《Dalaric》Nineteen : "𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨."
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Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.
James Baldwin
"Wake up, Baby cakes." I continue to leave trails of light kisses around his back, trying not to frown at the abundance of scars but instead nourishing them.
"I know you threw Mr.Jones off the bed, dude. He's lonely now, you don't feel bad about that ?" I look at Mr.Jones whos on the hardwood floor, laying next to his father, Mr.Jones Sr.
My pout appears as I look at their cute faces. What did they ever do wrong ?
I squeal as Dalaric turns from under me, my body right on top of his now with my face mushed into his chest.
"He was holding you." I muffle a giggle because he's jealous of an inanimate stuffed animal.
"And I was cold." I pout and murmur a 'sorry' that I didn't hold my boyfriend instead. Not my fault he got me a cuddly penguin. I'm pretty sure Dalaric has a prestige heating system in this house, doesn't he ?
"Its okie. I won't ever let my boyfriend be lonely. Like the two penguins on the floor right now."
Dalaric hums with a 'Damn right' as my heart flutters at him actually being my boyfriend. I can say it anytime I want too.
"I got drool on your back, boyfriend." I mumble, caressing his sculpted stomach and drawing happy faces.
I'm happy.
He only hums as he pushes my hair away from my face, gathering it in a bun after taking the hair tie from my wrist. I rest my head in the crook of his neck, letting him wrap his arms around me. Dalaric moves his hand under our turtleneck and massages the skin on my sides. He says it's soft.
"I've got a meeting." Dalaric mumbles, in his morning voice. I make a mental note to record it and play it on repeat. Never mind, that's weird, even for me.
"How long will it take ?" I ask, the worry I always feel coming back. Dalaric has to meet with officials every few weeks to supervise training because he's a leader. Very hot. I still think he should have tea parties instead.
"Two days." Oh. That's not a few hours.
"Where is it ?" He forces my head back into his neck after I pout at him, wrapping me tighter in my burrito style blanket and smoothing my eyebrows. Dalaric is so weird.
"Canada."
"I've always wanted to go to Canada..." Please let me come too, is what I actually want to say.
"I'll take you." My mouth opens to squeak excitedly before he interrupts me.
"But not today." I can't help but grumble. I've been so used to having him near me and now I don't think he should be any place else. What if he gets hurt ?
"What if you get hurt ? Who's going-"
"Stop." He needs to accept that only I can save him in times of danger. And maybe Mr.Jones.
Dalaric pats my bahookie and tells me to get ready so he can drop me off. I make my way into the washroom, clad in one of his turtlenecks and my penguin print sleeping shorts. Humming to a System of a Down song, I try to pop one of the pimples on my forehead. My forehead always gets bumpy for no reason. Fatima ordered me to stop touching the cute bumps and try an alcohol-free toner but I keep forgetting to buy it.
I take off the turtle neck, ready for a hot shower under Dalaric's sprinkly shower system. It also has a little place where you can sit. I think of ways to combat the climate crisis as I wash my hair. Shower thoughts are either the craziest or most revolutionary.
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Picking out a white sports bra, I put on my unmatched underwear. Just as I'm done putting on my mother- or mom, I really don't know- jeans , the door swivels open and I shriek.
Dalaric's eyes move around with a confused expression as his initial words slowly die down when he notices me, or the scars on my shoulders and arms.
"Pancakes or-"
What I expected was for his eyes to wander to my below-average boobies but instead, they zeroed in , rather darkly, on my scars that have transformed to white lines with a pink hue. I hope he doesn't notice the weird patch of hair on my stomach.
Gulp. There goes my plan to hide them from him for eternity.
Slowly, he walks forward as his eyes remain on the wounds. I don't know what to do so I just stare at his dark grey hoodie with three lines on it. Only when he stops right in front of me, do I feel the lightest touch on my shoulder. He stands there, tracing the scar before his warm finger moves to my upper arm. Mama was angry. Dalaric clenches his eyes as if he's in pain before looking into mine.
He bends down and gives the scar a kiss with an expression of contemplation, as if he's not sure that's what you're supposed to do.
"Fine ?" He has a vulnerable look in his eyes and my heart threatens to burst. His eyes hold anxiousness as he asks me if he can continue. I wish he could kiss all of my scars away.
He kisses it again before glaring at it, cursing it for whatever reason. My heart just flatlined.
The warm pair of lips ends up on my cheek before his hands cradle my face, slightly squishing my cheeks which renders me speechless.
