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guys if i confessed smth how mad wld yall be,
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Fml. I wanted to fix my sleep schedule BUT NOW IVE HEARD THE BIRDS CHIRPING OUTSIDE MY WINDOW
Not Your Lover - Chapter 3
A day late I know I'm sorry my lovelies <3 hopefully this makes up for it ;)
also i couldn't figure out why the name davor fit so well and then i remembered my obsession with before we die (purely because a certain privateer is in it, although actually i got hooked on the show pretty quickly)
Word count: 4k
Warnings: swearing, I don't think there's anything else?
Tag list: @a-candle-maker, @bubybubsters, @el-de-phi, @hauntedenthusiasttragedy, @iambored24601, @itsyoboo-jassy, @karensirkobabes, @kentucky-criedfricken, @little8sun, @mrsklockwood, @mvidaaaa, @nalie-98, @naushtheaspiringauthor, @notoakay, @pietromaximoffsbabe, @simbaaas-stuff
Let me know here if you'd like to be added or removed from the tag list <3
Nikolai was being pushed to his limits.
He'd been working in the shop all day, having clocked off at five bells after a tiring shift, and had come over to the mansion to help out Y/n. He'd hoped they could come up with some sort of peace treaty between them, but when she immediately glared at him the moment she saw him step through the gate, he gave up hope. He was too tired to try today, and just asked what she wanted him to do.
"I need that lot clearing so I can get in the door. Then I can make a start on the inside." She'd pointed him in the direction of a large pile of rubbish, and had left him to it for the last thirty minutes. He'd sorted through the pile, separating the rubbish from the items he thought could be salvaged and reused or sold (which mostly seemed to have come from littering), and was halfway through when she came over.
"You alright?" He didn't want to care, but he was too kind to actually loathe her. She might be a colossal ass to him, and he to her, but he was still Nikolai, and nothing like the people that had raised him.
"What the fuck happened last night?"
"We had dinner with your mother?"
"No, with you kissing me."
"I didn't kiss you though."
"That's not the point. You got close enough to. You made my mother think that we kissed and now she won't shut up about it. You could have made something up."
"Okay, first off, I don't control your mother's actions, so if she's talking about it all the time that's not my fault. Second, I'm scared of her and I thought she might kill me if we didn't do something."
Y/n snorted. "You're scared of my mum?"
"I know where you get your signature glare from, is all I'm saying."
"I do not have a signature glare," she said, glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow. "But still, you could have made up an excuse as to why we couldn't kiss!"
"You could have done the same!"
"Again, not the point! This whole relationship thing was your stupid idea!" Nikolai sighed, trying not to keel over from the physical and mental exhaustion of his day.
"Look. I don't know how to time travel, so there's nothing we can do about it. It happened, let's move on. Besides, I didn't actually kiss you, because I'm also scared of you." Her face lit up at his final statement, and Nikolai realised it was the first time he'd made her smile.
"Good! Don't do it again." Her smiled dropped, and Nikolai gulped. He hoped she didn't know which room was his in the hotel, or he'd likely wake up to her standing over his bed with a knife in the middle of the night.
"Why'd you even want to do this anyway?" he asked, the question only just occurring to him.
"What?"
"I mean, why do you want to do this place up? It's practically irreparable."
She studied him for a moment, unreadable expression on her face. Y/n turned back to what she was doing, and Nikolai huffed, going back to the pile of rubbish.
"It's revenge."
Nikolai startled at her voice, and then at her words. Blinking at her, he frowned. "Revenge? You're putting hours and hours of your life into this place for... for revenge?"
"You're telling me you've never done something like that? Been hurt by someone in the past, who has ruined you, so you play the long game to get back at them and shove your happiness in their face?"
Nikolai wanted to disagree, but his entire time at court he had been undermining his family in order to secure his own position, and had spent years crafting the perfect persona so that in the end he was the one on the throne, not them. Slowly he nodded. "I have, actually."
"So you see my point?"
"Not really. This is very different to what I did."
"Well what did you do?"
"Doesn't matter. It wasn't anything like this." He gestured to the building behind them. "Who are you getting revenge on?"
