I'm... actually surprised no one else asked for this yet. I love the way Dorian says that line about how he'll get home after the Exalted Council. "Maybe a sea voyage! I can get kidnapped by burly qunari pirates".
Due to circumstances of trying to get back to the Imperium, Dorian has little choice but to take a ship home. Which, nearly home, does get captured by burly qunari pirates. So begins the tale of one snarky magister and one long suffering qunari pirate
I’m going to start taking writing commissions, since I’m in desperate need of cash, and I’ve received several rejections from employers over the last week.
Pricing
Base is £2/$2.50 for every 1000 words.
For example a 1950 word fic would be £4. A 2550 word fic would end up at £5. And so on and so on.
Extras! Original characters, series I’m not familiar with, unique/specialist knowledge I will have to research may be an additional fee. This will depend entirely on individual circumstances.
If you ask for a long commission there is a possibility I could apply a discount, what that discount is, I have not yet decided and it could vary. However, I’m afraid I am also putting a cap on commission lengths, I will not be writing novels.
What Will I Write?
If you wish to submit a request to me then amazing! Great! I will give almost anything a try, but as a rule of thumb if it involves rape, paedophilia or the like, I will have to turn away your request.
As far as kinks go, it doesn’t hurt to ask, I am open to a lot of possibilities and will not judge.
Fandoms I’m very familiar with are:
Dragon Age
Overwatch
One thing I will not write, as much as it pains me to say so, is the yogscast. This is for multiple reasons, and none of them are because I don’t want to.
Genre’s I work best with
Romance
Humour
Erotica
Angst
General Fiction
If you would like more information send me an ask, or email me at [email protected]. If you show interest I’ll send you full terms and conditions and a form you can fill out with your request to make the process smoother. Thank you for reading!
There were two ways I wanted to go with Sips' quest title, be all serious and this is about the Qun and that is an extract, and this quest isn't going to be light and fun like the character, or this is Sips' quest and... well, this is Sips' quest...
I will warn you of a few things, this is unfinished and there are no choices available because I'm afraid I got lazy, you need kind of general knowledge of qunaris and the qun (there are translations at the bottom, it's not super important to understand it). The only previous knowledge you need is that since the Lomadia quest Sjin doesn't show his face.
Last point. This features a saarebas, I reference the act of stitching their lips shut and they're panicked but unable to flee throughout so I'm not sure if that might be an issue but watch yourself.
====
“Sips?” You ask, almost stumbling for a moment but trying your hardest not to use his old name. He's made the decision to change it permanently.
Before you can ask anything he turns to you, concern obvious in his features. “Have you seen Sjin around? He said he was just going to go and find some elf root, it wouldn’t take him long, I mean, that shits everywhere, but he hasn’t come back yet. It must have been at least an hour and it’s starting to get dark now.”
“You know Sjin’s a mage, he can handle himself. But, if you’re that worried we should look.”
After searching for a short amount of time you eventually stumble upon an abundant patch of elfroot, Sjin would have had to be stupid to miss this so close to camp.
“Arvaarad? I knew you would come sooner or later.” A female voice states bluntly.
Stepping out of behind an oak she casts a wicked smile on both of you. She was a huge woman, most of her grey skin covered only by vitaar as seemed to be the case with qunaris, and though hornless, it would take an idiot to mistake her species.
“Salit? What are you doing here?”
“I was sent to find a Tal-Vashoth.” She spat the word as if it left a sour taste in her mouth. With a click of her fingers strong arms gripped you, lifting you from the ground.
Sauntering ever closer until she stood close to Sips, their chests almost pressed together, even though he had several inches advantage she appeared more than prepared to take her chances. “You wouldn’t know anything of that, would you Arvaarad?”
“That’s not my name any more…”
“I assumed so.” She lifted her dagger slowly, running the blade delicately along Sips’ neck. “I would take great pleasure in killing you. But the Ben-Hassrath want to re-educate you. They think you’re not worth wasting. If I were in charge I’d have your head. We don’t need more thugs in this world.”
“It’s a good job you’re not in charge then. I’m not coming with you.”
“I was hoping that these Basra Vashedan had corrupted you.” She sighs removing the dagger.
“So what are you going to do to me?”
“Convince you.”
“Good luck with that.” He scoffed.
“You are Arvaarad, but you have neglected your duty. An bas saarebas.” She seems to shout to no one in particularly.