He takes off his hoodie and in the blink of an eye, shoves it on me without caring to fit the sleeves into my arm. Dalaric, who's now shirtless, carries me bridal style and I yelp as he walks out of the washroom.
"W-what are you doing ?" I try to speak but he interrupts me, his voice gentle.
"Shhh." He puts my face back into the crook of his neck, a protective hand over my head.
Did this caveman just shh me ?
"Did you just-"
"Shut up or I'll shoot Mr.Jones."
He wouldn't. I caught Dalaric hugging Mr.Jones at night. They're so cute.
He puts me on the black counter and studies me. Dalaric likes physical contact when he's stressed so I inch closer to him, a frown on my face.
"I need to wear my shirt-" I love his hoodies but I was really excited about wearing the U2 tee I got a few weeks ago at the thrift store next to the café.
"No you don't. You're mine." He states as a matter-of-factly genuinely confused that I would want to wear anything but his clothes. I glare at him but secretly coo when he puts my arms into the sleeves of the hoodie and tightens the draw strings.
"My chubby heart is yours, you.. you caveman. Not my body." Dalaric glares at me but kisses my forehead anyways, trying to rub away a bump on my forehead. I really should get that toner.
My face falls and Dalaric ,probably noticing my bad mood, turns it towards him. He looks into my eyes as if he was expecting tears and even goes so far to pry one of them wide open.
His face holds confusion and worry as he lifts a brow, silently asking me what's wrong. The fingers massaging my hips slightly distract me.
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"Please don't tell anyone." I say softly, afraid that Mama would get hurt. My fingers try to smoothen out a wrinkle on his black office shirt, that he has in a drawer of his kitchen for emergency purposes. He's weird like that. Just how rich is he ?
"I won't." I sigh in relief, I trust him."Now tell me what's wrong." He sighs and I give up trying to be emotionless. My pout returns as I lay my forehead on his chest, slightly banging my head on it.
"It's just- It's day one and my boyfriend is already leaving me."
Dalaric pulls my head off his chest, squishing my face with one of his large hands as my eyes glance at the protruding veins on his arms. Drool.
"Don't fucking say it like that. I'll be back in two days, fine ? Jan and Rafael are here if you need anything. And I'm calling you every two hours."
A small smile covers my face, my heart feeling lighter. I can stay two days without him, right ?
"Fine. And you promise you won't look at any other girls with a larger bahookie than me ?" He's mine and mine only so he better not. I possessively grab his hand as we sit around the dining table. Mine.
"Fuck no. Never. Now eat." I nod, approving of his answer before he shakes his head and plops a grape into my mouth. Dalaric, an absolute gift from God, made a big stack of pancakes along with strawberry tea for us. I rearrange the cut blueberries and strawberries into a penguin and gasp when Dalaric cuts into it with a knife with a very, very small smirk.
"You just murdered an innocent, boyfriend."
☁︎︎ ☁︎︎ ☁︎︎
"Pick a number. 3, 10 or uhh-24." I bite my lip in anticipation as Dalaric helps me out of the car. He shuts the door and turns to me with a blank expression.
"Three."
I nod before standing on my toes to hold his soft face, one set of fingers running through his braided hair. He bends down a bit, a dark look in his eyes as I lick my lips. They soon meet his not once, but thrice as he wished.
After I'm done kissing my boyfriend- that sounded so cool- I stand back and grin at his slightly swollen lips. That's my mark right there.
"I said Twenty-four." Classic Dalaric. So greedy for some smooches. But whatever makes him happy.
Its only after a few long, long minutes of heated desire that I realize I'm not going to see him for two whole days. I stuffed Mr.Jones into his duffel bag when he wasn't looking so now he has two guardian angels. Selfishly enough, I'm keeping Mr.Jones Sr. to myself because he smells like Dalaric.
"You've got everything packed, yes ? Did you take the hand cream ? I left it on the nightstand- wait, I might have one with me-"
"Mayella." He sighs, pulling me closer to him and mushing my face into his shirt. He put on a black coat over it and he looks perfect. Maybe too perfect ?
"Are you wearing this ?" I pull back as he raises a brow.
"Don't you have something more.. covering ?" My eyes focus onto the small part of his tanned chest that is showing. If I can see it, so can other girls. He's mine, though.
Dalaric looks amused at my question and leans against the car, folding his arms. I walk over and button up the coat, not doing much to cover up his attractiveness. Sigh. Maybe a cloth over his face ?
He doesn't oppose, as he should, and I gleam at my work.
