to know her," she clasped her hands together, "She dragged me around the gardens after classes yesterday, but she doesn't know what any of the plants are called, so she just muttered nonsense as she pointed at all of them as if she was teaching me."

Mira's gaze finally softened, as she began hearing about her niece that she would quickly develop a soft spot for.

"She really loves dragons too," Brennan finally spoke up, adoration immediately evident in his voice the second he was able to begin boasting about his daughter, "She loves watching when the riders tend to their dragons after flight. Luckily she's still just a kid, so none of the dragons have tried to set her on fire her when she gets too close."

The electricity in the room now successfully fizzled out, Mira finally let a grin light up her face, as she turned to her older brother.

"How did an asshole like you end up with an angel of a daughter?"

"I'm going to kill you."

With the Battle of Basgiath resulting in raised wards at the hands of Lilith Sorrengail, Brennan begrudgingly had to admit that the war college was now the safest place to be in Navarre. With his mother in recovery after near-burnout from imbuing the wardstone, and you now being less than 2 months away from giving birth to your second child, temporarily moving your small family to Basgiath became the wisest choice for you all.

Brennan's mother had proposed a family dinner for the first time in over six years, and your husband almost declined on behalf of the three of you. However, having seen how willing she was to give up her life for her children, he admitted to you that he was going to make an effort to make amends with her, despite the feelings of resentment that he had been harboring for years. This dinner was his first step towards forgiveness.

Your husband flew back to Aretia to escort you and Olive to Basgiath, your main belongings strapped to the back of your dragons. After arranging your things in the temporary living quarters that Lilith had prepared for you, the three of you arrived at the Sorrengail quarters, knocking briefly to announce your arrival, before letting yourselves in through the warded doorway.

As you entered, you saw Violet standing closest to you in the living room, Lilith sitting on the couch and Mira standing in the doorway to the kitchen upon being alerted of your arrival. As soon as she caught sight of her beloved aunt, Olive immediately ran past you to an excited Violet. 

"Auntie Vi-vi! I flied on Marbh!" your daughter exclaimed, running into Violet's arms as the older girl kneeled, ready to pick up the child despite you knowing that her joints would not take kindly to the sudden impact.

Once Olive was in Violet's arms, the silver-haired girl smiled brightly at the obvious excitement from your daughter, "Wow, you flew all the way here? Were you scared at all?"

She frantically shook her head in response. "Nope. I had so much fun. Daddy holded on really tight."

At that, Violet turned her attention to the two of you, who had joined them in the living room. She raised an eyebrow, tossing a taunting smile to her older brother, "Were you scared?"

Your husband couldn't hide the fatigue that was evident in every aspect of his body language after hours of holding on to the girl for dear life, endlessly worried about her falling out of the sky despite Marbh's reassurance that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. "Absolutely terrified."

Lilith already looked at Brennan as if he was a ghost every time she saw him, but seeing your child made her pale even further, eyes tracking her so intently that she didn't blink once. She stood up from the couch, but looked as if her knees were going to buckle at any second.

"You… have a daughter?" she whispered, the words barely audible over the sound of Olive babbling to Mira, whom she had run to quickly after having escaped from Violet's arms. Her eyes then dropped to your bump that was now glaringly obvious, and back up to yours and Brennan's faces. "And…"

"Due in early February, yes," you answered on behalf of your husband, who seemed to be too exhausted to form any more words. Brennan, who didn't sleep a wink on the flight due to his worrying over your daughter, quickly took over his mother's spot on the couch, "Olive, come here for a second, baby."

Olive's head turned around quickly around at your request, and she scurried back to you. She saw Brennan seated on the couch and decided to crawl into his lap.

You moved to sit on the couch at his right, hand stroking your daughter's hair as Brennan held the girl in his lap given that you were too pregnant for her to comfortably sit in yours. "You've met Auntie Vi-vi and Auntie Mira now, do you remember the other person from Daddy's family we said you still had to meet?"

The three year old looked up at both of you quizzically, trying to remember who else she was missing, but her mind was very clearly coming up blank. She shook her head, hair bouncing out of place at the sudden movement.