A body stumbles from behind one of the great trees that surrounds you and you had to wonder just how many qunari could fit behind the trees, until it dawned on you very quickly that the body clothed in rags, head concealed by a cloth sack, bound in the customary chains for a qunari mage was far too small to be a qunari. It fell to the ground, until it stopped abruptly mid-fall, a chain yanking the creature back like a leash, as it let out a strangled cry.
“Asit Tal-eb. Maraas shokra. Anaan Esaam Qun.” Even as she spoke you could still hear the quiet sobs and you wondered how you hadn’t noticed them sooner.
“The Qun is wrong! Can you not see that what you’re doing is wrong?! You think that seeing this will convince me to come with you?”
“You still speak your heresy and in common no less? The qunari have been lenient with you tal-vashoth, you would do well to take their offer.”
“I won’t come with you.”
That wicked grin spreads across her lips again as she saunters to the poor creature and you choose to remain silent. The longer you watch her, the more you focus on little aspects, the shake in her hand, the way she’s itching to stick her blade into something. She’s one of those villains who thinks that what she’s doing is for the greater good, you can already tell, the way she preaches the Qun, and those are always the most dangerous. Sips is never one to stay quiet, but in comparison to his usual demeanour he’s been holding his tongue.
“Maybe this will change your mind.” She hums as she yanks the bag from the saarebas.
With the strength of the qunari it’s head snaps to the side, before lolling against its chest. Long hair tumbles from the bag, the creature taking in heavy laboured breaths of the fresh air. Their lips are sealed, stitched closed, very recently from the look of the wounds, dried blood matted in their beard. The rest of their face concealed by a golden mask. There’s something disturbingly familiar.
You see Sips step forward out of the corner of your eye, and the sound of steel rings out as almost every qunari in the building began to draw their weapon, preparing for a fight.
“Let him go!”
“Arvaarad… So worked up and I haven’t even revealed his identity yet.” She scolds. With that grin still plastered across her lips she bends her knees so she is still a head above the mage. With the same delicacy she used the run the blade along Sips’ throat she takes the Saarebas’ chin. When its breath hitches, and it tries to pull away from her grip she tightens it. You knew that wasn’t the reason the mage didn’t run or retaliate, the shimmering blue field that enveloped their body serviced as a restraint as well as the chains that adorned them. “Kost. Maaras Shokra.”
The qunlat words did no help in calming it, even if her tone could almost be described as soothing had the wicked grin not still been spreading her lips.
“I’m not as stupid as you ben-hassrath bastards would believe. You say you follow the Qun but we all know the truth. You’re fucked up, you get a kick out of preying on anyone weaker than you, it doesn’t matter if they’re bas, or ‘vints or viddathari, if you can get your claws into them. You’re more of a disgrace to the Qun than me.”
That elicits the most reaction you’ve seen from her so far. The grin disappears from her features and she rips the mask from the saarebas’ face, leaving it trembling. “He tried to put up one hell of a fight, took out two of my guys. Stupid Halfling. We found it just here just picking elfroot.”
Arvaarad – Watches over Saarebas, and chains and essential holds their leash “One who holds back evil”
Basra Vashedan – “Foreign trash”
An Bas Saarebas – a bit of creative liberties on my part, “bring/deliver the mage”
Salit – a rank in the ben-hassrath
Anaasit Tal-eb. Maraas shokra. Anaan Esaam Qun. – “This is the way things are meant to be. There’s nothing to struggle against. Victory is in the Qun.”
This is my debut fic in the DA fandom, I've written in others before but I'm not sure how things like tagging and stuff work over here so if I was an idiot and looked in all the wrong places please let me know. Please be gentle with me.
I imagine that this scenario has been done a million times over and I've read a few of them myself, but I decided to make it a million and one and give it an unoriginal title.
Words: 1,200
Warnings: Borders on NSFW but I thought I'd keep it kind of clean for my first go.
“It’s tolerable.” He stated; his nose wrinkling as he peered down at the mug of Fereldan beer. “It’s no Tevinter wine.”
“I didn’t see you complaining about the last four.” It was true, though he’d never admit it there was something about the strong bitter liquid that was almost enjoyable, but he would not confess that, especially not in the company of The Bull, as well as the entirety of his chargers. If he let down his guard, confessed that he had been incorrect when he’d protested to drinking the stuff, claimed he’d rather drink piss, the teasing would no doubt be unbearable.