"There, now you're somewhat modest. No ogling eyes on you , mister. Got it ?" If what everyone wears matters so much, then he's going to be wrapped in layers of clothes if it was up to me. I know this isn't going to prevent girls from shamelessly scanning him like a printer, just like I did when I met him. Fatima tells me to lower my gaze when we walk around other men and I prefer that than to look at anyone but my man.
"I'm going to miss you, my man. Please drive safe, okay ?" Dalaric nods. I know I'm overreacting but I don't want to feel the way I do when Mama leaves. Helpless. I have to know how he is, if he's eaten or if he's feeling down and needs a dancing penguin emoji.
I think I have abandonment issues. I should google that.
"Text me." is all he says as he kisses my hands before doing the same to my cheeks. I wave, like in the really sad movies, and Dalaric shakes his head before driving out of the school parking lot. I'm slightly late for first period but it doesn't matter that much since school is ending in about a month.
Clancy waves at me as I take a seat next to him after greeting Mr.Gnawshire with a smile. "Why the solemn expression, Ms.Morrison ?" His attempt at a british accent makes me giggle.
"Nothing." I don't bother telling him, not used to people wanting to know about the reasoning behind my issues. "How are things with Helen ?" Clancy blushes with a pink tint which I find so adorable, "I'm going to ask her out tonight."
"Wait- boys have to ask that first ?" Did I mess it all up ? Oh my God.I'll be discussing this with Dalaric soon.
"I guess. I'm not sure." We both shut up when Mr.Gnawshire starts giving out our essays. I cross my fingers, hoping the nights I spent studying recently were worth it. Dalaric had to peel me off the dining table sometimes and often brought me hot milk to concentrate.
I think I'm falling i-
"Good job, beta. Highest in the class." Yay. I grin at my teacher, trying not to squeal before sending a picture of the red A star on the front page to Dalaric.
☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎
School ends and I find myself walking towards a red, strikingly colorful jeep that's awkwardly parked, not at all parallel like how it's supposed to be. Dalaric can parallel park flawlessly.
Good going, Maya. Think about him more, won't you ?
My gaze subconsciously wanders to the red car and I stifle a laugh when I notice Jan and Rafael bickering in the front seatswith Fatima in the back who's polishing her guns. She's an icon.
I knock twice on the window before Rafael unlocks the door and lets me in. Fatima does this two side face kiss with me which she says is a common greeting in her country.
"Boss is going to kill us when he find out we didn't open the door for her." Rafael tries to whisper to Jan, who rolls his eyes at him and then narrows them at me.
"Greetings, tellytubby."
"Greetings, head of security that can't do his job." I narrow my eyes back at Jan who gasps, shocked that I retorted.
I instantly feel guilty so I send him a genuine smile and his scowling expresision softens.
"How are you guys ?" I ask as I push away Fatima's silver gun that is too close to me. She sends me a sheepish smile and tucks it in her jacket. So badass.
"We're good, munchkin." Fatima and Rafael answer at the same time, Jan putting on a country song that I bob my head to.
"You like ?" Fatima points to her hijab as the car starts moving. I don't want to go home.
You haven't seen her in days, Mayella. She might be hurt. I shake those thoughts out of my head, not wanting to ruin the time with my friends and smile at Fatima.
"I love it. Beige looks good on you!" She thanks me as she flips the longer side of her headscarf with a smug expression.
"I'm going shopping for some more tomorrow, want to come along ?" I nod, already very excited. I love hanging out with Fatima. Not only is she super kind, she's confident and very spiritual. Fatima tells me she needs new outfits for Ramadan. It's a whole month of fasting. She explains the reasoning behind it and I listen in awe. Everyone needs friends who can expose them to different things every day. I refrain myself from asking if I can perhaps join one of her evening meals or iftar.
"Munchkin, if you've got a question, ask. We're all friends here, you 'lil cookie." Fatima pinches my cheeks and I try to glare at her. Why is she so obsessed with my cheeks ?
"Can I uh-maybe join you and your family once ? I just- I just want to see how its like ? Its okay-"
"Of course you can ! You can even fast with us if you like.."
The rest of the car ride is spent with her telling me all about the customs and me taking a few notes on my phone while avoiding the folder that says 'Dalaric-First times'. Sigh.
We stop in front of my apartment and I try to fake a smile. I really don't want to go in there. Raphael looks at the rusty building in distaste. "Your boy's a millionaire and you live here ?" Fatima smacks him on his head, looking at me with concern.
My house isn't that bad. Wait-Dalaric's a millionaire ? He could buy me so many more penguins. Maybe be even real ones. Or a zoo !