Brennan gestured to Lilith, who looked less like she would collapse in shock at any second, now with a gentle smile on her face as she took a seat next to her son, looking lovingly at the child in his lap, "This is Daddy's mommy, your grandma."

"Grandma," Olive muttered, trying out the word as Lilith opened her arms inviting the girl to join her. Brennan helped move her over to his mother's lap, and the girl sat with her legs on either side of Lilith's torso.

You didn't miss the look that passed between Mira and Violet, obviously unsettled at the sudden caring nature of their mother coming out, something they hadn't witnessed themselves in years.

"Can you introduce yourself to her?" you prompted, trying to get the girl to grow stronger in her speaking skills.

"I'm Olive. I'm…" the girl moved to lift up the number of fingers that coincided with her age, but ever since she moved from two to three, she had trouble lifting up the extra finger. After a few seconds of struggling, she finally managed to get three fingers up, and her face lit up with accomplishment. "Three!"

Everyone in the room seemed to always bring their focus to the girl, the center of attention in the Sorrengail family. At her struggle with her fingers, all of you had adoring smiles on your faces, finding her actions incredibly endearing.

"Hi Olive," Lilith said, bringing up one finger to tickle the girl's stomach, evoking a giggle that had you and Brennan instantly making eye contact as your hearts seized at the sound. "You're such a beautiful little girl."

Your daughter smiled in response, leaning forward to give her grandmother a hug. Lilith matched the embrace, her eyes closing as she reveled in the pure emotions she felt at meeting her granddaughter for the first time. You cast a glance over at Brennan whose face was painted with love, eyes trained on your daughter being held tenderly by his mother, and you could tell that despite the resentment towards the general, he had been waiting for this homecoming as well.

Olive finally pulled away, an active and impatient three-year-old ready to force Violet to give her a tour of the living quarters. Mira returned to the kitchen to finish with the food preparations, adamant that she needed no help, leaving you, Brennan and Lilith sitting on the couch in an exhausted silence.

"Your father would have adored her," Lilith spoke up, eyes trailing the girl as she and Violet popped in and out of rooms, "She looks and acts just like you at that age." Her eyes came to rest on Brennan, likely reminiscing on the time when her own children were babies themselves. Being her firstborn child, you could tell that your husband had started to understand the way the woman felt, having an overwhelming love for his own firstborn. You instinctively brought your hand up to rest on your swollen belly, thinking about how soon it would be that Olive would no longer be an only child. It felt like it had been only a few months since your daughter was born, and in less than two months you'd already be welcoming a second baby to the world.

"You two now know very well the protective love a parent feels for their child," the woman filled the silence once again, her gaze now flickering between both of you. You both slowly nodded, Brennan more hesitant, waiting to hear what words would follow. "Know that despite however you feel about me, the love I have for you will always extend to your children as well."

In the first week of February, you sit atop your bed at Basgiath, your newborn baby held gently in your arms. It's a healthy baby boy, born just before the break of dawn, luckily just days before Violet and Mira are set to leave for the isles. Brennan left the room to fetch your daughter and the remainder of the Sorrengails to invite them to meet the newest member of the family.

You sit contently in the rare moment of complete peace, a smile on your lips as your son wiggles in your arms, one of your fingers enveloped by his small hand. Soon, the moment is broken by the sound of the door opening, and your head snaps up to see Olive jumping up and down in the doorway with Brennan standing behind her, an apologetic look aimed at you. A large grin adorns her face, and her matching bedhead with hair sticking up in all directions makes her look feral, yet still adorable, as she runs up to the side of the bed to catch a glimpse of the baby in your arms.

"I wanna see! I wanna see!" she chants, before Brennan picks her up to lift her onto the bed, slotting her in at your side.

"You have to be gentle Olive, he's still tiny, soft hands only," your husband coos, afraid that the over-excited three year old will end up hurting her brother.

You tilt yourself and the baby in a way that the small girl can get a better view of her brother, and Brennan makes sure that he's guiding her hands so that she doesn't have the opportunity to be too rough with him. For the life of him, he doesn't know how she has this much energy this early in the morning.