Dorian would often prefer to be alone in his drinking, it left him to think, but tonight was one of those nights where he didn’t care to think. It had been a passing comment that had seen Dorian join the chargers for their usual evening, brutish chanting and profanities being flung much to the horror of the chantry sisters who happened to pass by the tavern, the chargers loud enough to be heard by passers-by. He had to admit it brought a sly smile to his face, and as the evening drew into night the company becoming merrier, his smile widened.
“Have you ever tasted Tevinter wine? One glass and you could never return to-… to this! Now if you don’t mind I’m heading to bed.”
It was the fourth, maybe the fifth, he’d informed the company of mercenaries that he would be retiring for the night. So far that had earned him several more pints and a long winded tale about one of their escapades, told from three different perspectives, all of them proving elements of the other two false in some way or another.
“You sure-?” Bull began to ask but his sentence was cut premature as the mage rose quickly from his seat.
As Dorian rose from the chair his head swam, fogging over. His body shifted backwards against his will, his balance failing him. He was certain for a moment that he was going to fall flat against the floor of the tavern, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, until a strong hand rested on his back, holding him straight. “Are you sure you can handle the stairs?”
“Yes. I’m sure I can.” He argued, his body swaying and proving his words incorrect. “You’re barely in any state to escort me; you’ve had twice as much!”
“Thankfully there’s twice as much of me to soak it up.” He chuckled as he bent down, his arms reaching out to wrap around the mage’s legs.
Even in his unbalanced state Dorian had enough sense to step backwards, avoiding the behemoth arms that attempted to pluck him from the ground. He could picture it now, The Bull tossing him over his shoulder like a rag doll, the quiet chuckles he’d receive the next morning when he awoke with very little collection of being carried to bed by the brute. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh really?” He knew then that his words had been wrong, he’d initiated a challenge.
With senses dulled it was far too easy for the immense arms to grip him in their second attempt, hoisting the comparatively tiny mage from the ground. Just as he’d imagined his middle hit The Bull’s broad shoulder, winding him for a moment. There was a roar of cheers for from The Bull’s men, and a muffled “get a room” received a round of hearty laughter.
Despite his sigh, Dorian gave in and allowed it to happen. Head hanging upside down and his face so close to the muscles on Bull’s back (he’d admit privately that he’d looked before, who wouldn’t?) “So what’s your plan, you’re going to take me back to your quarters and have your way with me?”
“That’s… not what I was planning.”
“Like I believe that! You never stop talking about how you’re going to conquer me, and how much I should be feigning pleasure over your muscles and you’re ridiculous oxen horns.”
They stopped moving, he could tell as much from the fact he had stopped bobbing back and forth and his alcohol induced nausea subsided for only a moment. Strong hands wrapped around his waist, lifting him effortlessly, and placing him safely on land that didn’t feel so flat to him anymore. He can tell from a quick glance that they’ve already arrived at the quarters.
“Dorian.”
Reaching up the mage presses his index finger to the qunari’s lips, misjudging his height on the first attempt and instead prodding his chin. “I know how this goes; we’re master of it in Tevinter, act like I despise you and then let you take me when eyes aren’t prying.”
“You mean it?”
He had to stand on the tips of his toes to do so, but Dorian wrapped his arms around the Iron Bulls thick neck and without a seconds more hesitation, pressed their lips together. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if this is what he truly wants. There’s a voice in the back of his head telling him the only reason he’s doing this is because he’s drunk on inadequate alcohol and the most rebellious thing he could think of is to bed the huge qunari. Why shouldn’t he? Big brutish hands ripping the clothes from him, pinning him down and fucking him mercilessly, just like promised.
What he receives however is different. A tongue slips into his mouth and he expects biting kisses that will bruise his lips, and there’s passion in the way the tongue caresses his own, there’s no way he can deny it, but no pain. A wide hand cups his cheek as they kiss, guides him backwards, his eyes shut as he takes it in, the taste of the beer still on both of their tongues, hot breath mingled together. Before he realises where they are those hands guide him down to the bed undo every clasp on his robe, peeling away the fabric, kissing every piece of skin it reveals. He’s gentle with every piece of him.
“I want you to say yes, you want this?” Bull asks when Dorian is void of all attire but his underwear, the great qunari in the same state of undress.
“Yes.” He says bluntly.
A sigh of relief escapes his lips as he finds himself naked before the beast, stood over him with a pensive look on his features, his eye roaming over his body as one would look over a marble to be cut into a statue or a particularly fine piece of meat. His lips finally split into a smile, “I think I can work with it.”
