A/n: I... Don't even... Sorry about that. My executive dysfunction did its magic. But here you have this as a peace offering since you guys liked the crows one. I can't even believe how long it's been. I'm probably not going to keep writing too many fics, if any at all. But this one's mandatory. And short.
Summary: headcannons on the sleeping habits of (some of) the grishaverse characters.
Alina Starkov
Hear me out
The girl's out like a light
Exactly the type of person to roll around the bed, end up in peculiar positions, and mainly, accidentally slap you or kick you in her sleep
Isn't picky, but if she COULD choose- only the softest mattress, duvet and pillows
She's petty like that
Has absolutely no night routine. Like. NONE.
Owns no pajamas. Just normal clothes passing as sleep clothes.
Gonna use her sun summoner powers when getting up in the middle of the night to fetch water etc., only to curse profusely because ✨light sensitivity✨
Midnight snacks. No elaboration is needed.
Definitely owns a stag plushie. Cause poor thing.
Mal Oretsev
Sleeps like he's in a coffin
No honestly. Like, on his back, straight as a plank. Psychopath.
The nightmares tho.
The biggest duvet stealer
Never actually uses the duvet tho. Kicks it away every time
Can barely be bothered to change
Absolutely cannot be bothered to make the bed
Hasn't got a single idea how to put on a bedsheet
Red flag: eats in bed too often
Occasionally has a dream about Nikolai throwing him overboard Volkvolny and grinning down at him, saints know why.
Would fall asleep under any circumstance. Light, loud sounds, anything. Bang two pans repeatedly next to his head, and the guy will still fall asleep if he's sure he can afford to.
Has a phoenix plushie. Pun intended.
Aleksander Morozova
does this guy even sleep? Questionable.
But in case he does:
A side sleeper
Surprisingly heavy sleeper
Rarely sleeps in bed when unsupervised tho. Not uncommon for him to fall asleep in a chair.
Black silk sheets only.
Talks in his sleep
Seriously.
If someone walked in on him sleeping, he'd be long since executed for treason.
Absolutely unaffected by caffeine
Produces a whole lotta shadows before going to sleep, roused by the slightest amount of light.
The extensive night routine is canon.
Doesn't have a plushie. The only one in this hc series btw.
Nikolai Lantsov
my favorite sailor bo- anyway
(Let's ignore Volkralai for the purpose of these hc's)
A stomach sleeper. We stan.
A pillow hugger. We stan.
Mostly blue bedding, especially in the palace or the spinning wheel, since we all know he misses the sea.
Another one with a whole-ass night routine.
Reduced amount of clothes when sleeping- usually just pants
They're pajama pants tho
Has some trouble falling asleep on land, he's used to the rocking of the ship
nap king, especially as Sturmhond
Reads a LOT before bed
A night owl- has to be reminded to got to sleep
Sometimes starts to rant about some invention of his
C A N N O T fall asleep without cuddles. Like, he's physically unable
The biggest manchild about waking up early.
Has a fox plushie. A fact.
Genya Safin
babygirl has nightmares, okay? Gotta start with that.
lowkey got accustomed to some level of luxury in Os Alta
not the biggest fan of cuddling. For understandable reasons
a warm beverage before bed
fuzzy socks
tries to maintain an exact time to go to sleep but ultimately fails because she's got trouble falling asleep
probably improves on her sleeping habits once she becomes a part of the triumvirateonly cause she has to tho
overthinking before sleep queen
does she have a plushie? Does David count? You tell me.
A Grisha's Affair - Nikolai x Grisha!Reader x Kirigan (part 1)
PAIRING: Nikolai Lantsov x Fem!Grisha!reader x General Kirigan ♡
NOTE: This is the first part of a short two parter.
*** Requested by @seronsalk
*** Beautiful golden divider created by @saradika ♡♡♡
As you neared the rear entrance of the Little Palace, your heart raced within your chest, drumming a quick and frantic beat. You had pushed yourself to the limit, sprinting down the forest path until your lungs burned and your breath came in ragged gasps. You cursed yourself and wondered why you had driven yourself to that point anyway.
A sudden memory flooded your mind, creating a rush of emotions.