"None of your business." She turned away again, and Nikolai sensed that he'd come to a road block.
"It's not me, is it?" he joked, hoping to continue the conversation, although what for he wasn't sure.
Her only response was to shake her head, scowl on her face. "Saints, not everything is about you, you do know that don't you?"
"I wasn't... I just... never mind." He gave up trying to be nice for the day, and went back to shovelling litter.
~~~
Dominik was completely infuriating.
What right did he have, asking about her life like that? And what had made her answer him?
She was falling back into her old habits of opening up her heart to people, and it just wouldn't do. She'd started this venture as a way of releasing her anger at what had been happened; now she was working on it with somebody so similar to him it was starting to tear her apart.
They worked in silence until the sun went down, moving back and forth throughout the front garden to clear the remaining weeds and detritus so that the space looked somewhat alright. When the sun had first started setting, Y/n had gone to get food, stomach rumbling. They'd sat and eaten without a word shared between them, the air filled with tension.
She didn't understand Dominik.
One minute he was being classic fuckboy, all charm and smiles to win people over, then he was being a nasty piece of shit making people think the two of them were dating, and then he was being somewhat nice, asking if she was okay. He had been the same, minus the fake relationship part. This was a trap, this plan with Dominik, and it was bringing up the memories Y/n had fought hard to keep down.
When the sun had finally disappeared behind the horizon, Dominik had stiffened, staring off into space. He looked like he was talking to himself, mouth moving and forming silent words, but Y/n couldn't figure out why. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration (and Y/n felt frustrated herself at finding the action attractive), then stood up abruptly, turning towards her.
"I'm going to have to leave, I'm sorry. I need to be up early tomorrow to open up shop. Do you want me to walk you back to yours? Or are you going to stay a bit longer?" He looked like the words were killing him, as though it was difficult for him to make the offer, and Y/n bristled.
"I'll stay, thanks. I'll be fine, the faire's still on, so the lights will help. I always carry multiple blades anyway." The surprise on his face was unmasked, and internally she laughed. Externally she glared.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye." He all but sprinted out onto the street, shoving his hands (that for some reason were always gloved, despite it being the middle of summer) into his coat pockets and hunching his shoulders. Scoffing, Y/n turned back to the last of her pile of weeds, picking them up and moving them to the bin.
"Weirdo," she muttered into the empty garden.
~~~
Nikolai was eternally grateful that Y/n hadn't wanted him to walk her home, because it was highly likely that the demon would have eaten her face off.
He definitely didn't want to explain that to her mother, or any witnesses, so for once he was glad that she hated him. The demon seemed to share her feelings, bristling and growling loudly in Nikolai's head any time it saw her. It really was all the worst parts of him sometimes, taking all the negatives and exacerbating them.
Currently Nikolai was at the docks, sat on one of the piers with his feet dangling off the edge. The demon was sat next to him, hunched over as it watched the water for fish. Every now and then it would spot one, and launched itself into the water, emerging a few moments later with a wriggling victim in its mouth. Nikolai felt more like a father to it now, watching on with something that felt weirdly like pride as the demon caught its own dinner. The last fish it had offered up to Nikolai, dumping it on his lap (which Nikolai had complained profusely about). He'd take it back to the inn, and cook it on the fire. Saved buying food from there when he inevitably got hungry in the night.
He'd been surprised at Y/n actually bringing him food, given how hostile she'd been. He figured she'd leave him to fend for himself for food, but when she'd chucked a takeaway box of breaded fish (fish was the primary source of food in Taya) at him, he had smiled when her back was turned.
Footsteps on wood made him freeze, gaze turning inland. Nikolai felt his demon surface, hiding itself under the decking. The sound grew louder, and a figure emerged from behind a boat. It paused, and the head swivelled towards Nikolai's position on the pier.
"Who's there?" A man. Nikolai made eye contact with the demon through a gap in the planks, trying to come to a decision.
Hungry.
No, absolutely not.
Trust the bastard to want to eat the stranger.
"Just me," he called back, settling on the non-murderous option. he stood, asking the demon to stay where it was.