A mischievous grin spreads across Dorian’s lips lifting one side of his moustache. “You know, I was promised more of a show.”
Bull obliges stepping easily out of his only remaining item of clothing. Years of training have shown him to look for the little changes in facial features, even in someone so hopelessly hidden behind a façade as Dorian. Even though the smile remains, there’s a slight rise in his eyebrows, his expression ever so briefly shifting from sultry to surprise. “Like what you see?”
So here we have it, Lomadia's companion quest, her's is pretty pivotal so it would trigger unusually early. I feel like the options don't offer quite as much variation as in the Xephos quest, but at the same time they also offer a lot more variation, it's a weird one... also as a little added bonus I added stupid little lomadia approves/disapproves in there
Anyway I'm pretty sure this one is even longer than the Xeph one. To say I was meant to be writing 'little fics'.
“I know where he is.” Lomadia exclaims as she enters the room. There was no courtesy knock, no footsteps ringing down the hallway as she drew closer. The assassin had a habit of being unheard, even when she had absolutely no need to sneak through the hallways.
“Who?!”
“The contract.” She explains bluntly as if you were evidently supposed to understand who she was speaking of. “There’s a shipment heading from Val Chevan up through Nevarra to the Imperium, he’s going to be there before it leaves. Then is the perfect opportunity to find him. Let’s go.”
You try to splutter out a question, a reason as to why you can’t leave so suddenly, but nothing forms on your lips, so with a scowl on your features you leave the room, your footsteps sounding heavy behind those of the crow.
-
Sharing contract details was never one of Lomadia’s favourite past times, even when she was roping you into the business, demanding your assistance. She’d always been a one woman show, and you could tell as she sat high above her horse that she’d very much like to keep it that way. She had the power to command, to fill a room with her presence despite her size, have all eyes on her and her onlookers hang on her every word. But she was an assassin, she stayed in the shadows, she hid out of sight, her commands were invisible pulls on puppet strings and the occasional knife to the back. She finally gives some more of an explanation as you draw ever closer to Val Chevan.
“I’ve been chasing him for years, and every time I got close he just disappeared, like magic. It took me longer than I’m proud to admit to realise that it was magic. I thought he was like me for a while, an assassin with powers, but I was wrong, he never leaves a stab wound.”
“So he’s definitely an apostate?”
“Definitely, and we need to put a stop to him.”
“But, he’s killing people who would have died anyway, saying that we should stop him, shouldn’t we be trying to stop the crows as well then?”
“It’s not as simple as that. He’s not just killing our contracts there are others he’s killed too. Today’s target isn’t one of the crow’s contracts, but if I kill him it gets them off my back for good. All you need to know is he’s dangerous and many lives have been taken by his hands, now come on.”
Her dismount is graceful, barely making a sound. The building she approaches is eerily dark in comparison to the surrounding landscape of lush rolling hills. You imagine it might have been a bustling warehouse at one point, but whatever dealings might have been going on here can’t be legal. You follow cautiously, unsure of what you might find on the inside.
Unsurprisingly the moment you open the door you’re assailed by several guards, though not very well armed, they didn’t seem to be expecting a party of your size or a front on attack. This is only the entrance and you know there must be more through the door left ajar at the end of the corridor. You approach it slowly, all of your weapons drawn, prepared for the attack.
“I wouldn’t if I was you.” You turn quickly to find the source of the voice, a cloaked figure stands behind your team, a staff held before them. Their face is obscured and it’s impossible to tell who or what they truly are. The only telling signs, the slim golden hands that grip the staff.
Before you can ask why, Lomadia has leapt at the mage, daggers out stretched, ready to plunge into him. But where her daggers should sink into him only a cloud of black smoke remains. You watch in amazement for a moment until his voice, laboured with heavy breaths comes from behind you. He stands hunched over, hands resting on his knees as he catches the breath his incredible disappearing act took from him.
“The man in there has to die. This is what everything’s been leading up to, please, just let me have this.” He begs
“You can’t listen to him! Kill him whilst his mana pools low!”
Side with Lomadia – the assassin will surely put up a fight
Hear him out – rather a valuable ally than a dangerous enemy
Here we go, the first of the Dragon Age/yogscast crossover fics, and the first subject is Xephos. So here's the story for his companion quest. Wondering what I'm going on about my original post if here.
Unfortunately I couldn't offer all of the dialogue options that I would love to offer, but I still give you a little bit of choice.