You pounded on Nikolai's door. You weren't sure why you were so eager to see him, but you chalked it up to wanting only to say goodbye.
The door swung open to reveal Nikolai standing in his untied robe. His face seemed surprised to see you, but with one look at you, he greeted you with a big smile "Y/N, isn’t it past your curfew, little miss Durast?
You mirrored his smile but furrowed your brows, "I'm no longer a child, Nikolai."
"No, you certainly are not." His gaze descended your figure which made your cheeks hot. You were suddenly aware of how exposed and vulnerable you were. There you stood, before this handsome prince, in a thin, lace night dress and silk robe.
You wrapped your robe tighter around your frame, praying Nikolai did not catch a glimpse of the cold night air exposing your natural body, "Let me in."
"Won't you get in trouble with your Darkling?”
"I haven't seen him in weeks," you pushed past him and headed straight to the opposite side of his room. You settled in front of his desk, leaning your hands back against the chair.
Nikolai shut the door and his smile widened. He waited for you to continue speaking but it didn't come, so he responded, "Am I his replacement then?"
“General Kirigan?”
“The one and only Darkling.”
"What, no, of course not. First off, he’s my superior, and you’re no way near—" You huffed, "Stop. I'm not here to be questioned by you."
Nikolai laughed, "Right. Go on then."
The halls were dimly lit, and you realized you had never ventured through the palace this late before. You prayed that no one had noticed you sneaking back in after your late-night rendezvous. You didn't want to risk General Kirigan finding out about your secret meetings.
The unfamiliarity of your surroundings and the thought of what might be waiting for you made you quicken your pace as fast as you could without running. As you rounded the next corner, your hand instinctively went to your chest, trying to calm the erratic beating of your heart.
You crossed your arms, "So tomorrow you leave again."
"As soon as the sun rises, I'm off," Nikolai did not come closer to you. Instead, he copied your position and leaned his back against the door frame.
You found your gaze inevitably drawn to the way his torso muscles rippled underneath his robe with each subtle movement, causing you to bite your lip in frustration at the unyielding distance between you.
"And where are you going to this time?"
"Novyi Zem." Your chest ached, knowing well how long the journey would be. "There's a talented Fabrikator there that's willing to create a strong steel for my newest creation."
Your jaw dropped slightly. You were slightly offended but your playful tone remained, "What? Fabrikator? Have you forgotten I'm a durast? You could've asked me to—"
Nikolai finally stepped forward and raised his hands, "Y/N no, you're one of my closest friends, I couldn't—"
Friend.
A memory of his mouth on yours suddenly flashed in your mind.
Friends don't kiss.
You ignored it.
Breathless and with a light sheen of sweat on your forehead, you finally reached the entrance to your wing of the palace. You could see the guards standing, their eyes watching your every move.
You tried to act casual, as if you had simply been out for a stroll in the gardens, but your heart was racing with fear. What if they could somehow sense your guilt and apprehend you on the spot?
You approached them with a smile and a greeting, hoping to deflect their attention. They nodded politely, but you could tell they were eyeing you suspiciously.
As you made your way down your long corridor, you felt relieved to see the door to your bedroom. You couldn't believe you had gotten away with it.
You giggled to yourself, remembering once again.
"Saints, Nikolai, that's exactly why you should've asked me!" your head tilted and you tutted, "I bet I could do your fabrikator better."
"Better than 80,000 tensile strength?"
"100,000 tensile strength and more!"
He threw his head back, "Oh no, you're joking. Really?"
Your face broke into a big grin. "Yes, yes, yes, you bet your royal arse I can,” you laughed.
Like always, you fell into an ongoing easy conversation with Nikolai. Talking with him was breath of fresh air as you had a natural understanding of each other. Your conversations always felt like a plunge into an infinite pool that contained both his thoughts and yours.
As you listened to him speak about his latest invention, you couldn't help but get lost in not only his words but also in his boyishly handsome features. His dark blonde hair was perfectly messy and his blue eyes sparkled with mischief. You stared at the way his lips moved and how the sharpness of his jawline accentuated with every sentence.