"And who's that?" The man was walking closer, still not visible in the darkness of the night. The lights needed fixing.
"Dominik. Opus. Who are you?"
"Davor Miskovic. I don't recognise your name."
"Moved here not too long ago. How long have you been here?"
The man - Davor - was only a few feet away now, and Nikolai could pick out a few details, like the black hair and sharp nose that looked like it had been broken multiple times and never set properly.
"Used to live here. Went on holiday for a year. Just got back." He seemed to have difficulty speaking in long sentences, or maybe an aversion to connective words.
"Right."
"You shouldn't be here at night. Lot of danger." Something in his tone made Nikolai think that Davor was the danger, and he felt his demon shift under the pier. It was directly under the place where Davor had stopped, and Nikolai knew that should he need it, his demon would rip through the boards and give him an escape in seconds.
"I'll be fine, but thanks for the concern." Davor's gaze flitted down to Nikolai's hand, and he realised with a start that he was holding the fish. "Dinner," he said, lifting the dead animal. "I should get going, actually. Haven't eaten since lunch." He smiled, and Davor returned it, but with something sickly behind it.
"Sure. Don't let me stop you." He moved to the side, sweeping an arm out as if to show Nikolai the way. Nikolai walked past, urging the demon to follow him underneath, and tried to not look too much like he was running away. Something about Davor had given him the chills, and he wanted to get away. Turning a corner and checking that nobody would see, Nikolai called out quietly to his demon, taking it back in to his body and moving away without missing a beat. It had gone silently, not putting up a fuss, which Nikolai could only assume was down to Davor's unsettling presence. His demon had never gone so willingly, and that creeped Nikolai out more than the stranger himself.
Making his way back to the hotel, he thought he heard stones skitter across the road behind him, but when he subtly checked for signs of anyone following, there was nobody there.
~~~
"What is up with you? You've been jumpy all morning."
Gregor's voice proved his point as it made Nikolai jump.
He'd been on edge since meeting Davor the night before, and his demon had been weirdly silent in his head. Nikolai had thought that he wouldn't miss the endless commentary of the creature sharing his body, but now that it was gone he wanted it back.
"Nothing. Didn't sleep too well, I guess." Not entirely a lie. He'd spent most of the night watching out the window in his room at the inn, certain that he could feel eyes on him.
"Right," Gregor eyed him, concern flitting across his features. "Just... if you need to take a nap then do, yeah? I'd much rather you slept on the job than fucked something up."
"Sure. I'll be fine."
"Is there a reason you wouldn't be fine?"
Nikolai jumped again at Y/n's question, having not seen her come in.
"I see the problem. I need you to come and do a thing, Dominik. You don't mind, do you Gregor?"
"Nope. If it helps him sort his head out I don't mind. You're working extra hours tomorrow, boy."
"Yeah, sure thing, Gregor. Do I need to be worried about what the thing is?" he asked Y/n.
"Nope," Y/n replied, grabbing Nikolai's arm and dragging him out of the shop, waving to Gregor. "I just need you to be a boyfriend."
"...To you, right?"
"What? Yeah, obviously. Idiot. Why would I need you to be somebody else's boyfriend?"
"I don't know. You just said 'a boyfriend', so I wasn't sure!"
They arrived in the main square, the faire still going strong despite only having a couple of days left. The demon stirred, and Nikolai looked around, trying to find the source of its anger. Y/n came to a stop abruptly, causing Nikolai to walk into her back.
"Dick."
"Fuck you."
"Yeah I bet you want to."
"In your dreams, darling."
"I think you mean nightmares," she smiled sweetly, malice in her eyes. Her expression became slightly more guarded as she caught sight of something over his shoulder, and Nikolai choked on air when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his.
"What the fuck?"
"Why are you coughing? Are you gonna die?" She asked the second question with too much joy, face lighting up. Nikolai glared at her.
"Probably not." Her smile fell. "You're- you... What the fuck?"
"You're my boyfriend, so try to not look put off by the fact I'm hugging you, yeah?"
"Why are you hugging me?"
"Because my ex is here and I panicked."