Straightening his back the Knight-Captain groaned as he didso, a quiet click sounding before he gave a sigh of relief, returning to his work. A plethora of papers and maps spanned the expanse of his desk. Many thought it was you, the nominated ‘hero’ who was in charge of this whole operation, but you knew the truth, and Xephos was happy to have it that way.
“You asked to see me?” You ask, waiting for the man to acknowledge your presence, you’re sure he must have heard you enter; you weren’t exactly quiet with the ornate metal door that led to his office of sorts.
“Yes.” He finally answers, turning to look at you. “I need your help.”
“Is this official business?” You ask tentatively, maker knows the amount of personal matters you’ve had to deal with since becoming the fabled hero, none of them your own.
“Kind of... There’s going to be a caravan traveling five miles west of Redcliffe tonight, Nano’s sources have been keeping an eye on it for a while. They’re smuggling something in, something they really don’t want us or the Templars to see, and as far as we know it’s dangerous. Odds are with a shipment of the size it’s not just some illegal goods, its people, and apostates at that.”
“You said us or the Templars. Aren’t we the Templars?”
“Um, yeah, well…” He sighs. “Things have been a little tense between us and the order. With all of these apostates we’re taking in, they don’t really approve of our methods. Honestly I-… I’ve started to question the order.” He rubs circles into his temples, taking deep breaths before he continues. “I was brought up thinking that apostates were these demons and blood mages, but most of them aren’t. Don’t get me wrong some still want us dead, but most of them, they just want to be free. Isn’t-… Isn’t that what anyone wants?”
“Anything else I should know about this shipment?” You ask.
There’s something about the way Xephos shifts, leaning his hands against the desk, it’s not like Xephos to be so distracted. You’re not sure what’s going on but there’s something not quite right, something he’s keeping from you and you know it.
“There may be something else amongst the shipment but it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
--
As night falls you finally reach the spot, crouched in the bushes you await the arrival of the caravan, if you hadn’t known before that something was wrong, it was obvious now. Xephos keeps on shifting in his armour, the rustling less than welcome whilst you’re trying to be silent in the undergrowth. You look at him sharply and his movements ease.
Not a moment too soon. The instance your eyes return to the road the sound of hooves becomes apparent. But how many hooves, as you listen the number increases, you can’t discern just how big a shipment this is. When it finally comes into sight it becomes apparent there are two covered carts, both closely flanked by four horsemen. Several guards follow up the rear. The odds don’t exactly seem in your favour, there are only four of you after all.
“You didn’t mention how big this shipment would be.” You hiss, trying not to alert anyone to your location.
“I didn’t know. I thought they’d try to make it look inconspicuous but this… This isn’t right. This isn’t your standard apostate harbouring. What do you think we should do?”
Attack – even though you’re outnumbered you have the element of surprise
Approach – they’ll probably see you coming but you may be able to learn more
This wasn't exactly what I planned, contains trans!Sjin, because if there's one thing I love more than cross-dressing Sjin, it's well...
===
The sky blue fabric ran smoothly through his fingers, the dress flaring out as his hand caressed it, bobbing slightly on its hanger as he let it go, mesmerised by the way the skirt fell, intricate folds and still retaining its fanned out shape. It was nothing like the polycotton and denim he was used to, the tight trousers and crumpled shirts that never seemed like they were made to fit his body. He knew that this wasn’t made to fit him either; it was made to fit someone with curves in the right places, an hourglass figure.
“Are you ok?” A quiet voice asked. In his daze Sips jumped away from the voice, assuming that a shop assistant had finally approached the strange boy that was touching up the dresses. He was thankful to find Sjin smiling down at him.
“What do you think you’re doing sneaking up on me like that you bastard?”
“Sorry Sips, I’m done.” He explained brandishing the clothes that were draped over his arm, a pair of jeans, a tee and a shirt.
“Which changing rooms did you use?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, as Sjin looked away, his expression similar to that of a puppy who had just been scolded, Sips already knew the answer.
“I promise next time, or maybe when I actually start… you know.”
“Transitioning?”
“Yeah…”
“Sjin, you can’t be scared about these things. If this is what you really want then you can’t roll over and let people walk all over you.”
“I know. I just feel like everyone is looking at me when I go to the men’s, they’re judging me, they’re thinking ‘why is she going into the men’s?!’ I know they are.”
“Those people aren’t worth your time. Forget about them.”
“I’ll try. Are you just going to stand here and stroke that dress or should we pay?”