You tried to focus, but your mind kept wandering to other things, like how it would feel to run your hands through his hair and kiss him again. A heat suddenly began to rise in your cheeks, your attraction to him growing more obvious.
Nikolai stood only a few feet away from you now. He started to notice how your eyes seemed to linger on him a little longer than usual. "Are you alright, Y/N?"
You blinked and nodded, "Oh yes, I am."
"Good," he beamed and stepped closer. "So tell me. Why have you come? I've never seen you out this late."
You shrugged, avoiding his eyes, "What? I can't come and spend quality time with my closest friend?"
"Not at this hour, little miss goodie two shoes," he smirked.
You turned with your back facing him now and looked down at his desk, feigning interest in the papers placed on it. "Maybe I wanted to say goodbye. As a friend should."
He scoffed, "Don't say you're actually going to miss me when I'm gone."
"A good, best, closest friend would."
Nikolai was right behind you now. The third time you exaggerated the word, a knowing shit-eating grin grew across his face. "You sound like you have an issue with being my friend."
You finally entered your room and firmly pressed both palms against the door, shutting it behind you. Leaning your forehead against the cool wood, you lingered in that stance, still lost in your reverie.
"I am but your friend Nikolai, I have no issue."
Unexpectedly, the weight of his hand resting on your shoulder sent a shiver down your spine, your silk robe providing little barrier between his warm palm and your skin. It felt as though his touch had set your nerves alight, leaving you with goosebumps despite the delicate fabric that separated you.
His thumb began tracing circles on your shoulder, and you couldn't help but lean into his touch. You felt his fingers slowly making their way down your arm, gently squeezing your skin. He was leaving a trail of fire along your shoulder as they traveled back up to your neck, only to slowly descend down again. With a deft movement, he pulled your silk robe down your shoulder. The unexpected touch sent a jolt of desire through your body.
"You stubborn thing. You don't want to be my friend, Y/N?"
He then swept your hair away, revealing a tantalizing sliver of skin to his gaze. As he leaned down, you felt his warm breath tickling your ear. "Nikolai," you whispered breathlessly.
"Why are you really here, love?" his voice was low and seductive.
You suddenly felt wet, tender kisses trail down your neck, causing your core to ignite. The sound of your mingled breaths and the soft smack of his lips sucking against your skin filled the air. Each touch of his lips made you feel like you were melting, completely powerless to resist him.
His strong hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer into him. You could feel his lower abdomen pressing hard against your backside, making you feel weak in the knees. Without warning, he spun you around to face him, his intense gaze locking onto yours. He leaned in for a kiss with his arms still wrapped tightly around you, as if never wanting to let go.
In that moment, all your doubts and fears faded away. It was just you and him, lost in each other.
You replayed the memory over and over again in your mind. The softness of his lips, the way his hands cupped your face, and the way you felt as though time stood still in that moment. You sighed, sinking further into the memory when a voice interrupted your thoughts.
"Penny for your thoughts, Y/N?"
Your heart skipped a beat, startled out of your reverie. As you turned around, your eyes landed on a tall, dark figure.
"Aleksander!"
The corners of his mouth curved upward, "You seemed to be lost in thought, milaya."
♡ part two coming soon....
soooo my brain was formulating the idea for this concept, and originally it was just supposed to be a one part one shot, but idk i just went off LOL. like holy, i went down a rabbit hole and came back up with enough plot for a series.
should i write a series? let me know what you think!!!
if i do, im imagining there'll be some mutual pining, angst, fluff, and spiiiice - wink wink wink -
if you enjoyed, please support me and my writing by giving me a like, reblog, or follow! thanks ♡♡♡
Summary: Imagine helping Mal and the Crows free Alina.
“This is a bad idea,” you mumbled, mainly to yourself as you held your gun close to your chest, sitting down on the floor in the corner Mal sat on the crate above you, letting out a breath.
“Well… we promised to rescue Alina, and that we’ll do,” Mal replied, closing his eyes for a minute, listening to the Darkling ramble something on the deck. His words were muffled and unintelligible, you couldn’t make sense of them. Mal took in a deep breath. “I wish I could punch his teeth into his throat, one by one.”