"You're thinking about how many penguins he could buy you, aren't you ?" Fatima crosses her arms and looks at me knowingly. Jan walks forward and slings an arm around my shoulder , rubbing his knuckles on my head, obviously messing up my bun.
"If I was with a god damn millionaire, I sure as hell wouldn't be thinking about something that uncool. Little Tellytubby here is just built different, aren't you ?" He coos at me and pinches my nose. Why is he so weird ? You only boop noses.
Everything keeps reminding me of him. Darn it.
"Ricky's going to kill you." Fatima deadpans as she pulls me away. I feel like a teddy bear amidst wolves. I miss my teddy bear. I hug each of them goodbye, eyeing Jan weirdly when he comes in for a hug. He pinches my nose as expected.
Sending Dalaric a house emoji to tell him I'm safe, I make my way into the building. I've spent so much time at Dalaric's that I've forgotten my own home and the worst part is that I don't miss it. I don't miss the pain that the four, poorly painted walls remind me of.
My steps are slow and small as I open the door, a rusty smell making its way into my senses.
Please don't be here.
Please don't be here.
Please don't be here.
Please don't be here.
Sighing in relief when I don't find her in any of the rooms, I plop myself onto my bed that's nice and clean. My phone buzzes with a chirping sound that is similar to the one penguins make when calling for a mate which means only one thing ; Dalaric texted.
🐧Eat your sandwich.
What sandwich ?
🐧Right pocket of your bag.
I reach over to my bag that's lying on the opposite side of my room. Since I'm lazy, I keep my entire body on the bed as I slither on the floor to get it. My fingers come in contact with a soft plastic thing and I smile as I take out the foiled pb&j sandwich.
Thank you, baby cakes.
🐧Always
He's my always.
My fingers move quick, almost unconsciously to say the three words that I desperately need to say. Before the text is sent, an abrupt and harsh sound echoes in the house, immediately sending my phone out of my hands and onto the floor.
Mama?
I put on a hoodie, covering every bit of skin that I can before taking wary steps towards the living room where I can hear some shuffling.
"Mama ?"
She turns to me and I almost gasp at her condition. Her blonde hair is matted onto her head and falls in disoriented lines. Her eyes are red and stand out along with her protruding cheekbones. I can tell she hasn't been eating. My hands go up to my mouth to stifle a sob as I look at her form. Her clothes are ripped and I can see a section of her ribcage poking out from the thin surface of her skin. She's wearing loose ants that stick to patches of dirt and a white tank top that is in miserable conditon.
"You..You filth." Mama points a thin finger at me. I cower back, afraid of what she might do to me.
"They're coming for me. And its all your fault." I shake my head, denying any accusations. I would never do something like that.
I would never hurt my mama.
My feet try to take me backwards but my steps are too slow. I realise that its too late to run when she lunges at me and grab my hair making me scream in pain.
"M-mama no- Mama ! Please.." I beg her to stop, to stop hurting me for once.
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Rise
Su Xue, a woman in her mid 20s, is struggling both in paying rent and finding her path in life. Her latest stint has her trying to become a popular League of Legends streamer, though to poor results. One day, she is interrupted in the middle of a livestream by a surprise visit from her landlady. She is informed that she will be having a new roommate. The landlady’s nephew, Lin Feng, a 18 year old boy who has just transferred over to Shanghai for his last year of high school.Though initially opposed to it, Su Xue reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. She learns that the two share a common interest—League of Legends—and that he’s really amazing at the game. Lin Feng also reveals to her he wishes to become the best professional League of Legends player in the world.The next day. Lin Feng attends his first day of school as a transfer student at High School 13. He meets Ouyang and Yang Fan, and the trio find a common passion in League of Legends. Lin Feng is then introduced to Ren Rou, the president of the esports club with a fiery personality, and Tang Bingyao, a quiet bookworm with a love for money and a surprising talent for the game.A little about Lin Feng’s past is revealed. He was a once pro player, the youngest in history and a contender for the best player in the world. Until the finals of the Season 1 World Championship. There, he lost to his arch-rival, an equally brilliant Korean youth. That was the peak of his career, and also the turning point in his life. He stepped down from his team and disappeared from competitive play altogether. Now, after a four year long hiatus, he aims to make a comebackOver the next couple of weeks, Lin Feng learns about the upcoming Shanghai 16 School Tournament, and that his school’s esports club had performed especially poorly the previous year. He agrees to coach the club’s team and help them win the first place trophy this year. And so, he starts the members of the club out on an intense training bootcamp.Meanwhile, the Season 5 League of Legends World Championship is taking place at around the same time. Tian Tian, one of Lin Feng’s former teammates and best friend, is on one of the Chinese teams playing at Worlds. After a poor showing, he is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Lin Feng witnesses everything in a viewing party with the esports club members and becomes worried.On the day of the Shanghai 16 School tournament, Lin Feng reunites with Tian Tian on the phone. He tells Tian Tian he’s going to return to the professional scene, that he’s making a new team and plans to invite him. But Tian Tian has to vow not to give up at Worlds and keep winning. Tian Tian agrees, and Lin Feng promises he’ll fight alongside him. Lin Feng then heads into his match with renewed resolve, to climb from the bottom all the way back to the top, and overcome the rival that defeated him so many years ago.