"What do you think Olive?" you ask, gently placing a kiss on the top of your older child's head. Now that you hold your newborn in your arms, you can't help but feel emotional at how much your daughter has grown. The girl, who felt so tiny only a day before feels so big compared to your son. She looks up at you, eyes wide in wonder and gives you another toothy grin.

"I like him. My baby." is all she responds, going in to clumsily kiss his face. You and Brennan immediately look at each other, melted by the action, and he goes to place a kiss on top of Olive's head as well.

"That's so sweet love," he whispers, endearingly smoothing down her hair. The four of you sit like that for a while, all of you doting on the bundle in your arms, before a knock sounds at the door.

Brennan goes to open it, being greeted with the rest of the family. Violet and Mira enter first, eyes scanning the room to get a glimpse of the newborn, followed by Lilith who quietly shuts the door behind her.

Upon seeing the small boy in your arms, your sisters-in-law shuffle over to the side of the bed. You lift up the baby so that Brennan can take him from your arms and pass him to one of the girls.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Mira asks, peering over Violet's shoulder as Brennan places your son in the younger girl's arms first.

"A boy," you respond, Olive now wiggling into your lap, taking the place of her brother. You gladly wrap your arms around her, grateful to take any time snuggling with your firstborn.

"His name is Naolin," Brennan pipes up, all eyes quickly going to him, before back to the child in Violet's arms, "Seemed appropriate, given that Naolin is the only reason both of us are still alive today to even have a son."

A sad smile graces your husband's face for a moment, but he backs away from the three women who have now gathered in a circle around your son. Your husband takes a seat next to you on the bed, an arm going to wrap around your shoulders as you both take in the sight before you.

Olive, sitting on your lap, leans her head back so that she's flush with your chest. The Sorrengail women hover around Naolin, now in Mira's arms as all three dote on him. Lilith slowly brushes a gentle finger along the baby's cheek in adoration, and Mira quickly lifts the boy so that she can place a small kiss on his tiny hand that has escaped the blankets. The soft glow of the sunrise begins to illuminate the room, and you lean your head on Brennan's shoulder.

He kisses the top of your head, a sigh escaping his lips. A smile lights up his face, this time with no sadness behind his eyes, only pure joy.

tsukishima kei x reader

reader is tsukki’s gf and wants to find something he’s not naturally talented at <3

Your boyfriend was annoying. 

He wasn’t annoying in the way that he spoke, or annoying in the way that he treated those around him— he was annoyingly above average. He was a jack of all trades, and it was infuriating. 

You originally thought that he had a natural gift for volleyball. He never seemed to devote much time to the sport, but he was a natural on the court, only getting better with practice and passion. It was only when you began going on dates that you started to realize that he was able to do anything he tried with ease. 

On your trip to an arcade, he watched you struggle to complete a game, only to land third place on the leaderboard when he attempted it himself. When you dragged him to a pottery class, the bowl that you had fashioned for yourself turned out lopsided with many kinks, while the mug that he made was simple but beautiful and now held a permanent place in your kitchen cabinet. 

When you first caught on, you started to treat it like a game– there had to be something that he couldn’t do. He thought you were making something out of nothing; he had no significant interest in most things that you made him try, so to make you happy he would downplay his abilities. You could tell when he was doing it though, and continued to watch for the moment when you finally found something he really couldn’t do. 

You began to curate the most random itineraries for outings that you possibly could, just for the chance of catching him off guard. Bowling, painting, basketball, beginners guitar– with a little practise he could grasp anything you threw at him. 

When the day finally came where you discovered his weakness, you never expected his kryptonite would be something so… mundane. 

Ice skating. 

You were nearing the point of giving up on the experiment, dragging him to go ice skating on a completely unrelated endeavour. After the holiday season the air was cold, perfect for ice skating, and you just wanted a day to spend with your boyfriend drinking hot drinks and visiting the local rink just like you did as a child. You didn’t expect for Tsukishima Kei, who was above-average at everything he tried, to be the worst ice skater you had witnessed in your life. 