You and Mal had narrowly snuck into the skiff where Alina was held - vowing to release her even if it took your own life. Immediately after getting on, you had made your way to the ship’s hold, hoping to hide there until time came.
But of course luck wasn’t on your side, and soon you heard how someone was entering the hold. You and Mal exchanged a panicked look, before you dove to hide between the crates - Mal went to the other side while you stayed on your own side.
“Kirigan has the Sun Summoner chained on the deck,” someone said, and you and Mal glanced at each other across the hold.
“Saints, I have a bad feeling about this…” another male voice groaned, and suddenly you caught movement from where Mal had just been hiding. You didn’t even have time to react before Mal was already gone, making you panic.
“We’ll might have to threaten her life,” the first guy said and then you heard a collective “what?!”
“Who’s this?” the same voice from earlier said.
“Stowaway,” a woman murmured, making you peek from around one of the crates, your eyes widening at the sight of Mal, held by a Suli girl. “He was hiding over there. Why this particular skiff?”
They were all glaring at Mal, and that’s when you jumped up, pointing a gun at the Suli girl. Your hands shook, you felt how you were sweating, but you still managed to give an order.
“L-let him go, or… or I’ll shoot e-everyone,” you stuttered, flinching when a Zemeni man pulled out two revolvers, pointing them at you.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sweetheart,” he replied, and you pointed your gun at him, now your hands were shaking even more. It was painfully obvious how you had never shot to kill anyone.
“Don’t,” Mal mumbled, shaking his head at you. You looked between him and the three others, before slowly lowering your gun.
You swallowed, putting your gun back into its holster, the Zemeni man doing the same. Your eyes flickered between the two men. “If you’re here to hurt Alina-”
“We aren’t,” the Suli woman replied, glaring at the man with a cane, and he looked back at her, sighing.
“Of course we wouldn’t hurt her, she’s too valuable,” he replied, tightening the grip on his cane. “But threatening to hurt her could make Kirigan do as we say.”
You and Mal snorted, and you rolled your eyes. “You haven’t seen him in action, have you? He’d cut you in half with his shadow blade powers the moment you say anything about hurting her, and you won’t have much space to run on this skiff if you haven’t noticed.”
The two men stared at you and Mal for a moment, before the guy with a cane nodded at the Suli girl. “Give him his gun.”
“Why?”
“Because if he’s not with Kirigan, he’s with us.”
The Suli girl gave Mal his gun back, and you moved to stand beside him. “We should attack as soon as possible.”
“No, we wait,” the man with a cane countered.
Mal scoffed. “For what? The bold move is to attack now.”
“And the smart one is to wait.”
Mal shrugged. “Well, I don’t feel like being smart right now.”
Then he turned, going for the stairs and you took a look at your three allies before going after him. You were soon followed by the Suli girl, who climbed to the top deck so fast and so silently that you barely caught a sight of her. Mal began to shoot at Kirigan the moment you got through the people obscuring the view, but was on the ground a moment after, leaving you alone and you hid behind the wall. The Zemeni man and the other guy emerged from the hatchet then, and Darkling tried to cut them in half as soon as the Zemeni started to shoot him, and then the Zemeni was knocked out and everything became dark.
You held your gun close to your chest again, trying to coax yourself, sneak out and try to fight. You knew Alina was in trouble and without anyone to help her, all would be lost. You sat there, hearing occasional shuffles and volcras screaming above you, trying to win your fear. You shuddered.
You are a failure, Yakov’s voice laughed in your head. Good for nothing else than cowering in fear when others fight.
That man was built like a bull, with a long beard and shaved head, and he had belittled you from the start, used his power as a spare commander, made others laugh at you - everyone wondering why you were in an army when you didn’t even have guts to shoot anyone. And it was true, it wasn’t your place. You were good in deflecting hits and dodging, but fighting, with you being the aggressor - it had never been your thing. But if you hadn’t signed up, you would have been separated from Alina and Mal, your best and only friends. For them, you would have done anything. At least you thought so.
You are not a failure, something inside you said, and you stood up. Show them.
Then, you walked out from the darkness and shot one of the heartrenders, the bullet going in from between his eyes, splattering blood on the Darkling. You smirked, and sprinted up the stairs, your heart pounding, your adrenaline running. You joined the Suli girl fighting a volcra, and you felt like something within you had awakened.