8 1136Phoenix's Requiem
Painfully shy and conflict-averse, Yun Ruoyan is a scion to a noble house only in name, a puppet embroiled in political machinations beyond her ken. At the tender age of eighteen, poisoned and at death’s door, she finds herself thrown out into the streets. Her relatives have all been executed, betrayed by her dear husband and her cousin. With her dying breath, she curses her own weakness and swears revenge.When Yun Ruoyan awakens once more, she is thirteen, transported five years into the past by the will of the heavens. Her death-defying experience has changed her: no longer is she the malleable creature she once was. But more questions await at every corner—what is the truth behind the birthmark that disfigures her appearance? What are the circumstances surrounding her mother’s mysterious death?Will the phoenix rise from the ashes, or will she fall once more in thrall to fate?
8 646Poison Physician Consort
Follow Bai Luochu on a journey back to the peak as she reincarnates into the body of an orphaned daughter of the former great general of the Cloud Water Nation.With the Three Great Immortal Sects in front of her, her mortal enemies who caused her death, how would she rise to the top again?With her astounding medical skills and ability to create heaven defying poison, Bai Luochu heals the crippled meridians of her new body and attracts the attention of all three princes of the Cloud Water Nation!
8 1749Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
Cinderella went from rags to riches, but when you are already at the top, fate is more than happy to kick you down. A car accident kicks off Sheng Jiaoyang's reverse Cinderella story by trapping her soul in the body of a poor girl, leaving her to succumb to fate and wait for her Prince Charming to come to her rescue -- obviously not!Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Sheng Jiaoyang forges her own way back up to the upper echelons of society, clearing obstacles, taking revenges, and bagging her handsome and rich childhood friend on the way.If you are tired of reading about poor damsel in distress waiting for a man to rescue her, and wants a female lead that can carry herself to the top, Rebirth of A Fashionista is the novel for you!
8 274The Attack of the Wastrel
Her rebirth gave her a second chance at life. She was back with a vengeance and wanted to make those that had harmed her pay. But to those that helped her, she wanted to repay them. Her evil stepmother? She would slowly pull out her claws, one by one. Her evil stepsister? She would crush her pride. She thought that by getting her revenge for her past life, she would be happy in this life. However, she never would have thought that danger would chance upon her time and time again. The hatred from her clan and whether their bloodline would continue to exist, lay solely on her shoulders. Luckily, on this thorny path, someone had always been protecting her. "Third Prince, have you ever regretted being with me?" That person laughed lightly and peered at her with a loving yet weary look, "As long as I am together with you, I have no regrets."
8 1461Demoness's Art of Vengeance
Jun Xiaomo, notoriously known as “Lady Demoness”, finds herself chained and bound in a dungeon. Her hard-earned cultivation has been completely crippled, and she has no means of escape. Qin Shanshan, a lady she used to called her “close friend”, mocks Jun Xiaomo, revealing that Jun Xiaomo had been used by the people around her. Even her lover, Qin Lingyu was one of the masterminds scheming against her. Jun Xiaomo watches her life flash before her eyes and realizes that she had indeed blindly placed her trust in people. Her naivety had led to her current predicament. Jun Xiaomo wanted to end it all. However, she is determined to deliver a swan song. Over the hundreds of days tormented in that very dungeon, Jun Xiaomo had painstakingly painted a complicated formation array with her own blood. With a determined look, Jun Xiaomo burns her life force to activate the array. Her sole intent? To bring with her as many schemers to the gates of hell as she could. The bright red light from thearray intensified, and the end was nigh.…or was it? Jun Xiaomo opens her eyes and finds herself alive again; time had rewound right back to when she was sixteen years of age, albeit only at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation. Armed with the knowledge and memories of her previous lifetime, Jun Xiaomo is determined to learn from her mistakes and bring retribution to those who so deserve…
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