You had grown up skating casually, taking lessons as a child and visiting the outdoor rink with your friends from time to time. Subconsciously, you assumed he had done the same, or at least would figure it out quickly as he did with all other things. When he first stumbled with his transfer onto the ice, gripping your arm for balance, you brushed it off as the initial beginner hurdle he needed to get over, thinking he would be smooth sailing within half an hour. When he fell for the first time, you helped him up with a laugh, helping him brush the snow off of his coat as you gave him pointers on how to focus his centre of gravity. He held your hand as he made small kicks across the ice, and you continued to think nothing of it. 

Only an hour in, did you begin to realize that he was not improving. The second he let go of you for support, he would collapse onto the ice, and while you held onto him, he was easily the slowest one on the rink. 

“Kei, honey.” you paused, trying to stifle the laughs and taunts that were about to escape you. 

He turned his head to look at you, slowing to a stop, seemingly as he couldn’t do both at the same time. 

You continued your thought, a smile creeping onto your face. “You do realize that there are two year olds passing us right now, right?” 

Surely enough, as you said it, a toddler stumbled past the two of you. Not very gracefully and sliding across the ice on his stomach shortly after, but there was no doubt that the child out-paced you both. You could see Tsukki’s cheeks turning slightly red as he let out a small laugh himself. 

“This is harder than I expected,” he commented, arm still linked with yours as he stepped out with his right foot. 

You tried to give him more pointers to seem supportive, but inside you felt smug– there was finally something that he wasn’t good at and this was your moment to gloat. “Rather than just stepping forward, kick your foot back like you’re pushing yourself forward. Like this.” You let go of his arm to try and demonstrate the different approach, kicking off with one foot as you instructed. When you turned back to join the tall boy again, he had somehow already found himself sprawled across the ice, his face void of any visible emotion. 

You skated back towards him, taking a moment to look down at him with a smile very clearly plastered across your face. Holding your hand out to offer him help standing up again, you couldn’t help the string of smug comments that came out as you heaved him up. 

“I could get you one of those skating aids that they give little kids. Although, you might be a bit too tall for one… I can stack two on top of each other, that will be more your speed– your height. Your speed is far less than 1 kilometre per hour.” You giggled, knowing that you were being slightly unfair. He remained composed every time he bested you at some task, but you let the thought go. This was your moment for mockery. 

As he finally held his balance, you skated a circle around him. 

“Oh glorious day– I can say that I’ve lived to see the day where THE jack of all trades, Kei Tsukishima has been bested by an activity. Ice skating of all things too.” 

“Unlike you, I never saw a need to aimlessly glide around in circles on the ice as a child.” 

You looked up at him, his mocking glare leading you to respond with nothing but a “Tsk.” 

“Okay, if I can’t get far skating like this, why don’t you show me how real skaters do it,” he laughed, urging you forward to go off without him. 

You gave him a puzzled look. “Why would I do that? We’re supposed to be skating together.”

He shook his head, gesturing for you to go ahead. 

“At least one of us should make the most of the money we’re spending renting these skates. Maybe I’ll learn better from watching you skate without pretending you’re teaching a small child. I’ll be onto the Olympics after one watch.” 

You gave him a small smile, before shrugging and going ahead at a much faster speed. You glided away with ease, skating two quick laps around the ice. The boy couldn’t help but smile as he watched your hair flow in the air behind you and the peace that seemed to overcome you as you skated. 

When you met back up with him, he requested that you try some tricks you hadn’t attempted since childhood, loud laughs escaping him as it was your turn to go sprawling across the ice after trying to do a full spin. After half an hour of more skating, you decided to call it a day and return your skates. 

As you finally decided to head off the ice and grab some hot chocolate with your boyfriend, you found yourself glowing with the excitement of your self-declared victory. You could finally stop trying to catch Tsukki off guard with a challenging date, and go back to simply enjoying your time together. You had to admit, you were a little sad that your trials had come to an end. 

So preoccupied with the many emotions running through your head, you didn’t seem to notice that while you had your back turned when getting off the ice, the “bad at skating” Kei Tsukishima kicked off easily with his left foot, making his way to the edge of the skating rink right behind you, a loving smile on his face as he looked down at your celebrations. He loved more than anything to see you happy, so despite the aches he would be having the next day from falling repeatedly, he would consider this date a success. 