Then, suddenly, a burst of light emerged, all the volcras near you turning to dust, and you immediately looked down to see Alina standing there. Then suddenly Mal had tackled The Darkling off the ship and you hurried down, but were stopped halfway down by the Suli girl as one of the Heartrenders started to slow down Alina’s heart. You aimed your gun at the heartrender again, and pressed the trigger.
Click. Click.
The bullets were out.
“Damn it!” you cursed, watching helplessly as Alina struggled, trying to look for a way to stop it. And then the saving grace blessed the ship, the Zemeni man had woken up and fought with the Heartrender, ultimately pushing him off the ship.
You ran to an unconscious Alina, trying to shake her awake as volcras flew closer and closer to you, and Mal soon joined you. Alina mumbled your names after a moment and you let out a breath, tipping backwards on your butt. “Saints.”
Then, it was light again, and on next moment you were out of the Fold.
“The Darkling?” you asked Mal, and he looked back to the Fold.
“Gone. Volcras got him,” he replied, stroking Alina’s hair while you gripped her hand.
“The world’s better without him,” Alina mumbled weakly, sitting up with your and Mal’s help.
You turned your eyes at the two men and the Suli girl, nodding in gratitude. “We couldn’t have done it without you,” you told them. “We don’t even know each other, and you were willing to help. I just can’t figure out why.”
Alina blinked, looking at them and chuckled a little. “They tried to kidnap me some days ago.”
Mal frowned, looking between Alina and the three strangers. “What?”
“No, we are not kidnapping you, not anymore,” the Suli girl reassured, looking at her friends.
“Well, it would be rude to save you and then kidnap you, and… you being a Saint and all…” the Zemeni man agreed, and the other man with a cane clenched his jaw. “Oh, we haven’t introduced ourselves, this grumpy man here is Kaz, yours truly is Jesper, and this lovely lady is Inej.”
You just stared at them, not really knowing what to make of that bunch. But you agreed to walk with them so you would be able to put on a campfire, just to warm up. And there, Alina made a deal with Kaz, he got a jewel necklace and in return, he wouldn’t tell where do you three go from there.
But you had a feeling that someway, somehow, you’d meet them again soon…
---
Requests are always open! FANDOM LIST | PROMPT LIST(S) | RULES (READ!!!)
After finishing the Shadow and Bone trilogy in less than a week and starting the Netflix series, I'm now ready to write for Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows! Feel free to send requests for the characters that I will soon add to my masterlist <33 thank you and you may resume your scrolling KNGDFK
Summary: You think that what you and Mal have is purely physical and are ready to call it off, until he proves to you otherwise.
Warnings: A bit of 18+. Mostly fluffy angst. Injury and blood. Mal being heroic.
Index: lapushka: Ravkan/Russian for honey, darling, etc.
A/N: I LOVE this. This is one of my favourite things I’ve written.
Sweat slicked and panting, you half shoved Mal off you while you simultaneously rolled away from under him. You turned away as he draped himself over you, kissing a line of stars up the nape of your neck. You shivered and closed your eyes, leaning over to grab the shirt you had discarded earlier and pull it on over your head. His deep voice rumbled in your ear.
“Are you okay, lapushka?”
You curled your hands into fists against your stomach at the sound of that tender word rolling off his tongue, so effortlessly sweet after the hay roll he had just given you. You nodded, but your neck was stiff and he knew you, knew your body, well enough to know that you were lying to him.
You felt him ease back and turned slightly to see him, see that his face had become inscrutable, the shield erected so you couldn’t see the truth of him. But you had been doing that since the start, so why should it bother you?
“Did I hurt you?”
The question came quiet, dark and low, an anxious thread woven through it. And it was then you knew he wasn’t mad, he was afraid he had harmed you in the course of the lovemaking, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. You were just heartsick and tired of lying, to yourself and him.
You knelt on the mattress and held his face between your hands.
“No” you said softly. “You never hurt me, Malyen. I am safe with you.”
His shoulders relaxed and he lay back down, brown eyes focused on your face.