Sips pulled his hand away sharply, unaware that his actions had been noticed. “It’s just a cute dress.”
“Yeah but I can’t really wear dresses right now. I’m trying to convince people and going out in a dress is only going to have a negative effect.”
“Don’t worry about them; I’m sure guys could wear dresses if they wanted to.”
“Well then if you love the dress so much why don’t you buy it?” Sjin joked, chuckling as he turned towards the checkout.
Sips could never be more glad that Sjin turned away at that moment, that he couldn’t see the flush that rose quickly on Sips’ usually pale cheeks, that he couldn’t see the way Sips’ fingers brushed that soft fabric one last time before turning away to follow him.
He supported Sjin completely, wholly, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do if it would help Sjin express who he really was, Sips being himself was another matter entirely. Until he’d fallen head over heels for Sjin he’d managed to convince the world that he was straight, and in a way he’d convinced himself too, but since Sjin had come out he had no choice but to be open about it too, and bit by bit he was coming to terms with it, he was no longer afraid to hold Sjin’s hand in the corridor, his kisses weren’t tentative anymore, he introduced Sjin as his boyfriend, proud and unabashed. But this, this was different.
===
Sjin jumped onto Sips’ bed, miraculously folding his legs somewhere in the fall so that when he bounced lightly he had already assumed his seating position. He clutched a plastic bag in his arms, the thick black plastic of a slightly upmarket department store not giving away the contents of the bag.
“I bought something, and I really hope I didn’t get this wrong. Just promise me you won’t get mad if I did.”
“Sjin I wouldn’t get mad at you.”
“I know, just promise me you won’t be angry, because I feel really stupid now that I’m sat here with it.” Sjin held out his pinkie and even though Sips rolled his eyes at it he took it in his own, a silent oath that couldn’t be broken.
Sjin climbed from the bed, his graceful descent wasted for the amount of time he actually spent sat down, reaching into the bag he gripped the contents, before letting the bag fall to Sips’ already messy floor. The blue fabric cascading from the bag immediately gripped Sips’ attention as it fell in intricate pleats, and fanned out perfectly. His heart skipped a beat as he looked at it, even folded by the way Sjin held it there was something about it that made him smile slightly. It was his colour, as Sjin liked to call it, the skirt reaching just below the knees, fanning out where hips should be.
“This is the one you liked, right?” Sjin asked as he opened out the dress to reveal all of it.
“Yeah that’s the one. But, it looks huge next to you. Are you sure it’ll fit?”
“It’s not for me. Now this is the part where you’re not allowed to get mad.”
“Why would I get mad? Who’s it for?”
“It’s for you.” He said tentatively.
It felt as if the world had stopped, time had come to a halt, nothing moved, but that wasn’t so. Sips was the only one who stopped, the world continued as he stared at the dress in Sjin’s hands, his mouth hanging open slightly. He was never one to be lost for words but in that moment there was no functioning power, nothing inside of him gave any sort of instruction, any sort of impulse to release him from his frozen form.
He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, was this it, his secret uncovered, risky afternoons stealing dresses for an hour or so from anywhere he could, usually his mom, just to feel it, the way the fabric hung from him, soft and free, he’d stand in the full length mirror and smile because something about it all felt wrong, and he loved it. He wasn’t like Sjin, he wasn’t born in the wrong sex, despite the normal issues, he was relatively happy with the way his body was, but when he wore those dresses, makeup hurriedly applied, heals sending him above average height, there was something. Although he could never put his finger on it there was always something about it that he loved, something that made the smile widen, touching at the corner of his eyes.
When he eventually found his voice it was a strangled sound that barely resembled a word. “No.”
“Oh shit, I was wrong? I just thought that you seemed to like it so much and you went really quiet, and I felt so bad for joking about it, I just-”
“You have to take it back.”
“I will, sorry.”
Sips watched as Sjin packed it back into the bag, he couldn’t pull his eyes away until Sjin’s voice demanded his attention. It was a quiet concern, and it held Sips’ attention more than any demand ever could. “Sipsy, are you ok?”
A slight shake of his head was all it took for Sjin to drop the bag and jump down onto the bed beside Sips, his arms immediately wrapping around the shorter boy. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”
Even though no tears came, Sips felt the sob wrack his body, causing Sjin’s grip to tighten, they stayed there like that for a while, both of them afraid to be the first to speak, Sips afraid that he’d regret whatever slipped through his lips, and Sjin fearing that he’d only hurt Sips more. After his breathing had calmed and the initial shock had subsided Sips glanced down at the bag.