He grabbed your hand as you walked from the rink towards the café, holding you grounded since you seemed like you were going to bounce away from pure happiness. While you remained overjoyed that skating was now number one on the list of skills that your boyfriend could not excel at in one go, Kei Tsukishima on the other hand, was adding a new skill to the list of trades he could accomplish with ease:

garrick tavis x reader

after a particularly rough day of being looked down upon for being a marked one and endless bullying from alic tauri’s cronies, garrick comes to you looking for words of encouragement.  ✧ : lots of angst oops! shamelessly includes lyrics from the song bloodline by alex warren. this has been in the drafts for a long while, glad to finally have a reason to push myself to get this done. if i got my days right this is for day 5 of @empyreanevents tyrrendor week: marked!

With a major physics test tomorrow, your nose is stuck in your books as you sit at your desk, poring over your notes. When a soft knock sounds at your door distracting you from your focus, your face scrunches in annoyance. You choose to ignore it and resume studying, figuring it’s your boyfriend Garrick coming to distract you, the grin you love so much tempting you away from your work. However, you’ve always struggled with physics and you need to ace this test to save your grade, so you hope he’ll assume you’re not in and go bother Xaden instead. You flip the page of your book, continuing to read. 

Contrary to your expectations, another knock sounds and you sigh, knowing that the boy will not leave you alone until you at least briefly talk to him. 

“Garrick, I’m busy studying right now-” you start as you open the door, but your words are cut short as you see your boyfriend standing before you, no grin plastered across his face. Instead, his shoulders are slumped forward as if he wishes he could shrink in on himself, and his eyes are looking at you full of sorrow as tears begin to brim at their edges. 

“Gare? What’s going on?” your voice immediately softens as you usher the boy inside. He sits on your bed, and you quickly join him, gently tucking his head into your shoulder as he begins to softly cry. His body is trembling, and you stroke his hair to comfort him. “You’re okay, talk to me love. What happened?” 

Despite him being significantly larger than you, you can tell that he feels impossibly small right now. He sniffles into your shoulder before mumbling a response you can just barely make out. 

“Am I so bad of a person that there’s nothing they can find to like about me?” 

Your heart instantly shatters hearing the words that exit your boyfriend’s mouth. He doesn’t have to say it explicitly, but you know exactly what’s happened. There has always been a prejudice against the marked ones, but the antagonizing has only escalated since Xaden killed Alic Tauri weeks ago at Threshing. The boys that once followed Alic around like lost puppies now take their anger out on Xaden and Garrick daily, making everyone know that the two boys are the reason the prince of Navarre is dead. Usually, they take it with their heads held high, but you’re not sure how bad it got today to send Garrick into this state. 

“There is absolutely nothing bad about you,” you whisper, placing a gentle kiss to the top of his head in an attempt to reassure him, “Those guys are simple minded pricks. They’re too focused on the ink on your skin to take a moment and see that you’ve got a heart of pure gold under it all.” 

Garrick pulls away from your shoulder, his eyes red as he continues to sniffle, an uncertain look now present on his face. “But what if they’re not wrong?” 

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion, unsure why he would even bother asking that question. “Gare, if I didn’t truly believe you were a kind man with strong morals, you would not be my boyfriend right now.” 

The boy shakes his head slightly, his eyes now trained on the relic that travels up his arm, as he seems to become more lost in his own thoughts. “I mean, what if they’re not wrong to judge us because of these marks? My father was second in command to a rebellion that took many lives. They were conspiring under the nose of our own continent. What if they’re right to be worried that we’ll do the same?” 

You stare at him for a second, not sure how to unpack all of what he’s just said. You have to admit that you thought poorly of the boys when you first met for the same reason, but luckily gave them a chance to see how wonderful they were despite what everyone believes. The only way you can think to respond is by rebutting in the way that convinced you to give them a chance.

“Garrick, you are not your father,” you start, speaking slowly so that you can properly think through your words, knowing how sensitive this topic is. However, before you can continue, the boy cuts you off. 