“Then what is it?” he asked, trying to hide a yawn. “Come back to me.”
Heartstrings tugging you back to him inexorably, as always, you slipped back into your trousers before leaning down over him, one hand on his shoulder for balance, and kissing him deeply, surprising him. He grunted and slid a hand up into your hair, twisting it around his fingers and anchoring his palm to the back of your skull. His mouth worked under yours until you felt the same needy ache as before stoke up between your legs, and you made yourself pull away, lips already swollen.
Mal looked up at you, eyes dark and wide, knowing and wanting.
“So” he murmured. “Same time next week, dove?”
You startled, your eyes flashing to his at the use of yet another endearment. Same time next week. Same time, same bed, same man with the boyish grin and chocolate eyes. Chocolate contraband. Same foolish heart beating in your chest.
“Yes, I’ll be here” you told him eventually, and looked away from the grin he offered, his arms now propped behind his head.
“And I’ll be waiting.”
You stood and found your socks and boots, choosing to leave his room before pulling them on, unable to stand for one more moment in his company.
Once fully dressed, you leaned back against the wall, ignoring the curious eyes of an inn servant hustling past you in the corridor. She knew you; in a seaside town this small, it was hard not to. It was also difficult to conceal your own private business from all others, and so most everyone knew about the tall, handsome privateer in the turquoise frock coat who visited with you once every week, without fail, and had done for the last year.
You sighed then pushed away from the wall, head down, your feet leading you to the nearest exit without you needing to look.
As soon as you walked in through your own front door, your mother’s front door, she glanced up toward you, hopeful expression on her face.
“This time?” she asked, gaze flicking down to your hands and the still flat pockets of your trousers.
“No, Ma” you muttered. “He doesn’t pay me.”
She scoffed and went back to her sewing.
“Well, he should” she retorted, ignoring your bruised expression and quiet eyes. “We all know who he is, daughter. The notorious Sturmhond. He has money enough, and more, to pay you for his visits.”
You walked away, thought of slamming your bedroom door, then thought better of it, closing it with a quiet click and collapsing facedown on your bed to dry the tears on your cheeks.
The moment Mal’s boots hit the deck of the flying ship, Tolya was waiting, arms folded across his chest. Mal just looked back at him and waited, knowing what was to come next.
“Have you told her yet?”
“No.”
“Why not, Captain?”
The title was dripping with sarcasm and a little disdain. Mal sighed and scrubbed a hand over his hair, spiking his palm.
“Because it isn’t the right time” he said.
Tolya scoffed.
“You do know how weak that sounds, right? We have been flying here, from wherever we were first, every seven days for fifty two weeks. Your woman has even had a birthday in that time, for which you bought her a very expensive pearl bracelet. Not stole, bought. Not to mention the books you bring her every visit.”
“I didn’t bring her any books this time” Mal mumbled begrudgingly. “And she’s not my woman.”
Tolya shook his head, clicking his tongue in disagreement.
“Whatever you say, Malyen. But I do not believe you.”
“I’ll take that into consideration” Mal muttered as he shouldered past Tolya and made his way belowdecks to his study.
He looked around him at the wall mounted bookshelves, books pressed cover to cover all around the room. All for you.
Mal sank down in the chair behind his desk and groaned, pressing his face into his hands. He hadn’t thought he would ever be able to fall in love after Alina. But that was fate, destiny. This, with you, was a shout across the void, an answering call, and the choice to jump.
Next time, he would wear his wounded heart on his turquoise sleeve and say the words aloud.
Next time.
Next time, Mal grew increasingly frustrated as every person in your town he asked for your whereabouts gave him the same pat answer: you were unwell, and so not to be disturbed, not even to deliver a message. He walked the streets, searching for your familiar face and ignoring the hopeful looks of a few other young women eager for his attention.
You saw him as he strode past your house, on the other side of a narrow curtained window, coat flicking at his ankles like the tail of an angry cat, head on a constant swivel as he looked for you.
You pulled your gaze from him and instead looked down at the pearl bracelet clutched in your hand. It gleamed pearlescent and gold against your skin. It would have cost him no small amount. Maybe it was some sort of payment for your...service? Was that what you did? Did you service the sky pirate Sturmhond, Sankta Alina’s lost love?