That made Nikolai pause. Y/n had never really talked about that aspect of her life before, preferring to keep to herself (especially around him), and some part of him was interested to know who her ex was. Not because he wanted to figure out if she had a type, or anything, he was just curious.
The demon laughed at him in his head, and he told it to shut up.
"Your... ex."
"Yeah. He's the one I'm getting revenge on."
"Oh."
Why was his brain not working?
He quickly shot down the demon's idea that maybe it was because she was pressed so closely to him he couldn't tell where he ended and she started.
"Just, please don't be an asshole, okay?"
"Sure."
Saints, he wanted his brainpower back.
"Y/n? Long time no see," a voice drawled, and the demon flinched, growling in Nikolai's head.
"Davor, hi."
"He's your ex?" Nikolai whispered into her ear, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. Her smile was more fake than any of the ones she'd ever given Nikolai, and he wondered just exactly what Davor had done.
"Dominik, right?"
"Yeah." Nikolai smiled, not liking the sound of his best friend's name in this man's mouth, and stuck his hand out. Davor shook it, grip strong.
"Wait, you know each other?"
"Met last night. On the pier. He had a fish."
Apparently Davor was still unable to speak long sentences, and Nikolai resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"I thought you went home?" Y/n turned to him, eyes slightly wide.
"I was on my way, I just cut past the docks."
"So why did you have a fish?"
"He said it was for dinner."
"But you ate with me?"
"I always get hungry in the night, one of the many troubles with being me."
He could feel his face warming at the constant questioning, and wanted the ground to swallow him up.
"So how do you two know each other?" Davor asked.
"Dating. We're dating," Y/n said, and for once she sounded... glad? to say the words.
Davor's thick eyebrows rose, and he looked between the two of them. "He's not your usual type, is he? Didn't think you went for the pretty ones."
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Davor."
"And it's nice that you think I'm pretty," Nikolai chipped in, smile on his face. Y/n stifled a snort, and Nikolai's smile widened. Maybe there was hope for something other than hatred between them.
Davor scowled, eyebrows coming down to draw together, and Nikolai felt his demon rise on its haunches. Something wicked came into the man's stare, and while Nikolai generally thought himself quite imposing and unafraid, he wanted to shrink before Y/n's ex.
"I'm not sure I believe it."
"Well it's happening, so I'm not really sure what you want-"
"Kiss."
What was it with people wanting them to kiss? First Y/n's mother, now Davor?
"Dominik?"
"Darling?"
"I think he wants us to kiss," Y/n said, gaze sharp. Nikolai smirked.
"Are you quoting me?"
"I- no, I am not. Shut up and kiss me."
"Properly?" He searched her face, hoping she would know what he meant.
"Properly would be good," Davor said. Nikolai had almost forgotten the man was there. "In your own time."
"Properly is fine, Dominik."
"How many times? Just Nik."
"Properly is fine, Nik."
He leaned in, smirk growing wider at her use of his name. Her arms were still around his neck, and she pulled him further in, going up on her toes as he gently pressed his lips to hers. His hands were on her waist, bringing her in (although not much given how close they already were), and he tilted his head, breaking away for air before kissing her again. His thumbs were rubbing circles into her hips, and her fingers were playing with his hair, running through it softly. He pulled back, bringing one of his hands up to cup her face gently, the other still stroking her side. Her cheeks were flushed, lips slightly more red than before, and her eyes were lidded. Nikolai couldn't help but feel a burst of pride at the sight, and he knew that he looked much the same.
"You were definitely quoting me, darling." Y/n blushed even more.
"Yeah, I was. Not ashamed at all."
Nikolai smiled, then turned his head to look at Davor. On seeing the place where the man had been empty, Nikolai felt his demon draw his attention to one of the stalls, where Davor was standing.
"Oh shit."
"What?" Y/n asked, worry on her face amidst the blush.
"He's talking to your mother."
"What?! Fuck no." All worry disappeared, and she extracted herself from him to stalk towards her mother's stall. Nikolai took an extra moment to collect himself, reeling slightly from the kiss.