“I know that, but he’s the one who raised me, I am who I am because of him. I’m a Tavis, and because of this damn mark on my arm, everyone knows it.” His voice cracks as he speaks, and your heart lurches once again. 

“You may be a Tavis, but you don’t have to follow in your bloodline,” you respond, your voice soft as you murmur your next words into the top of his head, “‘From where you came’ isn’t who you are.” 

He pauses for a second as if digesting your words, and then finally speaks, his voice no louder than a whisper. “But they don’t think that.” 

“It doesn’t matter what they think, does it?” you counter, “Isn’t what your friends think of you more important than those random cadets?” 

His eyes now raise from his arm to look at you, his eyebrows furrowed as if conflicted. “Well yes obviously, but every single damn day people look at me like I’m going to stab them in the back. I just want…” he trails off for a moment, a vulnerable look in his eyes as his face slackens, “I don’t want to be demonized because of this mark anymore. I want people to fear me because I’ve trained to become a deadly force in combat, not because I’m a child of the rebellion.” 

All you can do for a moment is stare back at him. He’s never been this vulnerable with you before - he’s always been stoic, braving the criticism that comes his way without wavering. But, in this moment you wish that you could hold him and comfort him for eternity to ease away all of the doubts in his mind. Another part of you wishes you could hurt anyone who has ever made him feel like this. 

“We’re just first years,” you finally get out, trying to figure out what he needs to hear, “I know every day isn’t guaranteed, but if you have tomorrow, then you’ve still got time to break the chain.” 

You angle yourself so that you can bring his arm to your lips, pressing soft kisses along the inked skin. “Even with these scars, you were able to make me fall in love with you pretty quick. You’re among the first set of marked children to enlist. You’ve got two and a half more years here and plenty more time once we graduate to change the narrative. You’ve got time to make them see that the marked ones are a force of good.” 

Garrick sits in stunned silence, gaze cautiously examining your own to make sure that you really believe what you’re saying. You hold firm, eyes never breaking away for a second. When he’s finally sure that you’re confident in what you’re saying, he breaks, switching roles by pulling you into his own lap. 

He places a kiss to the side of your head, his arms tightening around you. “I don’t deserve you, you know that?” 

You shake your head in protest, your own eyebrows now furrowing. “You deserve so much more.” 

He lets out a small half laugh, the first since he walked in your room, and you finally ease up knowing that some of his self doubt has gone. “I don’t think there is much more than you.” Between sentences Garrick continues to press small kisses against your hair. “You really believe everything you said?” 

“Every single word,” you say instantly, leaning into his embrace, “Besides, being a Tavis isn’t just a bad thing is it? From what I hear, you all had very loving parents when they weren’t busy scheming. Your parents fought for those marks to keep you safe, and I’d say anyone who never made their children doubt that they were loved did something good.” 

The kisses stop against your head as the boy realizes what you’ve said, likely never having considered that perspective. “I… I guess you’re right. I did have a good dad.” 

You let out a hum of agreement. “See? There’s more to your name than just being a rebel.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Your boyfriend is silent for a moment, and you can’t see it but his eyes trail back down to you, full of love. “By the time I’ve graduated, no one will bat an eye at the incoming marked ones. I’ll show them what we’re capable of.” 

A smile lights up your face, hearing the confidence return to his voice. “That’s what I like to hear!” 

Your physics book long forgotten, you make yourself comfortable in Garrick’s arms, the rise and fall of his chest lulling you into a sleep not long after as the two of you continue to lay on your bed. 

When you’ve fallen asleep in his embrace, the boy places one more kiss to the top of your head, his own body beginning to shut down after being drained from his prior cries. 

“I’m going to change the trajectory of the Tavis name for you,” he whispers into the top of your head, knowing that you’re fast asleep and won’t hear a single word he says, “So that when we get married and you take my name, no one will ever treat you with the same disdain.” 

He runs one hand gently through your hair, listening to the sound of your shallow breaths. “You’ll never have to defend yourself for being with me again. I’m going to change their minds so that one day you can be proud of being with a marked one.”