You dropped the bracelet on the windowsill and turned away, reaching up to dash furious tears from your cheeks.
You wanted to grab him by his strong shoulders and shake him until he saw you, truly. Until he knew that all those afternoons and mornings under, on top of, beside him, were more than sweat, bliss and time wasted for you.
You wanted to go hoarse from telling him he was loved by you.
You wanted him to say it back.
You wanted him to mean it.
But you had lied to him, persuaded your town to lie to him, and he wouldn’t be back again. You were sure of it.
In spite of all his instincts screaming at him not to bother, Mal returned to your town another week later, but this time, he came as himself, bright coat conspicuously absent and replaced by his old grey greatcoat, warm and familiar to him. Collar turned up to shield his neck from the worst of the chill wind, he again marched through the streets, wary of the eyes that watched him.
“Where are you, lapushka?” he muttered to himself.
In all his hours in this place, he had never been to the beach. The flying ship could wet or dry dock, and he always dry docked it when he visited you.
Mal turned on his heel and moved quickly in the direction of the sea breeze, salt tasted on the air. Maybe his tracker instinct was gone, but he knew you and something told him he was right.
And the second the thick soles of his boots sank into the gritty sand dune, he saw you. The wind tore at your hair, whipping it across your face, but you were determined to read, your shoulders hunched to protect the pages of the book, making him smile. There were a few young Grisha a ways down the beach, practicing. Inferni, from the looks of the fire lashing to and fro between them.
He called your name, but the wind ran away with it, so he trudged over the shifting sands to reach you. Halfway to you, a flicker caught his eye, a flicker that turned into a flame. Mal dodged, his experience with Grisha leading the movement, and it swished past him. Past him to you.
He felt his stomach twist, hard and painful, and he started to run, stumbling on the sand, the fire spreading over your shoulder reflected in his dark eyes, your screams of fear and pain stinging his ears. He finally reached you, almost sick from the sight of the fire eaten meat of your shoulder, Grisha fire burning hotter than ordinary fire.
“No!” he gasped.
No, dove, no.
Mal lifted you bodily off the sand and waded into the sea with you, fell to his knees in the waves so that the cold water would wash over your shoulder, cleansing your burnt flesh. You were limp against him, dead weight, your pulse thready where he pressed two fingers to it. Your eyelids fluttered and you moaned in pain as sea salt entered the wound, abrasive and unkind.
“Malyen?” you murmured, barely moving your lips.
Your fingers curled in the front of his coat, head rolling to his shoulder.
“Why do you call me dove?” you asked, voice a whisper so quiet he had to bend his head to hear.
A flicker of a smile touched his lips.
“Because you fly to me every time, lapushka. My little dove.”
You closed your eyes with a sigh and he grasped your jaw in one big hand, squeezing and shaking gently.
“No, no, no, no, no” he pleaded. “Not you, too.”
He looked wildly over his shoulder in the direction of the Grisha, now watching with hands to their mouths and eyes wide.
“Healer!” Mal roared. “Is there a healer here?”
One of the girls nodded and took off, and he lurched to his feet in the water with you in his arms, and followed.
You woke hours later, time gone missing, in a familiar bed that wasn’t yours and bundled inside a huge greatcoat that definitely wasn’t yours. The room was dim, only a little light allowed in through a crack in the curtains, but you could see a bulky shadow slumped in a chair near the door. You swallowed, your mouth dry as dust.
“Mal?” you croaked, testing your voice.
He jerked awake and was beside you in seconds, warm, strong hands running over your body, from your head to your knees. You closed your eyes. It had only been two weeks, but you’d missed him.
“Are you okay? How do you feel?” he gasped out, his touch lingering on your waist underneath his coat. “A healer came, but there’s a scar. I’m so sorry, dove.”
You were not deaf to the pain in his voice. You sat up and reached out, your hands coming into contact with warm, bare skin, and when you looked down at yourself, you saw that you were also wearing his shirt, buttoned haphazardly up your torso. But instead of shying away from him, you explored further, trailing your fingers over his chest, and he pressed himself into your hands. You splayed your hand over the thick scar that branded his heart, reminiscent of his death.