“I- I don’t want to be a woman or anything.”
“You don’t have to be a woman to wear a dress. You said it yourself, if guys wanted to wear dresses, they totally could. If you do want to wear it, then I’m the last person to judge.”
He forced his breaths to come even and steady as he looked up at Sjin, the question burning on his lips. “Could I, er, could I try it on?”
“Yeah, the woman at the store said it works well on apple shapes, so it, it should look good.”
Sips nodded silently as he climbed from the bed achingly slow. The bag seemed so far away when he was trying to reach it. Reaching into the bag he pulled out the soft fabric, rubbing it between his fingers. He looked from the dress to Sjin, muttering “Could you look away or something?”
He’d expected Sjin’s usually flirtatious response, something along the lines of ‘I’ve seen you naked before’ but no such response came, he turned away quickly, looking towards the wall, wallpaper showing signs of being old and unloved, in desperate need of replacement.
Once Sips had removed his own clothing he stood in his boxers for a moment, staring at the dress in his hand, the tag that still hung from it indicating that it was one of the bigger sizes, after all it hadn’t been designed to fit him. Taking a deep breath he stepped into it, pulling it up to his chest before slipping his arms into the thick straps. There was something strange about the way the delicate sky blue strap contrasted with his grey skin and the dark hairs that lined his arms.
He turned away from Sjin, facing the opposite wall, catching a glimpse in the mirror before him he shut his eyes tightly, as he asked, “Could you, could you zip me up?”
Despite Sjin’s light weight he could still hear the bed springs creak when the slim man rose. Even though he couldn’t see him he could almost feel Sjin’s presence behind him. Slim fingers took the zip, easing it up careful. Sips had barely enough time to admire the fact that aside from the inevitable issues in the chest department it seemed to fit relatively well, before Sjin’s arms snaked around his waist, lips pressed against the exposed area of his back.
“You look good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It suits you.” Sips gave a chuckle, strange in his deep voice, unrecognisable in comparison to his usual laugh. “Do you like it?”
Sips opened one eye tentatively, opening the other when he discovered that his wearing a dress hadn’t caused some major disaster or world war 3. All he saw was himself, the hairs on his chest visible where the neckline dipped, supposed to be held up by something more substantial. Watching where Sips’ eyes moved, Sjin said “I’m sure we can sort something out. Make it fit better”
“It’s gotta be said though I do look fuckin fantastic… You’re okay with this?” Sips asked as the smile threatened to tug at his lips.
“Why wouldn’t I be? Two boyfriends, hanging out, one was dfab and the others wearing a dress.”
“What does this make me? The fact I’m enjoying this?”
“Human. You don’t have to put a label on it, not until you’re ok with it, and not even then.”
“Sjin, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Sips could see Sjin’s reflection smiling as he lent his chin on the shorter man’s shoulder before instructing, “Well come on then, give us a twirl.”
1,300 words because I'm getting back into writing normal sized fics again :P I already had this one sat in my folder just waiting to be finished off and posted, so here you are, just a bunch of fluff.
===
Sips brought the bottle to his lips, taking a swig of the bitter liquid. The day had been long and tedious, and what he desired more than anything was to sit in peace, have a drink or two, or three, or maybe more, enough to make sure he slept that night.
Coming back to these four walls at the end of every work day was getting more and more depressing the longer it continued. Moving wouldn’t solve it, redecorating probably wouldn’t have much effect either; it wasn’t the place that disheartened him. He was lonely in the old apartment, he always had been.
Pets wouldn’t solve his predicament either, they hated him, every last one of them, and he had to admit that the feeling was mutual. There was nothing relaxing about caring for a small creature that was almost entirely dependent on you.
The silence was broken as his phone vibrated loudly in his pocket, still silent from one of the day’s meetings. The caller ID meant nothing to him; the number was one that he hadn’t added to his contacts.
Cautiously he answered the phone. Before he was able to greet the mysterious person on the other end of the line they began to speak, their words slurred by what Sips assumed must have been alcohol.