It shouldn't have felt as good as it did, but Nikolai couldn't help but find himself wanting to kiss her again.
~~~
Y/n was surprised she could walk straight after kissing him.
It had been over a year since anything of the sort had happened, and Davor had never kissed her like that.
She knew it was dangerous, but she was comparing the two of them, cursing herself for doing so immediately afterwards. No matter what, Dominik wasn't going to be much better for her self-esteem than Davor was, and she couldn't go there.
Even if Nik had kissed her like she was the only girl in the world.
When had she started calling him 'Nik' in her head?
"Y/n! You and Dominik are getting on well, then?" She rolled her eyes as subtly as she could at her mother, plastering a smile on her face.
"Yep. All good."
"Is that why you left him standing like an idiot in the middle of the square after you kissed the living daylights out of him?"
Y/n turned to look, and sure enough Nik was still stood there.
"Uh... no?"
"Oh, he's coming over! Has he met Davor?"
"Yes."
Y/n did roll her eyes at Davor's monosyllabic answer, remembering that he wasn't much of a talker. It had always irritated her, having to do all the talking in the relationship. At least Nik could talk for fucking Ravka.
Stop comparing them, she scolded herself.
An arm appeared around her shoulder, and Y/n had to stop herself from flinching when she realised that it was her fake boyfriend. Looking up at him, she blushed at the state of his hair. Without thinking, she reached a hand up, trying to tame the golden locks. Nik jumped slightly, and Y/n wouldn't have noticed were she not pressed into his side (he'd stroked circles into her side when they'd kissed), and his eyes were wide when he looked at her. Conversation died as she attempted to return his hair to normal, and embarrassed Y/n brought her hand back to her side. Nik was smiling at her, a hint of smugness in his expression, but Y/n couldn't find the energy to hate him for it.
"Well," her mother started. "How's the building work going?" Y/n knew her mother wanted to know purely for the reason of having a reason to stop it, but answered anyway. Davor needed to know.
"It's going really well, actually! Nik and I have cleared the whole front garden, and once the entrance has been secured and stabilised I can make a start on the inside!" She perked up at the knowledge that she was making progress, and that her dream might one day very soon become reality.
"What building work?"
"The mansion, Y/n's doing it up and I offered to help," Nik spoke up, arm coming further around her shoulders, almost protectively.
"It's partly how he got me to go out with him."
"I thought you said he bribed you with paying for the date?"
"That too. I have standards, mother."
Nik chuckled slightly, and Y/n had to force her heart not to lift at the sound.
"You're doing work on the mansion? We talked about that."
"Yes, we did. And I'm doing it anyway." Davor scoffed, and she wanted to punch him and break his nose again.
"It's a terrible idea, and you'll never do it." He walked off, pushing through the crowds and disappearing from sight.
"Was he always that mean?"
"Yes, mother. You just never saw that part."
"Well it's a good job Nik isn't like that, eh?"
"Yeah, very good job." Y/n couldn't help but feel unease at her mother's words. Whatever she was feeling for Dominik had to stop. Davor had seemed nice at first too, all charm and smiles and kind words, and then he'd showed her who he really was, too late for Y/n to do much about it. If Dominik was the same, she'd never forgive herself for falling for the same 'nice guy' act twice. She had to distance herself. "I actually think I might go and work on it now, you know, deadline and all that."
"Oh, alright," her mother said, concern flitting into her voice.
"Do you want me to come and help?" Dominik asked.
She shook her head. "No, I'll be alright. You should probably take a nap, like Gregor said. I'll see you later when you clock off." He looked somewhat crestfallen, but the expression was quickly replaced by a smile. His ability to change face so quickly unnerved her, and further confirmed that she needed to spend as little time with him as possible. Waving goodbye to Dominik and her mother, Y/n headed in the direction of the mansion, desperately trying not to think of the echo of a kiss on her lips.
my live reaction to ggy ref in into the pit
me in the middle of the night putting random stuff in the box on thisisnotawebsitedotcom because I wanna be the first to find some new crazy lore or smth:
If you're tired put never back down never give up on loop in spotify or whatever music player you have
it has granted me miracles