"I've missed you" you admitted, glancing up into his eyes through the shadows.
His dark eyebrows came together and he frowned.
"Then where were you? And don't tell me you were unwell, because I know that's bull. I waited for you. I searched for you."
You sighed.
"I know. I saw you."
His eyes widened and he turned his head away, wounded.
"Malyen Oretsev" you said softly.
He turned back, but he looked at you with fresh pain. You took a deep breath before beginning.
"I thought you only wanted the physical side of a relationship" you explained, speaking slow and clear. "And I couldn't do that anymore, so I lied to you and asked everyone else to as well."
There was a sweet furrow in his forehead that you wanted to smooth away with your lips.
"What does that mean?" Mal asked, his hands in his lap.
"It means I love you, but I want all of you, not just a few hours snatched once a week."
He stared at you, blinking slowly.
"Do you honestly think I've been dragging this big rig home to you once a week for a whole year just for sex?" he demanded, a slow smile kindling in his eyes and at the corners of his beautiful mouth.
You blinked, shocked by his choice of words.
"Home?" you repeated, quiet.
Mal nodded.
"Yes, you beautiful idiot. Home."
"I'm your home?" you asked, beginning to tremble.
In answer, he surged forward to kiss you, the rasp of his day old stubble on your skin and his rope roughened hands cupping your face. And then he was all you knew and the residual ache in your shoulder faded as he pressed you down into the mattress and sailed you home.
All right! It is that time of year again and, as some who typically thrives in the fall and winter months, it is absolutely, a thousand percent, time for me to become even more insufferable than I was in September when the fall event released!! yay!!
As with last year and because I love myself a good seasonal/holiday queue, I am also doing the five days of christmas queue again! I'm not doing it how I did it last year in that it was both requests and my own work--that is partly because I dont want to make a separate event post for it--this year and probably going forward, it'll just be fics themed around Christmas that come from me and aren't requests.
Fandoms to whom this event are open are as follows: six of crows, shadow and bone, peaky blinders (tommy and alfie only) shatter me (aaron and kenji only) and free rein (pin only because I miss writing for him anyway)
Requests will be open until the 30th of december. Any request I get after NYE or New Years Day will be deleted.
the event is below the cut as this has clogged up peoples dashes enough already lol
NOW PLAYING: peace by taylor swift
the devils in the details but you've got a friend in me - age old friendships between people who can go months without talking to one another and pick up right where they left off--think platonic strong bonds and relationships that have lasted too many years to count. Give me a character, a gender pref for the reader, and a holiday activity that you want me to write strong-bonded characters (be it friends who've been friends for a decade or a couple who has been in a relationship just as long) doing and I'll write 1-5k words for it. Think good vibes, snowy weather, and hot chocolate + christmas decorating--I will write just about any holiday activity for this prompt and I promise I'll have a blast
you and me forevermore - anniversaries! One year, five years, ten years, you name it! I personally think that winter is the superior season to start a relationship in so I will write anniversary celebrations set in the winter months and all you need to do is give me a character, a gender pref for the reader, and any other specifics you'd like to add!
SHUFFLING CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST
NOW PLAYING: have yourself a merry little christmas as covered by phoebe bridgers
have yourself a merry little christmas - PROMPTS!! I wrote out holiday prompts for the season and this is my excuse to use them. Send in any combination of prompts you want--you can send me a prompt from this list with a prompt from any of the other ones, just tell me what list you're using and I'll write it!
if we make it through december we'll be fine - long fics! Give me as many details as you want--in this instance I would very much prefer specificity over vagueness so do not spare a single one--a gender pref for the reader, and I'll write what you give me! Anything goes for this. Prompts, scenarios, anything! Any genre, though when I think of this I think angst because it is very easy to write longer angst fics for me. These fics will be anywhere from 4-8k words in length and all of their necessary details are completely up to you.
Guys I honestly have no clue what I should be doing with my page atm. Like, it’s just hard for me to decide what everyone would like better.
Like I know a LOT of people voted for the shadow and bone yandere series, and I do have it planned out in my head for a few parts. But do people still want that?