“Hey, it’s Sjin, it’s been a while I know, I know, but just hear me out ok. I love you. I really do. It was really stupid of me to throw you away and I never should have done it, I never should have turned you down… Who am I kidding? You turned me down, I just, I didn’t want it to end like that; I didn’t want to let you go. Please, please just give me another chance…” He took a deep breath, his pleading tone disappearing. “You know what? I already regret this, I knew I would. I’ve been so stupid. I know you don’t love me, and honestly, I really don’t love you either, we never did love each other, not one bit. But please, please just come over and see me sometimes, I just get lonely. You know? There was no one ever really there for me but you. I just… Forget the whole I love you thing, that was- that was just really stupid of me to say that. Just please come round and see me sometime? I keep on going out drinking with the guys, and meeting up with people but I still feel lonely, and I can’t shake it. I just- I just need someone, anyone.”
Sips remained silent for a moment, taking a moment to comprehend everything that had just been said.
“Listen, I’m really sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong number.”
“I- I what?” The phone went silent for a moment before the voice returned. “Oh shit I’m so sorry! I typed a 4 instead of a 1. I am so so sorry.”
“It’s fine, because I don’t love you either.” The man on the other end chuckled quietly, and Sips was glad it had been well received.
“You, er, you really got me off the hook there. If that had been who it was meant to be I’d be, well, I’d be toast really.”
“Glad I could help.”
“Yeah you really did. Trust me I won’t be making that call again… I’m going to hang up now. Thank you.”
“I mean you said you were lonely, would you, would you like to chat, or something?”
“No, thank you. I’m not lonely enough to try and talk to strangers on the phone.”
Sips gave a nervous chuckle, his heart plummeting as he said, “Yeah, how fuckin’ lonely would you have to be to try and talk to a random stranger.”
“Yeah, well thank you random stranger. Good Night.”
“Good night.”
Sips looked down at his phone chuckling quietly. It wasn’t every day a stranger confessed there undying love to you.
---
A week passed and Sips found himself staring at the same wall, another drink in his hand as he tried to drown out the memories of the tedious work and less than friendly colleagues.
It was at almost the exact same time as the week before that his phone began to vibrate, the buzzing loud against the coffee. Quickly he picked up the phone so as not to miss the call and looked to the caller ID. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling as he saw an unknown number flash up on his screen, was it some supernatural occurrence that at the same time on the same day an unknown number called, was it fate, or was it that dumb idiot again ready to profess his love to him.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Sjin I-…”
“Sjin let me cut you short. You’ve got the wrong number again.”
“I-I know, I was kind of hoping this was the right number, actually… Last time, when I accidentally rang you asked if I wanted to chat, and I said no, well now, I- I know it sounds stupid, but I was wondering if you had a bit of spare time, to just, talk to a random stranger?”
“Yeah I guess.”
“Great.” The phone remained silent for a short time, as Sips waited for his mystery caller to start any sort of conversation. “Erm, well, what do you do for a living Sips.”
“I own a company. You?”
“That sounds nice. I’m an architect, freelance. I haven’t had a job in a while though so I’ve got a job on the side.” The way he said that last part made Sips raise his eyebrows. Whatever he was doing he made it sound as though it wasn’t completely legal. “Did you have a good day?”
Sips took a deep breath before he began to speak. They talked for a while, the idle chit chat eventually turning to laughter as they joked together. He could have sworn it had only been an hour at the most when Sjin finally said that he would have to leave, but when he saw the call timer he was glad that the four hours wouldn’t be credited to his account.
Adding the number to his contacts he smiled when a text from ‘Sjin?’ came through. Perhaps he should have asked how he spelt the unusual name.
Same time next week? Xx
Sure thing
---
Sips found himself waiting for Friday night every week, for the call from that same random stranger. The awkward silences had started to disappear on the fourth week, by the seventh they were exchanging more than just phone numbers, emails, account names for all variety of games, by the tenth week they were ringing each other every other night. On the thirteenth week it came to the moment that Sips had been dreading as they exchanged pictures.
When his phone rang he wasted no time answering it.
“Hey.”
“Hi Sipsy. You never said you were cute.”
“You think I’m cute?”
“Yeah. What do you think of me?”
Sips could never remember a time he had tripped over his words quite as much, flustered he tried to put into words just how taken aback he’d been by Sjin and how handsome he was. He chuckled quietly, revelling in the praise he was receiving.
“Would you date me?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
“Then how about we say we say we’re dating?”
Sips smiled at those four walls, they didn’t seem so bland anymore, though he thought that maybe he should decorate, just to liven up the place a little. Even though he was alone in the old apartment he didn’t feel lonely anymore, and he didn’t imagine he’d be alone forever. One little number had changed his life for the better.
